Position:      Technical Advisor (TA) Consultant assigned to MoHS  Technical Area: Community-Led Health Services  

Contract duration: 9 months  

Reports to: Project Lead  

Location:      Freetown, Sierra Leone  

Overview:  

Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, has strengthened public health programming for  five decades in more than 150 countries through evidence-based, quality-focused public health  interventions. Jhpiego has worked closely with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone  (MOHS) since 2018 through Momentum Country and Global Leadership Program focusing on  Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health and IPC/WASH projects, the US-CDC-funded  Global Health Security project, the Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Global  Reach II, and the USAID-funded Impact Malaria project

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed many weaknesses in health systems across the globe and raised  important issues in health security. USAID has provided support to many countries through the  COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM), including Sierra Leone. Three key areas for ongoing  support, which were identified by USAID, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), Global  Fund, and other partners, are a) Integrated Waste Management (IWM), b) Community Led Services  Assessment, (CLSA), and c) Medical Oxygen Ecosystem (MOE).

MOHS has an existing National Medical Waste Management Policy and Strategy. However, with the  advent of COVID-19, the policy and strategy need to be updated to interventions on the transport,  storage, and destruction of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases related medical waste. Meanwhile,  US$ 600,000 has been approved and allocated in the C19 RM grant for medical waste management,  but with a pre-condition that requires MoHS to develop a detailed workplan and budget for the US$  600,000 for review and approval by Global Fund. The Directorate of Environmental Health of the  MoHS is thus seeking the services of a TA to provide technical assistance in updating the National  Medical Waste Management Policy and Strategy to include Covid-19 and other infectious diseases  medical waste management, and at the same time develop a detailed workplan and budget for  implementation of the updated policy and strategy document.

Through C19RM funding from USAID, Jhpiego will recruit a Technical Advisor to provide technical  assistance to MoHS National Integrated Medical Waste Management Strategy to include COVID-19  and other infectious diseases, SOPs development, capacity building and other areas

The Technical Advisor will work in close collaboration with the Director of Environmental Health,  Program Manager for Waste Management, MoHS, the Jhpiego team in Sierra Leone, and  representatives from different Jhpiego departments to support the successful implementation of the  project.

Specific responsibilities include:  

Technical

∙ Review and update the scopes of practice for CHW and community-led services to include  Covid-19

∙ Review community-led services in the C19RM proposal and align interventions with the  CHW Strategy and international best practices.

∙ Map out current activities in the C19RM proposal to identify those with the highest impact  for eventual scale up and de-prioritize those with the least impact and make relevant  adjustments in the C19 RM grant to accommodate changes.

∙ Conduct an assessment of existing and needed community-led health services, identify and  map existing financial and non-financial gaps in community-led health services and highlight  opportunities for future GF investments in Sierra Leone. The focus may include but is not  limited to:

∙ Analyze the linkages between community-led services and various programs  ∙ Investigate and document key challenges in community-led service provision/service  delivery and service utilization for HIV, TB, MCH, and other related programs  ∙ Assess various community-led monitoring mechanisms; existing community-led advocacy  (including strengths and weaknesses) and the roles of communities in advocacy.  ∙ Investigate and document lessons learned from implementation under C19RM  ∙ Assess compensation mechanisms for various community-led services.

∙ Conduct broad stakeholder assessment for community-led services. – community and their  decision makers, private sector, NGOs and MDAs

∙ Review functions and scope of the Facility Management Committee

∙ Investigate strategies for community engagement in national public health campaigns (e.g  ITN distribution, immunization campaigns)

∙ Assess existing and potential school structures and their roles in community-led health  activities/ services

∙ Assess the critical issues around the occurrence and prevention of teenage pregnancy,  SGBV, and social behavior change in the community

∙ Support the development of a costed operational plan based on assessment findings

Program Support and Compliance

∙ Contribute to/draft project documents such as weekly, monthly, quarterly reports and final  technical reports

∙ Facilitate Core Technical Working Group/multi-stakeholder engagement meetings  ∙ Capture insights from stakeholders through engagement: interviews, workshops, field visits  ∙ Support monitoring of progress on key deliverables and activities outlined in the work plan  ∙ Support planning and execution of workshops and activities

∙ Support timely deliverables of project activities

∙ Ensure compliance with Jhpiego and JHU operational policies and regulations

∙ Ensure compliance with Donor policies and regulations

∙ In coordination with project leadership, provide management support for routine and ad hoc meetings, including agenda planning and development, and follow-up on key action  items, etc.

Required Qualifications and Experience  

∙ Masters in Community Health, Community development, Public Health or Business  Administration with 5 years plus work experience

∙ Extensive knowledge of Sierra Leone Community Health Program

∙ Experience in conducting landscape assessments and development of costed implementation  plan

∙ Prior management consulting experience is desirable

∙ Experience implementing similar programs funded by USAID preferred  ∙ Experience handling program tasks across project phases (e.g., workplans, reporting)  ∙ Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

∙ Ability to work proactively, organize and manage own work and assist others to do the same  ∙ Experience preparing high-quality reports for donors/funders preferred  ∙ Excellent written and oral English language skills,

∙ Good communication skills with diverse groups

∙ Ability to travel up to 20%

Qualified persons are required to send their Curriculum Vitae (CV) and application letter to: SL-Recruitment@jhpiego.org Clearly state in the subject area the position and the Technical  Area you are applying for, if not clearly stated your application will not be considered. 

The deadline for the submission of applications is 8th March 2023. Given the likely high number of  applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.