“What are we aiming at?” That’s the question our first president, Daniel Coit Gilman, asked at his inauguration in 1876. What is this place all about, exactly? His answer: “The encouragement of research . . . and the advancement of individual scholars, who by their excellence will advance the sciences they pursue, and the society where they dwell.” Gilman believed that teaching and research go hand in hand-that success in one depends on success in the other-and that a modern university must do both well. He also believed that sharing our knowledge and discoveries would help make the world a better place. After 140 years, we haven’t strayed from that vision. This is still a destination for excellent, ambitious scholars and a world leader in teaching and research. Distinguished professors mentor students in the arts and music, humanities, social and natural sciences, engineering, international studies, education, business, and the health professions. Those same faculty members, and their colleagues at the university’s Applied Physics Laboratory, have made us the nation’s leader in federal research and development funding every year since 1979. That’s a fitting distinction for America’s first research university, a place that revolutionized higher education in America.
- Job Type: Full Time
- Qualification: MBA/MSc/MA
- Experience: 8 years
- Location: Abuja
- Job Field: NGO/Non-Profit , Project Management
Responsibilities
- Provide technical expertise throughout the project to ensure technical quality of RMNCH activities and ensure integration with interventions in facilities at all PHC levels.
- Provide and facilitate mentoring and capacity strengthening at PHC facility level to health care workers/providers to meet nationally defined quality standards.
- Collaborate with healthcare providers, local authorities, community members and project team members to identify PHC service delivery issues that impede reaching quality standards, that in turn affect uptake of services; collaboratively propose innovative solutions to address key bottlenecks and challenges to attain strengthened quality of care at all PHC levels.
- Provide technical assistance to conduct health facility assessments and mapping, stakeholder dialogues, strengthening referral systems, and facility supportive supervision.
- Collaborate with all local stakeholders, the MOH, community leaders and other partners such as networks of health facilities (including where appropriate private sector providers), to ensure project activities are responsive to serve users and are in line with national priorities.
- Identify training needs for healthcare providers and assist in the design and implementation of measures to address those needs.
- Develop and/or update evidence-based training materials, standards, job aids, and curricula, supervisory systems needed for implementation of the Project to meet the needs of USAID and State Governments of Nigeria.
- Support the design of tailored capacity strengthening plans for local partners and implement systems for joint assessments, mentoring and monitoring improvements.
- Provide technical oversight to sub-partners as needed and ensure they can deliver on project scope.
- Work closely with the Technical Director and other technical team members on setting project priorities and aligned responses to requests for support from local government.
- Provide technical inputs to the development of work plans, project monitoring including routine reporting and other reporting requirements as requested, to ensure timely implementation and compliance to the requirements and regulations of the award.
- Work with M&E staff to implement a plan to track data and use data to inform project adjustments or course corrections in implementation.
- Supervise and mentor technical and program staff direct reports, manage performance and provide timely feedback.
- Collaborate with all local stakeholders and implementing partners, especially the Government of Nigeria and other US and international implementing partners, to ensure all activities conform to the requirements and regulations.
- Maintain excellent relationships with USAID, Government of Nigeria, in-country stakeholders.
- Actively participate in relevant technical advisory/working groups and professional forums representing Jhpiego.
- Document successes, lessons learned and implementation challenges, and author/co-author abstracts, presentations, and articles for journals and conferences.
Required Qualifications
- Advanced degree in nursing, health sciences, public health, or a related field.
- At least 8 years’ experience in quality improvement in at least one of these areas: Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, integrated health programming, health systems strengthening, PHC.
- Experience working with and capacitating local sub-grantees, and knowledge of capacity development approaches for locally led development.
- Experience working with the Government of Nigeria, demonstrating a strong understanding of structure, priorities, and policies.
- Familiarity with USAID’s administrative, management and reporting procedures and systems.
- Excellent communication skills and strong interpersonal and supervisory skills, including the demonstrated ability to lead, mentor and coach technical staff.
- Strong analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think and plan strategically.
- Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships with USAID, host-country counterparts and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs, CSOs, and the private sector
- Expertise in research to practice—identifying and adapting best practices to specific project contexts
- Excellent verbal, written interpersonal and presentation skills in English.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
- Ability to travel nationally to project sites.
