Regional Technical Advisor, Nutrition and Child Health at Jhpiego Nigeria

Jhpiego, an Affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, is a global leader in improving healthcare services for women and their families.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Regional Technical Advisor, Nutrition and Child Health

Job ID: 2025-7124
Location: Abuja
Category: International Positions

Overview

• Jhpiego is an international non-profit health organization affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University. Jhpiego is seeking a Child Health Regional Technical Advisor to provide technical expertise and leadership in the design, implementation and oversight of child health activities as part of comprehensive maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition (MNCH-N) programs in several countries. 
• The child health regional technical advisor will be based in a country in Africa with Jhpiego presence and will work closely with Jhpiego staff (global, regional, country) and country counterparts in several countries to strengthen child health care services, including in countries participating in two global mechanisms funded by the U.S. government and led by Jhpiego (MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership program and the Reaching Impact Saturation and Epidemic Control (RISE) program). 
• Child health activities will focus on strengthening prevention, timely diagnosis and management of leading causes of early childhood mortality, including pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and malnutrition and screening and management of children with severe and moderate acute malnutrition (SAM/MAM).
• The incumbent should have experience working with Governments and key stakeholders to implement child health programs in at least two to three countries in Africa and should have direct experience and expertise in provision of pediatric health care services in a low and middle-income setting, preferably at primary and referral level.

Responsibilities
Technical Leadership in Child Health:

• Lead the design, implementation and oversight of high impact child health interventions across system levels with a focus on strengthening child health services for leading causes of child mortality and morbidity (including pneumonia, diarrheal disease, malaria, malnutrition, HIV).
• Lead the application of global best practices in child health programming, ensuring alignment with WHO and country guidelines.
• Oversee the implementation of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness [IMCI] strategies and protocols and Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM) strategies and protocols
• Provide strategic direction for implementation of Infant Young Child Feeding (IYCF) best practices as part of integrated child health and nutrition programs, including prevention, screening and management of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM)
• Oversee the implementation of Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) best practices for acutely ill children
• Support country teams to identify and address bottlenecks in the availability of essential child health and nutrition commodities.

Capacity-strengthening and Quality Improvement:

• Oversee the development and/or revision and use of evidence-based training/mentoring approaches and materials for pediatric health care providers, with a focus on skills for provision of lifesaving clinical care for leading causes of under-five child mortality
• Collaborate with MEL and Quality Improvement teams at global, regional and country levels to improve and monitor quality of child health services, using routine health information data as feasible

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Represent Jhpiego in strategic engagement with U.S. Government (USG) and other non-USG partners to develop and align strategies and technical resources for delivery of quality child health care services (global, regional and country levels)
• Foster strong relationships with USG and non-USG partners working in child health (global, regional and country levels)

Knowledge Sharing, Learning and Reporting:

• Regularly synthesize and share key evidence, publications, and global and regional child health resources
• Oversee preparation of technical reports, case studies, learning briefs and presentations of project child health activities and results
• Lead and contribute to cross-country learning initiatives to capture and disseminate best practices and innovations in child health and nutrition programming.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced clinical degree (e.g., Medical Doctor, Registered Nurse, or equivalent) with specialization in pediatric clinical care
• 9 - 10 years of progressively responsible experience in child health programs, with at least
  • 5 years of experience providing pediatric clinical care (preferably at primary and referral levels)
  • At least five years of experience supporting child health programs in low- and middle-income settings, including at least 2 countries in Africa
• Up to date knowledge of and familiarity with global child health evidence, guidelines and resources
• Familiarity with and experience implementing IMCI strategies and using IMCI tools
• Flexibility to adapt to changing work environments and conditions
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal and supervision skills, including the demonstrated ability to lead, mentor and coach technical staff  
• Ability to work independently and with team members and partners at all levels 
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think and plan strategically 
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Ability to travel up to 40% to support country programs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Training in child nutrition, including Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and care of children with acute malnutrition at community, primary and hospital level
• Up to date knowledge and experience treating children with HIV
• trong proficiency or fluency in a second language (preferably French)
• Residence in a country with established Jhpiego presence and child health programming (Nigeria, Siera Leone, Kenya, Madagascar, Zambia, Rwanda).

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

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