Country: Malawi
Closing date: 19 Jul 2013
The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) is a collaboration between the University of Washington and the University of California, San Francisco. It is a center in the University of Washington's Department of Global Health and has offices throughout Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. I-TECH's 700 worldwide staff work in partnership with local ministries of health, universities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), medical facilities, and other organizations to support the development of a skilled health work force and well-organized national health delivery systems. I-TECH's activities occur primarily in the technical areas of health system strengthening; health workforce development; operations research and evaluation; and prevention, care, and treatment of infectious diseases.
The primary purpose of this position is to assist in the development of the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM), a newly formed public trust mandated to provide national leadership in communicable and non-communicable epidemiological surveillance, public health research, and prevention and control of diseases of major public health importance. The PHIM will collate, analyze and interpret real time public health data to provide scientific and technical guidance to Ministry of Health (MOH) and other stakeholders for evidence informed public health policy development and in formulation of public health interventions. It shall coordinate selection, design, and implementation of proven models and best practices for the investigation and management of public health emergencies as well as piloting of innovative public health interventions in disease control and prevention. The Institute will act in an advisory role to the health sector on effective public health interventions in order to promote and protect health.
At present, the PHIM is operating within the MOH, supported by a combination of MOH and donor funding. Key immediate objectives of PHIM include defining an organizational structure and systems, transitioning current MOH systems and functions into a semi-autonomous public trust in line with the PHIM strategic plan, and identifying additional staff and resources. The MOH is recruiting a Senior Technical Assistant to facilitate the development process as well as establish systems for the functional units of the Institute.
The incumbent will provide technical support in the development of the Institute and align it with the health sector strategies. Responsibilities include technical advice in strategy development, program planning and evaluation, policy and program formulation, setting up systems for the functional units of the Institute, and assessing training needs of the Institute.
Strategic Planning: 60% * Provide high level technical and strategic advice to PHIM and MOH management to finalize and implement the PHIM 5-year Strategic Plan for 2012-2017 * Advise and facilitate the development of systems and procedures and the formulation of policies, standards and guidelines necessary for PHIM to carry out both technical and operational aspects of its strategic plan, including: - Assess existing MOH systems for public health surveillance, routine data collection and data analysis, and use for disease prevention and outbreak response, and guide development of new systems and procedures where necessary - Identify competecies required for each PHIM functional unit in order to set up systems for the same, and develop a framework to assess gaps and training needs - Advise PHIM management on operational planning in line with the strategic plan, including finalization of the 3-year work plan and annual work plans
Program Monitoring & Evaluation: 20% * Support PHIM on the development and implementation of a monitoring, evaluation and reporting framework to track performance against annual work plan and strategy * Perform expert analysis and support PHIM staff to develop technical reports and publications to advance the PHIM mission
Program Development & Management: 20% * Assist PHIM to establish strategic relationships with local, national and international organizations, as needed, to move the Institute forward * Provide techical advice to the head of PHIM in the coordination of the Institute's activities to ensure successful program implementation * Document lessons learned and, where appropriate, revise tools and plans for future rollout of the systems in the functional units * Assist PHIM in resource mobilization and proposal development
Requirements: Master's Degree in a public health discipline.
And a minimum of five years' demonstrable experience working in a public health oriented organization
- Familiarity with the functions and operations of public health institutes
- Demonstrated track record in institutional development, and strong strategic management and leadership skills
- Demonstrated skills in team management and team building
- Demonstrated track record in project management, resource gap analysis and resource mobilization
- Experience working in a public sector environment to accomplish goals and favorably influence decision making processes in a diplomatic and collaborative manner
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
- Strong interpersonal skills, and demonstrated experience building relationships with diverse stakeholders
- Ability to deliver to deadlines
How to apply:
Apply online at www.go2itech.org/employment