Programme Adviser - Community Health at Christian Aid Nigeria

Christian Aid is partnering with others to end poverty in Africa. At the heart of this vision is transformation of the lives of people who live in poverty, empowering them to have a brighter future. In 20 countries across the continent, we manage a wide range of programmes that have a positive impact on the lives of millions, and while we've achieved some incredible results, there's still a lot we can do.

Which is why we are looking for a dynamic and highly skilled individual to lead the Nigeria country team in delivering this exciting programme, and achieving ever greater levels of impact and transformation with our partners, allies and donors.

You could be working for a multi-national company or feel your ambition and entrepreneurial flair are being stifled by a traditional NGO environment. Either way, this is a once-in-a- lifetime chance to use your talent for mobilising people and resources, and make a very real difference to those living in poverty.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Programme Adviser - Community Health

Job Reference: 0196
Location: Nigeria

Job Description

• Poverty and ill-health go hand in hand across much of our planet. Abuses of power and persistent inequality mean that marginalised people are most vulnerable to the risk of illness and disease and least able to face its costs and impacts. Christian Aid believes that, through concerted action with our partners, we can root out and challenge the power relationships at the heart of this problem. Could you join us in this exciting work?

About you

• You'll make a key contribution to increasing Christian Aid's work on securing rights to essential services and particularly health. As an organisation we have developed strong models and programming in this area. Now we are looking to deepen our programme impact and our focus on supporting equitable institutions and inclusive social norms. We don't see poor access to essential services as a technical issue so much as a political one with decisions being made about who has access to what. Building on our strong track record in community health and HIV programming, we have increasingly focused on the central role of power and inequality in accessing services.
• Working as part of a global team of Programme Advisors, you'll provide advice and support to teams on the ground as they seek to improve their health programmes. You'll help Christian Aid staff and partners across Africa, Asia and Latin America sharpen their work and to identify new opportunities to bring about change in their own contexts. You'll equip them to put this analysis into practice through a portfolio of empowering projects within the framework of our newly developed community health framework.
• You'll enable programme teams to learn from their own experience, from other Christian Aid programmes and partners, and from wider good practice. With the rest of the advisory team and other colleagues, you'll feed programme learning into a deeper organisational understanding and public position on access to essential services.
• You'll have the technical knowledge and practical experience to provide credible, relevant and useful support to fellow practitioners, including previous experience in an advisory role. You'll also bring excellent communication and facilitation skills. Your ability to translate theory into practice will help programme colleagues engage with complex political and social challenges, and spark innovative and creative responses. Most important will be your ability to develop strong relationships and bring people from different parts of the organisation together around a common vision. You'll be ready to pioneer new ways of thinking and develop new partnerships to achieve these ambitious goals.

Qualifications/Requirements

• Post graduate or equivalent in international development or another relevant discipline, preferably with a public health, medical, health economics or health systems strengthening background
• Familiarity with current thinking / debates on rights, voice, accountability and responsiveness in access to health services - ideally in an international context
• Extensive experience of international programme work
• Familiarity with programme cycle management tools and methods - including strategic planning, programme management and M&E
• Knowledge of gender, power and rights-based approaches to development, and demonstrable ability to apply analysis of power / social exclusion to programme design and management
• Experience of designing, conducting and overseeing social research - ideally in an international context and in partnership with academic and research institutions
• Excellent facilitation skills and ability to promote critical thinking and reflection
• Experience of providing training, technical support and/or advice
• Creative thinking and track record of promoting innovation
• Demonstrable ability to build effective working relationships across organisations, including at a distance
• Track record of promoting culture change and organisational learning
• Demonstrable ability to influence others and negotiate win-win solutions
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to discuss sensitive issues and inspire others to take up new challenges

Further Information:

• The location for this post is flexible and has been advertised for Nairobi (Kenya) or Abuja (Nigeria) where we have a substantial office, strong connectivity and good international transport connections to other countries with a strong health focus in Africa. Applicants from other countries may be considered in light of these criteria (Please check via email before applying). This role requires applicants to have the right to work in the country that this position is based. Please note that cvs will not be accepted and only the short listed candidates will be contacted.

Competency Questions

• Please show your suitability for this post by giving answers to the following questions. Using the guidance notes may help you formulate your answers. In the relevant section of the application please also show your suitability against the person specification points.

Communicate Effectively

• Describe a situation where you helped other people to understand a complex political, social or cultural problem and change their thinking or approach in how they dealt with it.

Deliver Results

• Describe a situation where you worked with others to improve their practice by helping them to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of previous work.

Realize Potential

• Describe a situation where you enabled other people to share their learning more widely by identifying the key lessons from their own experience and sharing these with a wider audience.

Salary
Below are the salary ranges depending on location and experience:

• If Based in Kenya: Salary Range - Kes 4,027,084 to 4,463,339 p.a. (plus benefits)
• If Based in Nigeria: Salary Range - NGN 6,376,382 to 7,067,136 p.a. (plus benefits)

Application Closing Date:
15th September 2014.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Download the role profile (228 KB pdf)