Malaria Advisor - Sierra Leone Strengthening Integrated Health Servic

Malaria Advisor - Sierra Leone Strengthening Integrated Health Services Activity (SIHSA)

IMA World Health, a member of Corus International, is seeking applications for the Malaria Advisor for the anticipated 5 year $25-50 million USAID-funded Strengthening Integrated Health Services Activity (SIHSA) in Sierra Leone.

SIHSA's goal is to contribute to the Government of Sierra Leone's overarching goal of improving the health of adolescents, pregnant and postpartum women, and children less than five years old. SIHSA's objectives are 1) improve the quality of family planning, maternal newborn child and adolescent health, and malaria services sustainably; 2) promote adoption of crucial health behaviors, and 3) strengthen the stewardship and governance of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, both at central and district levels, so it is better prepared to plan, budget, allocate resources and monitor health programs. SIHSA seeks to promote the integration of health services, including malaria services, to rapidly scale-up evidence-based interventions to address preventable causes of maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent morbidities and mortality. SIHSA seeks to demonstrate innovative models to catalyze community-driven solutions and show models to promote private sector engagement.

Corus International was formed through the strategic merger of IMA World Health (operating as a public health organization since 1960), and Lutheran World Relief (operating as a livelihoods organization since 1945), and today includes the smaller entities of CGA Technologies, Ground Up Investing, and Farmers Market Coffee. Corus International works in over 20 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, with a primary focus on health, livelihoods, and emergency response.

Today, IMA offers extensive expertise in managing and implementing highly successful and complex donor-funded programs in nutrition, maternal and child health, health systems strengthening (HSS), malaria, HIV/AIDS, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). IMA has managed an average of $100 million annually over the last four fiscal years, through grants and contracts from FCDO, USAID, BHA, CDC, World Bank, the Global Fund, UNDP, MCC, and private donors.

Based in Freetown, the Malaria Advisor will provide overall technical leadership, strategic support and operational oversight for the project on malaria-related activities. S/he will ensure malaria awareness, prevention and treatment interventions are programmed in conjunction with MNCAH activities.

The Malaria Advisor will be based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Actual hiring is contingent upon successful agreement award and USAID approval. Sierra Leonean nationals and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Duties:

• Provide technical leadership for malaria related activities within the wider project, including diagnosis, and treatment, overseeing facility- and community-based, integrated service delivery strategies. Specifically, support innovative ways of integrating malaria activities into existing facility and community health programs and provide technical leadership to increase access, use, quality, and integration of malaria services.
• Support key malaria intervention areas including distribution of and use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) (including continuous distribution and innovative distribution strategies), intermittent preventative treatment for pregnant women, vector control, and integrated case management of severely ill children and pregnant women.

• Provide strategic and technical support to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in policy development and malaria interventions as requested.
• Identify and implement appropriate strategies to address service delivery gaps.

• Lead the formulation of innovative approaches for scale up of targeted services in fragile and complex settings.

• In collaboration with the MEL Director, monitor malaria activities based on the monitoring and evaluation framework and assess whether the expected results were obtained.
• Provide regular reports to the Technical Director and the programmatic and technical personnel, including successes, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Work closely with partners to plan activities and respond to requests to support local partners and USAID. Liaise with other organizations and projects working in malaria control and prevention.
• Promote and support the development and sharing of best practices and lessons learned with key stakeholders (MOH, technical and financial partners, and other employees).

Qualifications:

• Master's Degree or higher in public health, international development or a closely related field is required; a medical doctor is strongly preferred.

• 7 - 10 years of senior-level experience in malaria programming in Sierra Leone or sub-Saharan Africa, including the design and implementation of the programs.
• Experience with behavior change communications strategies and activities to improve malaria outcomes.
• Knowledge of U.S. government health initiatives and related reporting requirements and funding parameters.
• A working knowledge of PMI indicators and the Government of Sierra Leone Malaria Control Strategic Plan.
• Demonstrated ability to work in concert with team, partner organizations, and key government stakeholders to achieve results; experience in partnership building especially with the Government of Sierra Leone, USAID, NGOs and private sector a plus.
• Proven technical knowledge in malaria, including familiarity with project indicators, quantitative and qualitative data to monitor overall project performance.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (including in making presentations); high degree of political savvy in interacting with senior government and civil society stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, interpersonal, team management, leadership, and decision-making skills, including the ability to communicate across cultures effectively and respectfully.
• Excellent English written and oral communication skills.