TITLE:  Clinical Maternal Newborn Health Specialist

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Health 

LOCATION: Coordination Office 

GRADE: 3

CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 Months 

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3:  the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people because they work in country programs

ROLE PURPOSE: 

Save the Children is anticipating funding from, Latter-day Saint Charities, a humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This project seeks to reduce maternal, neonatal, and child mortality, stillbirths and morbidity in Sierra Leone by strengthening the capacity of district health management teams and health care providers. At community level the project will support community-led solutions to improve quality, coverage and accountability of maternal, newborn and child health care, for the uptake of MNACH and nutrition services. The project will also utilize a digital application to improve quality of care.

The Clinical Maternal Newborn Health Specialist position will report to the Project Manager. The incumbent will lead the design and implementation of all Maternal and Newborn interventions across two operational districts. She/ He will provide quality technical assistance to national and district stakeholders and program staff to ensure technical design and approach align with the Ministry of Health protocols and global MNH guidelines such as Helping Mother Survive and Helping babies Breathe.  She/ He will also provide technical support to build capacity of district health management teams and service providers to review and use MNH data for decision making to improve quality of care. In line with Save the Children’s mandate, in the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder may be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Project Manager

Staff Directly Reporting to this Role: None

Budget Responsibilities: No 

Role Dimensions: Works closely with the Health and Nutrition Technical Specialist, MEAL Team, US Based Technical Team, and other relevant project teams. Supports representation of Save the Children in health sector meetings with donors, partners, and relevant line ministries.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY 

• Provides quality technical assistance to national/district stakeholders and program staff, to ensure that technical approaches used align with the needs and priorities of the Ministry of Health, and in line with Save the Children’s Common Approaches/evidence-based practices.
• Leads the design and implementation of clinical trainings within global / national guidelines.
• Leads on coaching and mentoring activities to build the capacity of service providers at all levels across the project’s operational districts.
• Adapts global learning and emerging evidence into local and context-specific solutions to sustainably improve services, including antenatal care, intrapartum care, postnatal care, respectful maternal and newborn care, maternal perinatal death surveillance and response, and others as needed.
• Represents Save The Children at national technical working group meetings, in collaboration with the Health Technical Specialist / PDQ team.
• Work with staff teams and partners to develop and monitor workplans, ensuring that they integrate the appropriate technical approaches and methodologies. Provide quality assurance in managing and updating all project information in PRIME and in the use of PMM tools.
• Provides technical review of donor reports and other critical documents to ensure they are accurate and of high quality.
• Monitors program data and results, to inform decision-making, learning and modification to technical strategies as appropriate; and to share learning with others.
• Ensures quality assurance for the technical unit by contributing to the development of standards for technical interventions and routinely utilizing program data to identify program and country quality issues and trends and recommends strategies to resolve them.
• Manages the implementation of activities; contributes to the development of materials/ tools used to implement key technical interventions; and to adapt them as needed.
• Adhere to Save the Children and donor visibility/branding guidelines. Support the advocacy and comms team to ensure all project communications materials are accurate and of high quality.
• In collaboration with the MEAL team, support the project team to develop necessary tools for surveys, operational research and regular monitoring to enhance learning.
• Identify opportunities for sustainable approaches to ongoing activities.
• Prepare and submit monthly work plans and relevant documents to line manager as requested.
• Other significant duties may be assigned by her/his line manager.
• Comply with all relevant Save the Children policies and procedures, including, but not limited to: fraud and anti-bribery, child safeguarding and code of conduct, sexual harassment, anti-bullying and gender equality, safety and security, finance, procurement, and human resources.
• Ensure all activities of the project are implemented in line with safe programming procedures.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values.
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same.
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others.
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters.Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength.
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions.
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS 

Master’s degree in public health, or a clinical degree is ideal; bachelor’s degree is required.

EXPERIENCE and SKILLS 

• At least 3-5 years of experience in leading complex, multi-intervention health development training in collaboration with national/local health ministries and international partners.
• Strong technical knowledge and substantive experience in planning and leading key clinical trainings in line with Sierra Leone Ministry of Health protocols, as well as and global technical approaches, such as Helping Babies Breath, Helping Mothers Survive, and so forth.
• Advanced knowledge of international maternal and neonatal health best practices.
• Experience in M&E with a focus on MNH data collection, analysis and report-writing
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organize a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities.
• Excellent oral and written skills. Proficiency in writing technical and programmatic reports that document program directions and results.
• Strong skills in building a team, supervision, training, and mentoring.
• Strong computer skills (i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint).
• Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure.
• Strong interpersonal skills with managing multicultural teams; strong knowledge/experience of gender quality, child protection, and inclusion issues in the Sierra Leone context is preferred.
• Willing to travel to and work in basic conditions with minimal logistical support.

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

TITLE:  Project Manager, Maternal-Child Health Project

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Health 

LOCATION: Waterloo Office, Western Area Rural

GRADE: TBC

CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 Months  

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3:  the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people because they work country programs

ROLE PURPOSE: 

Save the Children is anticipating funding from, Latter-day Saint Charities, a humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This project seeks to reduce maternal, neonatal, and child mortality, stillbirths and morbidity in Sierra Leone by strengthening the capacity of district health management teams and health care providers. At community level, the project will support community-led solutions to improve quality, coverage and accountability of maternal, newborn and child health care, for the uptake of MNACH and nutrition services. The project will also utilize a digital application to improve quality of care.

The Project Manager will be required to lead and coordinate the implementation of all interventions across two districts; this includes overall management of project delivery, project budget and resource management, and staff management. She/ He will also ensure compliance with donor requirements and Save the Children policies. She/ He will oversee project reviews, sharing and documenting learning, and ensure collaboration with other relevant projects in Save the Children and externally. In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: TBD

Matrix Line: TBD

Staff Directly Reporting to this Role: 13: 1 Clinical Maternal Newborn Health Specialist, 2 District Coordinators, 1 Quality Improvement Coordinator, and 9 Project Officers

Budget Responsibilities: Yes, primarily accountable for the budget

Role Dimensions: Works very closely with the MEAL Manager, Field Managers as well as TA advisers and project teams. External representation of SCI in meetings that are relevant to this project with donor, partners and relevant line ministries.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project Management:

• Overall leadership and management of the program delivery, budget, staff, and other resources, ensuring that the project delivers its intended objectives on time, on budget, and with quality across all implementation areas.
• With support from the Clinical Maternal Newborn Health Specialist and technical teams from Save the Children, and in collaboration with government institutions, ensure that the project is implemented in line with global and national quality standards, as well as Save the Children’s common approaches as relevant.
• Ensure clear understanding of project objectives, results framework, and methodologies is fully understood among the project team and partners.
• Ensure that the project is fully and effectively managed and updated in the PRIME system; and is implemented using the SCI Program Management Methodology tools as relevant.
• Facilitate integration and synergy with other Save the Children programs as appropriate.
• Ensure that the project meets all key performance indicators (KPIs) defined by Save the Children, with respect to delivery, quality, and compliance.
• Work closely with MEAL Manager to embed MEAL framework, plan, tools, and systems into all project activities, promoting a culture of learning and regular review sessions.
• Regularly identify, manage, and monitor risks to the project, developing mitigation plans when needed, and monitoring progress.
• Prepare timely, accurate, and quality project reports and documentation in line with Save the Children and donor protocols.
• Provide regular mentoring, monitoring, and support to the partners in collaboration with Save the Children’s partnership team.

Human Resources Management:

• Regularly assess human resource needs of the project and lead staff recruitment as necessary.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to build cohesive and high-performing project teams, ensuring adherence to staff performance, development, and feedback processes.
• Ensure project team members and partners comply with Save the Children’s policies, protocols, and procedures.

Financial Resources Management:

• Responsible for managing the project budget, assets, equipment, and materials, ensuring compliance with financial and procurement policies.
• Ensure project team and partners have a clear understanding of budgets, review spending plans quarterly, and address variances.
• Review and approve monthly cash forecasts, procurement plans, and financial forecasts, in line with donor and organizational requirements.
• Lead monthly project review meetings to address financial performance against the budget.

Representation and Coordination with External Stakeholders:

• Maintain positive relationships with relevant government agencies and stakeholders, providing regular updates and inviting their participation in monitoring activities.
• Engage in meetings and events with government officials, interagency coordination platforms, and technical exchanges to strengthen collaboration and avoid duplication.
• Collaborate with the advocacy/communications team to ensure an integrated approach to advocacy and program work.
• Develop and implement a communication strategy for external and internal stakeholders.
• Participate in field office meetings facilitated by Field Managers to review project progress and discuss solutions to challenges.

General:

• Deliver high quality results in line with the terms of reference agreed in advance.
• Comply with all relevant Save the Children Sierra Leone policies and procedures with respect to child protection, gender, health and safety, equal opportunities, and other relevant policies.
• Any other task as designated or assigned by his/her line manager.
• Submit monthly work plans and relevant documents to line manager as required.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS

Undergraduate degree in the health sector or other relevant subject

EXPERIENCE and SKILLS 

• At least 5 years of experience managing complex development projects across multiple geographic locations, preferably in the health sector.
• At least 3 years of experience managing complex projects with an INGO.
• Substantial experience working in collaboration with national and local government agencies.
• Demonstrated experience in project budget management, monitoring, phasing, and reviews.
• Experience managing staff teams, preferably across multiple geographic locations, including training, mentoring, teambuilding, and performance management.
• Excellent oral and written skills. Proficiency in writing technical and programmatic reports that document program directions and results.
• Proven technical skills in program design, supervision, monitoring, evaluation.
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organize a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities.
• Strong computer skills (i.e. Word Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint).
• Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure; and to meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills with managing multicultural teams.

Strong experience and skills in understanding and integrating gender equality and inclusion into all project activities, external/partner relations, and team management.

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.