Program Officer

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USAID-Health for Life Project is seeking “Program Officer” candidate for the USAID-Health for Life (H4L) Project which is a five-year (2012-2017) project financed by USAID and working primarily in coordination with the Government of Nepal’s Ministry of Health (MoH). As a result, Health for Life Project has a significant national presence to support the testing and roll-out of national-level policies, guidelines and programs. In addition to the national focus, the Project covers 12 districts in the Mid-Western Development Region; 3 in the Western; one each in the Eastern, Central and Far-Western Regions; and in 10 (Dolakha, Dhading, Gorkha, Kavre, Makwanpur, Nuwakot, Ramechhap, Rasuwa, Sindhuli and Sindhupalchowk) most earthquake affected districts to strengthen district and village health systems and help identify and implement best practices. H4L collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders, including academic and research institutions, training centers, media partners and civil society.

The primary goal of Health for Life (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 activities directly address key health system constraints in the following areas: local health systems governance, data for decision making and evidence-based policy development, human resources management, quality improvement systems, and knowledge and behavior change. This position will be based in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

Responsibilities:

• Support Health Systems Database Specialist in timely collection of reports from regions and districts 
• Work with team in earthquake-affected districts and analyze information from a GESI perspective: caste/ethnicity, service utilization, geography, etc. 
• Follow-up with community action promoters/reporters and H4L’s development associates in sentinel sites to encourage data entry in mobile tracking systems (both core and EQ) 
• Write short briefs: technical, policy and case studies, success stories to share with USAID and other partners with USAID’s approval 
• Assist carrying out routine Data Quality Assessments of the project indicators, in consultation with relevant team members
• Design strategies to encourage use of data for planning and decision making at different levels (VDC, District, etc.)
• Support Health Systems Database Specialist to monitor progress toward achieving project goals against yearly targets and recommend ways forward to reduce gaps identified in consultation and collaboration with other team members
• Carry out regular field visits in districts and provide support to H4L district teams on GESI and data analysis 
• Ensure GESI integration in all M&E activities together with Health Systems Database Specialist, particularly in designing tools, data collection, analysis, presentation and reporting 
• Assist/ provide support to regional and district staff to analyze data received from Health facility readiness assessments, QI assessments, and VHSARs
• Assist EQ-District team to prepare semi-annual and annual reports 
• Assist M&E team to analyze data, prepare reports, and shares with H4L Regional and Kathmandu teams and relevant counterparts. Provide timely support and feedback to regional and district staff on M&E and reporting requirements
• Review monthly reports submitted by districts and regional offices, identify gaps and provide support for improvement in coordination with relevant stakeholders 
• Provide support to H4L and GON staff on monitoring and evaluation, including HMIS, DHIS-2 and eHMIS.
• Support Regional and district teams in implementation of eHMIS in selected VDCs in the 10 earthquake-affected districts
• Provide other necessary support to M&E team as assigned by Senior Program Manager.

Qualifications and experience:

• Master’s degree or Bachelor’s degree with 1 year of Experience 
• Understanding of Nepal Health Sector Program II (2010-2015), MoHP's FP/MNCH goal, objectives, strategies and concurrent issues are essential. Skill in developing database in MS Access or other programs is preferred
• Experience in designing project M&E plans, preferably in FP/MNCH
• Familiar with Data Quality Assessment mechanism for projects
• Must be fluent in Nepali with strong oral and written communication skills in English (professional level required) 
• Strong documentation skills is preferred
• Strong presentation and report writing skills 
• Strong organizational, interpersonal and management skills, and an excellent team player
• Ability to develop effective working relationships with counterparts at all levels, local organizations, private sector, and other program partners
• MS Office and word processing and desktop publishing applications skills 
• Willingness to travel about 40% of time in the project area. 

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@rti.org with “Program Officer’’ in the subject line.  Deadline is 18 February 2017; however, applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Telephone inquiry will not be entertained.