Public Health Specialist

Malaria Consortium is recruiting for a Public Health Specialist  to join our team in Abuja Country Office.

Job purpose

The post holder will work closely with the Senior Country Technical Coordinator to support the technical design, planning, coordination and implementation of projects and programmes in the Nigeria Office portfolio, and line manage the Research and Knowledge Management Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for LLIN Campaign.

Scope of work

The Public Health Specialist will work closely with the Senior Country Technical Coordinator (SCTC) to support programme design, planning, implementation and epidemiological field activities, including technical inputs in development of protocols, data management, analysis, interpretation of findings and writing of progress and scientific reports. The post-holder will follow up on technical support to facility level and community-based health service delivery programmes. S/he will actively contribute to M&E, Knowledge Management, new business development and internal capacity building for MC staff.

Key working relationships

The Public Health Specialist will work closely with the all members of MCN Technical Team, including project Technical Officers/Specialists, Operations Research/M&E Managers/Specialists/Officers, Country Commodity Manager, Country MEL Manager, project Data Analysts and Programme Managers under the mentorship of the Senior Country Technical Coordinator.  S/he will need to liaise with stakeholders such as the Federal Ministry of Health, National Malaria Elimination Programmes, State Ministry of Health and Malaria Elimination Programmes.

Key accountabilities

Technical contributions (60%)

• As part of the Senior Country Technical Team, work in collaboration with Senior Country Technical Coordinator (SCTC) to provide technical support to the portfolio of malaria consortium projects to ensure global best practices are utilized in programme design and roll out.
• Work with SCTC to support projects in MCN in the area of design, implementation and interpretation of results frameworks.
• Lead the effort of the country office in the development of plans of action for project evaluations and coordinate the evaluation of country projects
• Lead statistical analysis of research data and contribute to reports and publications to disseminate to national stakeholders
• Contribute to the planning of field activities and development of standard operating procedures
• Contribute to the design of data collection tools and database systems for the entry, storage and retrieval of epidemiological data
• Work with the Country MEL manager to complement support to projects in the development / strengthening of routine and supplementary disease surveillance systems
• Liaise with the National Malaria Elimination Programme and other health service departments responsible for health programme implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation and Health Management Information System at all levels
• Provide technical assistance in the analysis and interpretation of results from surveys conducted and surveillance systems
• Contribute to the design of technical proposals and bids
• Support the research and Knowledge Management Specialist to contribute to Malaria Consortium Knowledge Management content and strategy at National, Regional and Global levels
• Contribute to on-going operational research work across the Nigeria portfolio of projects
• Work with the MEL manager in the planning, design, and implementation of health-related surveillance systems or epidemiologic studies and participate in the development of field testing of innovative tools and approaches in surveys, rapid assessments, routine data collection and surveillance
• Support the establishment and roll-out of the digital solution hub in MCN.
• Support the identification efficiency gaps in programme implementation and suggest innovation digital solutions to address the gaps

Strategic contributions (20%)

• Support the institutionalization of MCN’s guidance for Programme Technical Quality Assurance
• Work with SCTC in strengthening and expanding the internal learning platforms within MCN and support capacity building for relevant technical staff across MC’s Nigerian portfolio on public health and disease epidemiology
• Ensure regular planning and implementation of the quarterly cross-learning forum

Programme management (15%)

• Work as part of the Nigerian Technical team to provide technical assistance to country requests
• Provide technical support to project managers in review of consultancy and donor reports to ensure compliance with MC’s technical standards
• Organize and participate in technical update meetings between projects and the CTC and follow up of actions
• Support SCTC to collate periodic Technical Assistance Forecasts from projects to develop TA forecast for the CO
• Support collation of achievement against strategic milestones from projects to generate periodic CO reports on PreS

Communication and advocacy (5%)

• Draft manuscripts as identified by the technical team for peer-reviewed journals
• Contribute to documentation of lessons learnt from the organization’s work including production of learning briefs, learning papers, general documentation and contribution to publications

Person specification

Qualifications and experience:

Essential

• Postgraduate degree in public health with focus on epidemiology/bio-statistics or demography;
• A minimum of 12 years’ post-graduate working experience in public health; with a medical background
• Substantial experience in the development, implementation, monitoring, review, documentation, reporting and dissemination of public health interventions.  
• Mid-level management experience in planning and implementing large sized health projects in Nigeria or sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience working on maternal and child health programmes, including community health delivery

• Extensive experience in research design and implementation
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Flexibility and ability to work independently
• Full professional proficiency in English (written and spoken) required
• Committed to Malaria Consortium’s mission and values

Desirable

• Experience managing donor grants or contracts such as BMGF, DFID, GFATM or USAID/PMI.
• Demonstrable skills in manuscript writing for peer-reviewed journals

Work-based skills:

Essential

• Significant knowledge in communicable disease control and child health
• Good technical knowledge of malaria control
• Excellent programme management skills, with proven ability to implement high quality projects on time and within budget
• Ability to remain compliant with organisational and donor policies
• Ability to manage and prioritise high workload and multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines
• Expert user of data analysis and geospatial mapping softwares, including STATA, R, SPSS, QGIS etc
• Familiarity with DHIS2 and ability to use other databases for data management
• Excellent writing and presentation skills in English
• Excellent problem solving skills
• Capable of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel
• A team player, with a friendly attitude
• Proactive and takes initiative
• Results-oriented work ethic

Desirable

• Excellent advocacy skills, and comfortable being a strong advocate for the programme

We need to keep beneficiaries safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to safeguarding. Please find our Code of Conduct, Safeguarding Policy and Privacy Notice here.

Due to the nature of this role we will be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis and the role might be filled and closed before the closing date. Early applications are encouraged.

To apply for this position you will need to have the right to work in Nigeria.