Immunization Technical Advisor (GS 13 Equivalent)

Overview

Global Health Technical Professionals (GHTP) is a US Agency for International Development (USAID) program that offers early- to mid-career global health professionals the opportunity to advance their careers supporting the USAID Bureau for Global Health and its implementing partners. GHTP is helping USAID improve global health outcomes in communities around the world by building a new generation of global health technical professionals who reflect the diversity of the American people.

Credence and its partner, the Public Health Institute (PHI), are both employers for the Global Health Technical Professionals (GHTP) project which provides expertise in support of USAID global health programs. The hiring of this position will be through the PHI and as such the selected person will become a PHI employee.

Summary Statement

The world has witnessed an extraordinary 70 percent decline in child mortality over the last 50 years, and a reduction in the burden of child deaths from nearly 12 million in 1990 to 5.2 million in 2019. Maternal deaths are also falling and declines in maternal mortality are currently averaging five percent per year. Despite this progress, significant work remains in order to increase coverage of high-impact interventions, strengthen the health systems that support these interventions, and address equity gaps that are bottlenecks to ending preventable child and maternal deaths.

USAID’s Bureau for Global Health is mobilized to support countries to prevent child and maternal deaths, focusing on 25 countries where 70 percent of these deaths occur (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, and Zambia).

Seventy-five percent of the world’s unvaccinated children reside in the 25 priority countries. Immunization is a central component of USAID’s strategy to prevent maternal and child deaths. USAID is working with national governments, UNICEF, WHO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, key donors, civil society, and others to build sustainable health systems able to provide timely and safe universal coverage of life-saving immunizations to all children.

Job Requirements

USAID’s Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN), Division of Child Health and Immunization (CHI), in the Bureau for Global Health, is seeking a dynamic individual to provide technical direction to USAID’s immunization activities worldwide at the country, regional, and international levels. This position will directly contribute to one of USAID’s global health objectives getting attention at the highest levels of the Agency: Preventing Child and Maternal Deaths. Additionally, programs within MCHN also contribute to the Agency goal of combating infectious diseases

The MCHN Office serves as the Agency’s technical and policy lead on maternal and newborn health; child survival; immunization; nutrition; and environmental health, with a focus on preventing child and maternal deaths. Cross-cutting activities managed by the Office in support of this goal address private sector partnerships, social and behavior change, multilateral partnerships, gender, research, and monitoring and evaluation. The CHI Division provides technical and policy leadership, addressing the leading killers of children in the post-neonatal period. This includes treatment of pneumonia, diarrhea, and other major contributors to death, vaccine-preventable diseases, as well as emerging issues. Acting Chief, Child Health and Immunization Division will be the USAID point of contact for the Immunization Technical Advisor while he/she will work with the Immunization team leader on a daily basis.

Responsibilities

The Immunization Technical Advisor will work across USAID’s immunization portfolio and will provide: 1) Global technical support by influencing policies and programs; 2) Technical assistance to country-level immunization programs; and 3) Oversight of immunization activities within global health bureau projects.

Global Technical Support (40%)

• Participates in inter-agency and global meetings, consultations, working groups, and negotiations related to immunization, with a focus on social and behavior change, risk communication, community engagement, and demand;
• Develops presentations on USAID’s approaches, strategies, and accomplishments in immunization programs;
• Provides technical assistance for the Global Health Bureau in global discussions related to immunization with international partners; provides expertise in social behavior change;
• Keeps abreast of new developments and emerging issues that affect USAID’s health priorities, including the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), Gavi 5.0 and other global priorities;
• Supports technical planning and supports implementation of Agency-level initiatives and communications and demand activities related to immunization programs;
• Drafts briefers or other documents to summarize USAID activities and progress in immunization programs;
• Prepares and presents technical presentations at regional USAID health officers meetings and workshops as appropriate; and
• Monitors and analyzes trends and issues related to immunization and applies these analyses to global, regional and country level programs supported by USAID.

Support to Country Programs (40%)

• Joins country teams, participates in country program reviews and action plans, and serves as a technical and programmatic liaison between headquarters and country teams on immunization issues;
• Provides technical support to USAID missions in selected MCH priority countries and assists in developing immunization programmatic approaches, especially in the areas of social and behavior change;
• Participates in national assessments of health programs in order to assist host countries in sharpening their own plans and strategies to prevent child deaths through strengthening immunization programs;
• Monitors health programs through reviewing technical reports, conducting field visits, analyzing outcome and impact data and reviewing routine reports; and
• Provides immunization expertise in the design or evaluation of program activities (GH, regional bureau, or field mission) and participates in design committees and competitive reviews, as appropriate.

Provide oversight on immunization activities in Global Health Bureau projects and activities (20%).**

• Provides programming guidance related to immunization, including assisting with the preparation and/or review of strategies and project work plans across Global Health bureau projects;
• Provides technical and program oversight of immunization activities supported by USAID/GH cooperating agencies, including flagship programs managed by the MCHN Office;
• Participates in cross bureau Social Behavior Communications group;
• Facilitates the gathering of immunization data for reporting; and
• Other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned at the direction of the CHI Immunization Team Lead.

Professional Development

• Participate in professional continuing education, skills training and professional meetings to enhance relevant technical skills and career development.
• Complete and execute an Individual Learning and Training Plan and Annual Work Plan**.**

Qualifications

• Master’s degree and 7 years of relevant experience or Bachelors degree and 9 years of relevant experience in a health sciences, social science field or in a field related to international public health;
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience with two or more public health technical disciplines (such as, child health, immunization, etc.)
• Minimum of 3 years working in the field of immunization;.
• Knowledge of current issues in the areas of international health policy, research, and program implementation with special reference to immunization programs and social behavior change;
• Knowledge of IA2030 and experience working with Gavi at the country-level.
• Experience working in areas of public health programming, policy, or research, including substantial experience in social and behavior change work, with experience in international or resource-challenged settings;
• Hands-on experience designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating behavioral interventions is highly desirable;
• Ability to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate donor programs, especially for immunization programs;
• Formal training in and demonstrated understanding of theories and frameworks relating to individual behavior change and broader social responses, the evidence base for social and behavioral/communication interventions and best practices, and familiarity with the current SBC and research and evaluation literature;
• Excellent analytical, written, and oral communication skills;
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team, including cross-cultural teams;
• Ability to effectively collaborate with multiple partners including UN agencies/multilateral organizations, other bilateral donors, NGOs, universities, foundations, etc;
• Proven knowledge and experience with USAID programs, procedures, and systems for program design, monitoring, evaluation is preferred;
• Demonstrated technical leadership, policy experience, and problem-solving skills working on complex projects are required;
• French language skills preferred;
• Ability to travel internationally up to 20% time;
• US Citizenship or US Permanent Residency with the ability to obtain and maintain Facility Access required.

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