Technical Director (Quality of Care, RMNCH and Malaria)

IRC has worked in Liberia since 1996 and is one of the largest humanitarian actors in the country. Currently the IRC works with the Ministry of Health to deliver a variety of community-based health services. The IRC also works with the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection to deliver services in Monrovia including: clinical, psychosocial, and legal services to survivors of GBV; economic empowerment programming for women; programming that increases the social networks of adolescent girls; and, gender-based violence advocacy work. The IRC has significant funding from USAID, as well as funding from other bi-lateral donors and private foundations.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The IRC seeks a Technical Director for an anticipated four-year USAID Strategic Technical Assistance for Improved Health System Performance and Health Outcomes (STAIP) contract. The STAIP activity will support the Government of Liberia’s Ministry of Health to strengthen health system performance and delivery of primary health, family planning and malaria services in public health facilities throughout 12 of Liberia’s 15 counties.

The Technical Director (TD) will lead interventions, planning and coaching to support health system strengthening for the quality of care building block. The TD will support the design and implementation of structured, data-driven, technical assistance at the county, district and facility level for improved delivery of quality reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health (RMNCH), and malaria related services for improved patient outcomes utilizing existing, country-led systems and structures as a proxy measure of HSS efforts. The intended activities under the leadership of the TD should lead to institutionalization of joint integrated supportive supervision (JISS) implementation and data use to accelerate improvement of clinical quality of care. He/she will serve as the main point of contact for all program technical RMNCH and malaria interventions, and will work with and ensure priorities are aligned with the National Malaria Control program. He/she will report to the Chief of Party and will supervise a team of technical staff.

The Technical Director will be based in Monrovia with extensive field travel to 12 counties supported under the project.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide technical oversight and ensure appropriate support for the implementation of program activities at national and county level, both at the facilities and in the community.
• Lead the development and rollout of the Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement (QA/QI) framework, policy, strategy, standards and tools in collaboration with technical advisors, covering the breadth of clinical and non-clinical RMNCH and malaria-related interventions within primary health care facilities.
• Coordinate and collaborate closely with other implementing partners in Liberia supporting malaria activities to ensure the project is effectively leveraging opportunities to support project goal, outcomes and outputs.
• Strengthen the delivery of malaria-related services by responding to gaps identified in areas of referrals, case management or malaria in pregnancy interventions.
• Establish accountability mechanisms for systematic and timely quality assurance including a system for regular collection of feedback from clients on the quality of care they received, thereby ensuring adherence to established RMNCH and malaria standards and practices.
• Lead institutionalization of JISS implementation and data use to accelerate improvement of clinical quality of care.
• Design and implement functional Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) systems conducted at the facility and county level for improved diagnostic capacity and results.
• Support with the institutionalization of health facility accreditation system to regulate delivery of quality services.
• Support the roll-out/ testing of PBF in the implementation of activities at the county-level in addition to the routine GoL system to institute a nationwide Performance Based Financing (PBF) scheme to drive quality and access of critical health services.
• Provide oversight to County Health Teams (CHTs) to ensure alignment of county-level QI/QA activities are fully synchronized with organizational QI/QA framework, standards, and practices working in collaboration with the Clinical Support Team.
• Provide case management training and continued adaptation of materials for the enhanced clinical and diagnostics supervision process.
• Provide targeted support to CHTs and District Halth Teams (DHTs) to improve review, analysis and use of verified data for decision-making at county and central level, including the institutionalization of quarterly review meetings in all counties.
• Provide targeted support to CHTs and DHTs for improved planning and targeted supervision at the district and county level.
• Work with the M&E team to develop a set of core indicators and a system for the monitoring and evaluation of QI/QA interventions.
• Work and coach a pool of designated staff at CHT and DHT build core teams of expertise in QI/QA across the supported counties.
• Lead documentation and dissemination of evidence based success stories in QI/QA for global and organization-wide learning, advocacy and increased visibility of IRC as thought leader in the field.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Medical degree, Master’s in Public Health or Epidemiology or related field.
• Minimum 10 years of progressivelyresponsibleexperienceinmalaria,maternal,childhealth,health systems strengthening or other related field;
• At least 7 years of exclusive QI/ QA experience
• Deep knowledge of Liberia’s public health systems. Knowledge of the political, social, economic, and cultural context of working globally.
• Extensive knowledge and experience in RNMCA and malaria prevention and control;
• In depth knowledge of malaria and public health principles with proven technical skills in malaria, including malaria case management;
• Mastery of knowledge of applicable US Government regulations and administrative procedures on the country specific public health system programs and projects.
• Proficient in quality of care improvement approaches, and practices, including Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans.
• Mastery of knowledge in data integrity and collection methods.
• Proven ability to lead, manage, and develop others within a matrix culture.
• Deep skills in designing, implementing and monitoring and evaluating development and intervention activities to fulfill performance objectives, including the timely implementation and reporting of donor-funded program activities in the health sector.
• Experience as QI/QA leader in leading and managing similar assignments in developing countries.
• Experience managing diverse, multi-site teams.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating organizational change with solid understanding of organizational behavior, change, and learning.
• Demonstrated experience successfully managing the implementation a variety of individual and organizational capacity development approaches to develop long-term capacity improvements.
• Experience developing capacity to manage Performance Based Financing models.
• Excellent communication skills in English, verbal as well as written.

Liberian nationals are strongly encourage to apply. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

The position is contingent upon award.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.

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