Jobs in West-Africa At The MDG Centre West Africa:
The MDG Centre was established in July 2004 by the Earth Institute at Columbia University and the UN Millennium Project with a broad purpose of assisting countries to develop operational strategies for achieving the MDGs, and to support their implementation at both local and national levels.

In early 2006, The MDG Centre reorganised to established two sub-regional centres covering East and Southern Africa (based in Nairobi) and West and Central Africa (based in Bamako). The MDG Centre West and Central Africa (WCA) is currently work in the following countries: Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal and is rapidly expanding to other countries in the region.

The West Africa MDG Centre focuses on two complementary scales:

•  At the national level, provide support to national Governments to develop Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-based national strategies and plans;
•  At the sub national level, assist local governments to develop and implement MDG-based local development plans and strategies and assist pilot Millennium Villages Project (MVP) sites and Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) to achieve MDGs at local level

Description Of Job

The MVP Health Sector
The MVP health model is based on provision of an essential package of services to rural populations that are extremely poor, have limited and often unsatisfactory interactions with formal health care systems, incur high opportunity cost to health service utilization (even when services are free), and have limited means of transport.

Achieving sustained improvements in health outcomes therefore requires clinical services that are available, accessible, appropriate, and acceptable to all villagers. Also necessary are proximity interventions that target families in their homes, build trust and ownership throughout the community, and address cultural beliefs and socio-economic and behavioral barriers to care.

Community Health Worker system in MVP
The Community Health Workers (CHW) program forms an integral part of delivery of health care in the MVs.  It entails the delivery of a basic, integrated package of health services at the household by a cadre of professional community health workers. Central to the MVP CHW system strategy are:

•  a strong management & supervision of system  in which a qualified and trained staff is fully dedicated to the management of the program operations, while a team of experienced or senior CHWs are assigned to directly supervise the CHWs in households and the community; and
•  a mobile electronic health (m/e-health) platform which enables real-time reporting of household data for decision-making, while providing decisional support to CHWs, supervisors, and managers.

Job Summary and Reporting
The goal of the position is to oversee the Community Health Worker (CHW) program activities in MVP West and Central Africa. Reporting to the Regional Health advisor as part of a team of health sector specialists the regional CHW program coordinator will work to ensure smooth delivery of community-based health interventions, including streamlining of all community-based health activities, community engagement, optimization of the program’s m/e-health applications, and policy advocacy.

Duties and responsibilities

Program planning

•  Develop and execute program wide work plans based on thorough operational reviews
•  Advise site teams in developing and executing site-specific program work plans
•  Plan and organize regional or international CHW program workshops as required
•  Ensure synchronization of MVP CHW program strategies with national planning

Material development/review

•  Adapt training materials and job aids with good health care practices
•  Support site teams in developing site-specific management and evaluation tools
•  Work with m/e-health technical teams to improve program performance monitoring tools
•  Review all program related materials and communications for accuracy and relevance

Training / Capacity building

•  The regional CHW program coordinator will advise and/or assist site teams in:
•  Training of managers/supervisors in CHW management and supervision
•  Support in training, supervising, equipping, and managing CHWs
•  Integration of health programmatic priorities in CHW program activities
•  Support to national CHW programs

Supervision, monitoring, evaluation
The regional CHW program coordinator will oversee program activities to:

•  Ensure complete coverage in household visits by CHWs in all sites
•  Improve and maintain high quality of care at the household
•  Establish appropriate and sustainable CHW supervisory and management systems
•  Guide m/e-health implementation in the community
•  Strengthen overall CHW program and personnel performance monitoring system
•  Data utilization for decision-making
•  Track and monitor program indicators
•  Optimize vital events (births, deaths, pregnancies) reporting and data quality
•  Ensure routine utilization of household data for decision-making
•  Trouble-shoot all program-related issues to ensure seamless functionality across sites

Research and CHW policy advocacy

•  Compile and organize program field data for research purposes
•  Review both field data  and prior literature to identify areas of policy-relevant research
•  Develop, carry out, and report on operational research projects
•  Work with MDG Center and NY teams to develop research protocols
•  Ensure CHW program best practices are anchored within national and local health systems
•  Advise national governments and other partners on CHW program initiatives and scale-ups

Reporting/ documenting

•  Assist the site team in cataloging all program activities
•  Maintain an organized record of all program wide activities across all sites
•  Report on operational progress and outstanding issues
•  Report on attended meetings, workshops, and conferences

Meetings, workshops, conferences

•  Attend program monitoring meetings and discuss progress
•  Participate in other meetings, workshops, and conferences as deemed necessary with the Regional Water and Sanitation team, governmental and non-governmental organizations in Health in countries where MVP is being implemented to contribute to the achievement of  the MDG Goal in Provision of Universal Health;

Performance Indicators

•  Full cadre of CHW team (managers, supervisors, CHWs, TBAs, etc) recruited and trained
•  CHW team performance assessment conducted at least once a year
•  At least 90% of households receiving on-time routine visits at all sites
•  All vital events (births, deaths, pregnancies) reported accurately and timely
•  At least 90% of reported pregnancies delivered in clinic
•  Household service and data quality audited at least twice a year
•  Government and/or community engagement activities fully executed as planned
•  Program activity and trip reports completed and submitted as per work plans

Qualification Required & Experience

•  Master’s degree in public health, education, or related field
•  Five to ten (5-10) years working experience with substantial experience designing, implementing, or evaluating CHW programs
•  Training and/or experience in program design and implementation oversight
•  Strong decision making and problem solving skills
•  Good quantitative skills and research skills.
•  Ability to multi-task and work independently
•  Team player / excellent communication and interpersonal skills
•  Willingness to work long hours and under time pressure
•  Expertise in behavior change, participatory education methods, and community development
•  Proficiency in computer skills.
•  Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and French;
•  Willingness  to travel between 30-50% of the time in the region,

How To Apply For The Job

Terms of offer
CIP/MDG Center offers a regionally competitive salary with an excellent benefits package. The employment contract is for a period of one year with the possibility of renewal.

CIP/ MDG prides itself on its collegial, supportive and gender sensitive working environment and believes that staff diversity promotes excellence. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applications
Applicants should apply by email, sending a cover letter summarizing their relevance to this position, a full C.V. names and contact information of three referees knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to:

ibrahim.tounkara@mdgwca.org  

With a copy to:

recruitment@mdgwca.org

“Application for Regional CHW Project Coordinator MDG-WCA” should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email message.

Applications will be considered until 25th July 2012 or until the position is filled.

Only short-listed applicants meeting the above requirements will be contacted.
We invite you to learn more about us at:

www.mdgwca.org
www.millenniumpromise.org,
www.unmillenniumproject.org
www.mdgwca.org

Closing Date: 12th October, 2012