District Health Governance Specialist

RTI International is an independent organization dedicated to conducting innovative, multidisciplinary research that improves the human condition. Please visit our website at www.rti.org/globalhealth for more information on our work in global health.

RTI International is seeking “District Health Governance Specialist” candidates for the USAID-Health for Life (H4L) Project.  The Health for Life (H4L) is a five-year (2012-2017) project financed by USAID. The H4L project builds on accomplishments gained from USAID/Nepal’s health sector investment to date with a greater focus on health systems strengthening and measuring sustainable changes in systems performance. The primary goal of H4L is to strengthen the Government of Nepal’s capacity to plan, manage and deliver high-quality and equitable family planning, maternal, newborn, and child health services. H4L addresses key health system constraints: local health systems governance; data for decision making and evidence-based policy development; capacity development of service providers at grassroots; quality improvement systems, and knowledge and behavior change. Gender equality and social inclusion is an important crosscutting focus of the project. H4L works in partnership with the Government of Nepal/ Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP). The Project works in 12 Districts of the Mid-Western and 2 Districts of Western Development Regions.  These positions are based in Jhapa, Chitwan, Kaski, Dang, Jumla and Kailai District of Nepal.

Responsibilities:

1. Technical assistance and guidance  

• Provide technical assistance and guidance to district stakeholders for effective implementation of the provisions of the Collaborative Framework through appropriate training/orientation, coaching and mentoring at district and sub-district levels 
• Provide technical assistance to improve functionality and performance of Health Facility Organization and Management Committees (HFOMCs) through pragmatic approaches (reforming and revitalizing, training, networking, coaching, mentoring) 
• Provide technical assistance to D(P)HOs, DDCs, VDCs and health facilities to develop/update Village Health Situation Analysis reports and periodic and annual health plans and their implementation to address local health needs at district and sub-district levels 
• Provide technical guidance and support to enrich social/public audits as an integral part of local health governance and promote transparency and accountability mechanisms at district and sub-district levels 

2. Coordination, collaboration and networking and representation

• Represent H4L at district and sub-district levels
• Work closely with D(P)HOs, DDCs and other district-level partners involved in local health governance and health system strengthening to ensure provisions of Collaborative Framework are implemented effectively 
• Network with district and sub-district level partners to promote collaborative efforts to strengthen local health governance 
• Organize/participate in district and sub-district level meetings for better collaboration among partners engaged in health development

3. Documentation and reporting 

• Prepare project reports, technical briefs and documents, good practices for project’s internal use, and reporting to USAID, EDPs, MoHP/MoFALD and other stakeholders 
• Develop capacity building tools and techniques, including power point presentations, other training/orientation materials appropriate for district and sub-district level audiences 

4. Administration and support 

• Prepare financial documents as per H4L policies and procedures and submit to concerned departments on time
• Manage advances taken for district/sub-district level activities and settle such advances with required documents (attendances, receipts and other documentation) on time  

5. Data collection, monitoring and supervision 

• Plan and conduct regular monitoring and supervisory field visits at sub-district levels 
• Collect necessary information using approved tools and techniques necessary for project monitoring, e.g., health facility readiness assessment and other tools 
• Prepare field visit reports and provide timely feedback to district teams on local health governance activities 
• Provide onsite coaching to health facilities and HFOMCs on local health governance-related activities
• Maintain program records, files and other relevant information in accordance to H4L’s M&E Plan

Qualifications and experience:

• Master’s degree in public health, development studies, rural and regional planning, social science, public administration, public policy or other related areas with at least 3 years of experience or a Bachelor’s degree with 6 years of experience  in local health governance, policy planning and management of health systems related project activities at regional and district levels
• Strong facilitation/training skills 
• In-depth understanding of Nepal’s health systems and governance at district and sub-district levels, including health systems, service delivery, quality assurance, access and utilization, local health planning, community/social mobilization, local governance,  and gender and social inclusion in the health sector
• Professional writing skills in preparing reports in English and Nepali languages for various audiences, including technical and policy briefs and reports to the MoHP, MoFALD, USAID and EDPs
• Demonstrated ability to develop effective working relationships with government counterparts, local organizations, and other program and partners;
• Willingness to travel from duty station at least 35% of the time in assigned districts 

To Apply: Qualified applicants should submit a resume with contact information to Operations Manager, Health for Life (H4L), P. O. Box: 3172, Lalitpur, Nepal or email:marora@np-h4l.rti.org with ‘District Health Governance Specialist’’ in the subject line.  Deadline is 30 November 2014; however, applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Telephone inquiry will not be entertained.  

Female and candidates particularly from disadvantaged and socially excluded groups are highly encouraged to apply.