Current Opportunities at Amref Kenya

JOB PURPOSE

• The Early Childhood Development Technical Officer will be responsible for the delivery and monitoring of quality ECD interventions, and provide Technical Assistance to MoH and County Departments of Health in developing and strengthening the implementation of ECD services.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Technical support to program implementation
• Support to ECD programme development and planning
• Work with the MoH in the development and integration of the Nurturing Care module in the Community Maternal and Newborn Health (CMNH) curricula
• Work with the MoH to digitize and deploy the CMNH modules
• Provide Technical Assistance to County Departments of Health on functionality and coordination of Children Advisory Committees (CACs)
• Support capacity building of CACs representatives on nurturing care framework to integrate within Early Childhood Development (ECD)
• Collaborate with ecosystem players and the Community Health Units for Universal Coverage (CHU4UHC) platform to develop an ECD integration into Primary Healthcare (PHC) resource
• Support Mentorship and Coaching sessions to develop integrated Nurturing care for ECD in PHC resource
• Support scale-up of ECD interventions within counties of implementation of CHU4UHC platform members
• Support stock-taking process of nurturing care for ECD activities

Partnership and networking

• Map out stakeholders in the ECD sector
• Collaborate with ecosystem players to disseminate ECD policy documents in counties of implementation
• Support MoH to set ECD agenda at the MNH and PHC technical working groups
• Participate in multi-sectoral stakeholder forums on ECD
• Actively participate in the planning, implementation and supervision of ECD initiatives with other partners

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Support tracking and reporting of key nurturing care for Early Childhood Development indicators within Primary Healthcare at county and national ECD workstreams and forums
• Document successes, lesson learnt and challenges in implementation.
• Prepare project activity reports as required, including monthly, quarterly and annual reports
• Conduct regular field visits to project beneficiaries in collaboration with key stakeholders to monitor progress

Knowledge Management

• Support nurturing care for Early Childhood knowledge and evidence generation and packaging to inform Primary Healthcare initiatives for ECD
• Actively participate in knowledge sharing forums on Nurturing Care for ECD to share learnings generated from the program
• Support inclusion of ECD interventions in the electronic community health information system (eCHIS) and the Afya Nyumbani Dashboard
• Support dissemination, learning and knowledge exchange platforms including Committees of Practice (CoPs) targeting ECD in the primary healthcare space.
• Support the Council of Governors to review and post ECD knowledge products from the program in the Maarifa Center
• Disseminate/Share emerging knowledge on ECD within the ecosystem players including CHU4UHC platform, Council of Governors and MoH
• Support MoH to amplify ECD insights and evidence generated at knowledge sharing forums
• Participate in development of case studies and human-interest stories for the project

Advocacy

• Conduct advocacy for ECD in Primary healthcare at CHU4UHC and within Children Advisory Committees
• Support advocacy for ECD in relevant policies and legislations including the PHC Act regulations
• Advocate for inclusion of ECD intervention in the national reporting systems

Admin and Financial management

• Support in day-to-day management of activity budgets including processing field imprests and other financial transactions.
• Ensure timely accounting for the use of project resources by stakeholders and communities in liaison with finance teams.

REQUIREMENTS
Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Early Childhood Development, Public Health, or a related technical field.
• At least five (05) years of experience in implementing Early Childhood Development, Public Health, and Community Health Programs.
• Experience in Early Childhood Development with a focus on public health programming is a preferred advantage.
• Proven experience working with government agencies and stakeholders at the national, county, and community levels in Early Childhood Development and Primary Healthcare.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with government representatives, for-profit private sector entities, local community organizations, donors, and other stakeholders.

Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies

• Excellent organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills
• Proficient in ICT (Information and Communication Technology)
• Effective communication skills, both oral and written
• Solid negotiation abilities
• Competent presentation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to work independently and autonomously
• Capable of performing under pressure and meeting strict deadlines
• Target-oriented
• Demonstrate self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Embraces innovation and change
• Driven to achieve impactful results
• Manages ambiguity and complexity effectively
• Collaborates well with others
• Builds and maintains professional relationships

The closing date will be December 5, 2024

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JOB PURPOSE

• The Technical Officer, Governance, Policy and Partnerships will work under the leadership of the Cluster Lead to support the strengthening of health sector governance and strategic partnerships to improve resource optimization, equity and quality in the respective counties’ health system.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Technical delivery of Governance and Accountability to ensure quality delivery and synergies with the other components of the programme at the county level.
• Technical delivery of health systems accountability including increased citizen’s participation in health decision making at the county level.
• Technical delivery of initiatives to build the capacity of counties on legislation and policy development,implementation and review.
• Technical delivery of initiatives to strengthen county health coordination and strengthening of partnerships at the county level

Guiding program design:

• Represents the project at the county meetings, advocates for project strategies collaborationsand best practices.
• Develops and negotiates effective working relationships/consensus and agreements with county stakeholders.
• Plans, organizes, and participates in capacity development activities to support leadership and governance interventions, through participatory engagement through the provision of advice, technical assistance, training workshops, and meetings, as well as supports the development of related materials, and information kits.
• Work closely with other technical teams in supporting project activities at different level.
• Collaborate and coordinate with the County Health Department, community leaders and other local stakeholders in implementation of PHC (Primary Health Care) as guided.
• Provide technical leadership and managerial support in the area of UHC, ensuring that PHCspecific activities are carried out efficiently and effectively.
• Keep project accurate records and prepare reports periodically.
• Support county program staff to design programs and projects.
• Help define the approach to teaming/partnering with other organizations.
• Performs other duties as required

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education, Experience & Competencies

• At least 4 years of Public Health experience, 2 of which must be in managing, complex technical service delivery programs of similar scope and dollar value.
• At least a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Public Health, Medicine, Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• A thorough knowledge of the devolved health system in Kenya, experience working with county management teams is highly desired.
• Working knowledge of USAID policies and procedures.
• Experience recruiting, forming, and successfully managing teams and ensuring the quality of their products.
• Demonstrated success in multicultural environments is required.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English required.