JOB DESCRIPTION

PATH is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. With more than 40 years of experience forging multisector partnerships and with expertise in science, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales up innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing heath challenges.

The position is located in Conakry, Guinea

PATH seeks a Senior Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Technical Advisor (TA) for the U.S. Government (USG)-funded Reaching Every At-risk Community and Household with malaria services (REACH Malaria) global project. The purpose of REACH Malaria is to provide implementation support services and technical assistance to countries to accelerate progress in comprehensive delivery of facility and community-based malaria services, including malaria case management, prevention of malaria in pregnancy (MiP), seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) and other malaria prevention. The REACH Malaria project scope includes integrated maternal newborn and child health services (MNCH) and nutrition services.

The Senior MNCH TA will support the development and execution of technical assistance strategies for Guinea that advance the quality of services during antenatal care, labor and delivery, postnatal period, and newborn care, with a focus on quality emergency obstetric and newborn care. The Senior MNCH TA will also enhance integrated management of childhood illnesses at facility and community level including malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, and nutrition. The advisor will contribute to activities to strengthen referral systems, community case management, and in-service capacity building in malaria case management, MiP, and MNCH.

PATH is seeking a highly motivated individual with strong clinical and public health skills with a focus on MNCH technical skills and public health implementation experience, significant experience in directly supporting the Ministry of Health, MNCH divisions, health facilities and other local stakeholders, robust curriculum design, training and coaching skills, and strong communication skills, including fluency in French.  Proficiency in English preferred.

Responsibilities:

• Provide overall MNCH technical leadership for the project in Guinea.

• Lead technical, management, and monitoring aspects of project activity implementation, and ensure adherence to national technical guidance and global best practices.

• Provide technical guidance to national and subnational levels in development of policies, guidelines, training materials in MNCH and participate in relevant MNCH technical working groups.

• Provide technical support for the implementation of PMI REACH Malaria activities in Guinea, with a focus on improving the quality of clinical management of labor, delivery, postnatal and care of the newborn, including emergency obstetric care.

• Support capacity strengthening for health workers at all levels of the system to effectively integrate MNCH interventions into service delivery and improve the well-being of clients, including pregnant women and children.

• Maintain current technical knowledge on, MNCH, nutrition, and other related public health topics, and manage introduction and scale-up of best practices and technical interventions

• Assist the Chief of Party and other technical advisors in developing annual work plans, budgets and performance reports.

• Contribute to the supportive supervision of technical teams in the implementation of program activities.

• Work with the MoH to actively use data for decision-making and to identify how malaria control activities and the impact can be sustained over time.

• Take on duties as may be assigned by the Chief of Party and other senior partners.

Required skills and experience: 

• Clinical degree qualification (MD, clinical officer, nursing, midwife) preferred.

• Advanced degree in reproductive health, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, epidemiology, medical public health or related field.

• At least six years of experience providing technical assistance and/or direct implementation experience of public health programs in Guinea.

• Experience designing and/or implementing integrated health programs with a focus on MNCH. Experience training and capacity building for health workers at all levels in MNCH services.

• Expertise in working with Ministries of Health and other stakeholders, donors, and partners to develop and build consensus on implementation plans and manage them to success.

• Experience working with USG funding mechanisms.

• Demonstrated experience working in coordination with international, regional, and national NGOs.

• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to interact in a culturally sensitive manner with diverse internal and external individuals.

• Critical thinker, creative problem-solver, and innovator.

• Fluency in French required, English proficiency preferred. Strong writing skills are an advantage.

• Ability to travel for an estimated 20-30% of the time.