State Technical Officer

Malaria Consortium is recruiting for a State Technical Officer to join our team in Kano State.

Job purpose

To provide technical and management support for demonstrating implementation at scale of the Continuous Quality Improvement model of malaria diagnosis and case management of severe malaria in Kano state.

Scope of work

The position holder will support the project activities at the state level including on-site training and supportive supervision for External Quality Assurance on microscopic malaria diagnosis and severe malaria, malaria commodity supply chain management, and annual hospital assessments.

Key working relationships

The position holder will report to the Project Director and work closely with the State Ministry of Health (SMoH), the State Malaria Elimination Programme (SMEP), public and private hospitals, partners, and other stakeholders in Kano to deliver the project's expected deliverables.

Key accountabilities:

Technical contributions (70%)

• Organize and coordinate a baseline assessment on malaria diagnosis and case management of severe malaria in public and private hospitals
• Coordinate the planning and roll-out of onsite training for severe malaria case management using injectable artesunate to a team of health service providers comprising of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists
• Work with MC’s Supply Chain/Commodity Manager and Project Director to develop a procurement and distribution plan on malaria commodities such as injectable artesunate,  malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs), microscopy, and laboratory supplies
• Coordinate implementation of periodic supportive supervision on EQA for malaria microscopy and severe malaria case management
• Work with the Severe Malaria Specialist to support the conduct of annual hospital assessments to measure levels and trends in health systems readiness and quality of malaria case-management practices including EQA
• Organize feedback meetings to deliver hospital assessment findings to participating public and private hospitals
• Work with the Severe Malaria Specialist to support the establishment/strengthening of hospital quality improvement (QI) teams
• Organize post-assessment supportive follow-up visits to assess whether action QI plans have resulted in any corrective measures and quality improvement processes at hospitals
• In collaboration with SMEP, organize and coordinate an External Competency Assessment for Malaria Microscopy (ECAMM) for laboratory supervisors and reference laboratory technicians in the state
• As needed, assist in obtaining ethical approval for operational and/or implementation research of the project
• Represent MC on malaria Technical Working Groups (TWGs) and other relevant health coordinating committees at the state level with the approval of the State Team Lead
• Liaise with the SMEP, SMoH, partners, and other stakeholders for successful implementation of EQA/CQI activities in Kano state

Project management (20%)

• Contribute and work with the relevant personnel to prepare all relevant project start-up and planning tools on time
• Contribute to project monitoring as well as generation of information from periodic evaluation activities to promote learning and inform malaria case management practices
• Prepare and submit quarterly project activity reports to the Project Director
• Contribute to project exit strategy as part of project design and ensure inclusion of relevant activities to promote sustainability within the workplan and smooth transition of the project to  the state government

Technical performance management and quality assurance (10%)

• Contribute to the roll-out of project activities that meet MC’s technical quality standards
• Participate in learning activities to facilitate the capture, documentation, and sharing of experiential and lesson learning
• Document evidence and best practices related to the project

Person specification

Qualifications and experience:

• Degree in Medical, Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory, Public Health, Health Policy, Epidemiology, or another relevant specialty is a minimum requirement
• A minimum of 3-5-years’ experience in a clinical or public health settings
• Excellent project planning, management, and monitoring & evaluation skills
• A good understanding of the Nigerian health systems
• Excellent written and spoken English

Work-based skills and competencies:

• Technical knowledge and skills in malaria programme
• Familiar with public health principles
• Familiar with monitoring and evaluation of public health programmes
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills

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.

This is a fixed term contract for the period of 12 months.

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