I-TECH Malawi
I-TECH Malawi has been privileged to provide technical support to the Government of Malawi Ministry of Health (MoH), since 2008, through seconded senior Technical Assistants, Programme Officers and Public Health Fellows. The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) was established in 2002 at the University of Washington in Seattle. I-TECH is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Global HIV and TB (CDC-DGHT) under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
I-TECH Malawi wishes to recruit a highly qualified and experienced person to fill the following position:
Senior Program Officer – HIV Care and Treatment
Position Overview
The position provides biomedical and management expertise to the Care & Treatment Section at the Department of HIV, STI and Viral Hepatitis (DHA) at the Ministry of Health in Lilongwe, Malawi. The position supports the established core functions of the DHA, including formulation of national policy, resource mobilization, coordination of district implementation, health system strengthening, capacity building and quality assurance. The position holder reports to the DHA Director and Senior Technical Assistant at the DHA and works alongside colleagues from MOH and other partners.
Duties and Responsibilities
Formulation of national policies (25%)
1. Support the DHA team with regular review and update of national policies and protocols based on local and international evidence, normative guidance, and implementation experience.
2. Liaise with WHO and other international experts and synthesize recommendations for review by the relevant technical working groups.
3. Maintain up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the relevant scientific literature.
4. Establish and maintain a local knowledge base and repository of policy relevant information that is easily accessible to all DHA program staff.
5. Build the DHA program officers’ capacity in evidence-based policy development.
6. Contribute to the development, execution, analysis, and dissemination of relevant implementation research projects.
Resource mobilization and grant management (20%)
1. Contribute to the development of evidence-based funding applications, grant negotiations to support the national HIV Care & Treatment program.
2. Provide technical expertise in the development of implementation plans and associated performance monitoring tools.
3. Build MOH capacity in high-quality reporting and compilation of progress updates, both internally and to external donors.
Coordination of district program implementation (25%)
1. Build DHA capacity for the development of high-quality work plans, budgets, and expenditure reports for the Care & Treatment Program.
2. Assist the Care & Treatment team with coordinating implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) and all relevant national guidelines and standard operating procedures.
3. Work closely with local and international partners to ensure efficient, sustainable, and high-quality service delivery in all districts.
4. Support integration of HIV prevention, treatment, and support services into TB, STI, MNCH, SRH and community health services, consistent with the National Health Services Strategic Plan.
5. Assist the DHA in the implementation of a national clinical mentoring program in collaboration with our implementing partners to ensure quality of treatment, care, and support services countrywide.
6. Support coordination of supportive site supervision, coach program supervisors and participate in ad-hoc mentorship during supportive site supervision.
Health system strengthening (10%)
1. Support the DHA in the decentralization of services and in the development and implementation of appropriate, sustainable service delivery models to increase access and retention to care.
2. Develop systems for technical support services such as Lab support, referral systems, stock management and drug security, HIV commodities forecasting and quantification, monitoring, and evaluation for the national Care & Treatment program.
Capacity building and quality assurance (20%)
1. Mentor the DHA team in the development of high-quality training and mentorship materials (pre-service & in-service).
2. Coach department and district trainers in effective delivery of content and facilitation skills.
3. Improve the capacity of DHA officers and district program coordinators to review performance with routine program data and improve quality through use of evidence and data.
Other expectations
1. Be familiar with I-TECH program standards.
2. Other duties as assigned by supervisor.
REQUIREMENTS
Qualifications
1. Qualified Clinician Medical Doctor or Clinical Officer)
2. Master’s degree in public health, HIV management or related field
Work experience
3. At least 3 years post qualification experience in clinical HIV service delivery and program coordination.
4. Experience and knowledge of HIV prevention and care activities.
5. In-depth understanding of the Malawi biomedical HIV programs and quality of care.
6. A minimum of 3 years experience in coordinating and implementing a national public health program.
Knowledge and skills
1. Strong organizational and planning skills
2. In-depth knowledge and understanding of HIV biomedical and programmatic scientific literature.
3. Self-starter with excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills in English.
4. Ability to work constructively in a multicultural, multidisciplinary setting with a wide array of experts in the field.
5. Proficient user of information technology (MS office applications, scientific databases, statistical packages)
Method Of Application
Applications with Curriculum Vitae (CV), three traceable referees and relevant copy certificates should be emailed to: [email protected]
Deadline for receiving applications is 14th November 2023. I-TECH Malawi, an equal opportunity employer, appreciates all applications. However, only shortlisted candidates will be acknowledge