Vacancies: Four (4)

Location: Surkhet, Dailekh, Jajarkot and Salyan District of Karnali Province

Supervisor: MNCH FP Coordinator

SSBH provides strategic technical support for USAID’s Health Direct Financing Project. In Karnali Province, this activity is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development and Health Services Directorate and selected municipalities across four districts (Surkhet, Jajarkot, Salyan and Dailekh). Technical support interventions are tailored to the needs of the province and municipalities, focusing primarily on evidence-based planning and budgeting, management and oversight for delivery of quality health services, overall strengthening of health systems, and coordination between all three levels of government for effective implementation of the government-to-government (G2G) support in health.

Under the supervision of the MNCH FP Coordinator, the Technical Officer- MNCH FP will work collaboratively with other field-based staff to support health offices at district level and health sections at municipal level to strengthen maternal, newborn, child health and family planning services as they relate to G2G activities. 

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

Program Support (LOE 80%)  

• Provide technical support and guidance for selected municipalities and SSBH Health System Officers stationed in selected municipalities to plan, implement, and monitor interventions MNCH/FP services.
• Provide technical facilitation support and strengthen municipal capacity to conduct clinical coaching and mentoring sessions at health facilities.
• Facilitate municipal governments to respond to MNCH/FP needs and priorities at health facilities.
• Provide support to municipal level policymakers to prioritize resource allocation; planning, budget execution; monitoring and evaluation; human resource management; and other initiatives to strengthen MNCH/FP services at local level with a focus on respectful and quality care. 
• Together with HSS/HIS technical officer, promote the use of evidence-based practices to monitor performance, identify MNCH/FP gaps, and design solutions to improve quality MNCH/FP service coverage at municipal level. 
• Collaborate with HSS/HIS Technical Officers to support periodic and annual reviews and planning meetings at municipal level, ensuring Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) concepts and issues related to unreached or underserved populations are incorporated in planning and implementation of health interventions. 
• Work closely with HSS/HIS Technical Officers to support municipalities and health facilities to identify unreached and underserved populations and develop evidence-based micro-plans to increase their access to health services.
• Assist with the planning of project meetings, training sessions, and collecting additional information from municipal and district level as needed and assigned.
• Ensure accurate and timely submission of required technical reports and deliverables, including lessons learned and exemplary practices.

Capacity Building (LOE 5%)

• Support municipality to develop and implement MNCH/FP related capacity building plans for health facility-based providers and municipality level health staff.  

Coordination (LOE 15%)

• Actively engage with external development partners, stakeholders, and private sector service providers at district level in the MNCH/FP sector to create synergy and reduce the duplication of work.
• Represent the SSBH team in selected technical working groups, particularly on MNCH/FP, at district and municipality levels.
• Work closely with SSBH team members and counterparts at district and municipality level to support planning, implementing, monitoring of MNCH and FP related project activities.

Required qualifications and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, or Public Health with a Staff Nursing background.
• At least 6 years of relevant professional experience in implementing MNCH/FP interventions.
• Understanding of health care delivery system in all tiers of government, including service availability, utilization, and quality assurance.
• Experience of working with USAID programs and other health related projects preferred.
• Strong interpersonal skills, good judgment and problem-solving abilities, and ability and willingness to work collaboratively as part of a high-functioning team, even in remote areas.
• Ability and willingness to travel to remote areas of assigned districts within short notice.
• Report writing, communication, and advocacy skills, including oral presentations and public speaking.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office package. Experience of using statistical software (SPSS, STATA) a plus.
• Excellent written/oral skills in Nepali and English.
• Applicants who are from and/or working in Karnali Province will be given preference. 

SSBH is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and culture. Women and Individuals from minority groups and differently-abled persons are encouraged to apply. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further selection process. Canvassing at any stage of the process shall lead to automatic disqualification.