Mother and Child Health Program Manager

Knowledge:

• Degree in a health profession or related field (e.g. Public Health, Nursing, Medicine, Health Education, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, etc).
• Excellent command of the Project Cycle Management approach (logical framework, tools for monitoring activities, measuring indicators, and evaluation)
• Excellent command of English language (working language)
• Helpful to have knowledge of other languages including Lao and French
• Preferred: strong public health background (bachelor’s or master’s) with a focus on community health and/or reproductive health or maternal & child health
• Preferred: background in disability and/or rehabilitation

Skills

• At least 4 years experience in project development, especially in project monitoring evaluation as well as strategic planning
• Knowledge, experience and willingness to engage in skills transfer, capacity building and pedagogical methodologies
• Knowledge and experience in designing and implementing training programs and/or awareness campaigns, particularly in rural settings and/or geared towards vulnerable/ethnic groups
• Understanding of Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) and Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey methodology a plus
• Strong leadership, supervisory and people management experience and skills
• Capacity to provide and communicate a coherent strategy and vision
• Computer literate (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.)
• Excellent writing skills (English and possibly French)
• Working experience in Lao PDR or similar experience in another developing/Southeast Asian country is an asset

 Personal Qualities

• Ability to adapt to the Laotian context
• Mature and diplomatic, but with a strong will
• Ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with a variety of colleagues
• Creative
• Interest in working in rural and remote areas
• Excellent inter-cultural communication and problem-solving skills
• Able to integrate easily and to negotiate effectively with local partners
• Patience
• Strong motivation to adhere to HIB’s vision: a world in which all forms of disability can be prevented, cared for or integrated, and in which the rights of people with disabilities are respected and applied

 

 

 

 

Country:                                Lao PDR based in Sepone

Number of Employees        The HIB Lao program includes 3 main sectors of Disability, Road Safety and UXO. The total number of employees including support staff is 105 

 Size of Team:                        9 national staff (includes 2 drivers)

 Direct Team Management: MCH project manager (TBR) 

 Indirect Team Mgmt:          Yes.  MCH project staff, and staff working in district hospitals, health centers, and Provincial Rehabilitation Center

 Budget Responsibility:        Yes 

 Contract:                               Fixed term contract           

 Other advantages            Housing and bills covered (not telephone) 

 Expected Date of Arrival:   January 15^th 2012

 Duration of Mission:            12 months

 International Travel:           Regional visits to other MCH projects, participation in regional seminars, conferences & trainings

Travel between Sites:         Travel to and within the 3 target districts in Savannakhet province, to and from Savannakhet town and Vientiane

Possibility of a couple:      Yes (but very limited work and leisure opportunities for the partner)

 Possibility of children:        No   

  

 

 

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF POSITION Lao Context             

Although the overall socio-economic and health situation of Lao PDR has improved over the years, the country is lagging behind its neighbours.  Lao PDR is ranked 133 out of 179 on the Human Development Index (HDI).  While overall poverty rates in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have dropped, there is growing inequity between the poorest and wealthiest segments of the population.  In accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, under-five and infant mortality rates are dropping (98 and 70 per 1000 live births, respectively), yet these remain much higher in the remote areas of the country.  46% of deaths occur in the first 4 weeks of life, and are most often linked to poor maternal health, unsafe delivery conditions, malnutrition and birth-related complications.  Increased rates of childhood disability exist in areas with high under-five mortality.  

Child malnutrition, which is associated with certain forms of disability, remains significant, with 37% of children under 5 years old underweight, and 40% suffering from stunting.  In rural areas, this increases to 1 out of every 2 children.  Children remain highly vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and meningitis, and from the resulting disabling consequences. 

The maternal mortality ratio, although falling, remains one of the highest in Southeast Asia, with 405 deaths per 100 000 live births, with particularly high rates in the south and south-eastern regions of the country.  In Lao PDR, 3 women die every day from birth-related complications.  For every woman who dies, another 20 survive, many with lifelong disabilities.

Essential health care and outreach services remain poor, with rural and ethnic group areas particularly affected.  In our target districts, 80% of women deliver at home or in the forest, without access to quality health care facilities or skilled attendants.

Handicap International Belgium has been working in the 3 target districts for several years, with ongoing Community-Based Rehabilitation (slated to end in December 2010), Road Safety, and UXO projects.  As a result, we have not only acquired a good understanding of these communities; we are also building trust and collaboration with community stakeholders.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT AND POSITION: Project:

A mapping activity was planned to provide further information on our target area.  The needs assessment/situation analysis focused on the 3 districts of Sepone, Nong and Vilabuly of Savannakhet province.  It was conducted at the Savannakhet provincial hospital level, in the 3 district hospitals, and in 11 health centers.  Further community needs will be assessed and analyzed once the community-centered actions begin.  

The overall objective of this project is to reduce childhood disability and its consequences.  This will be accomplished via interventions in the areas of prevention, early detection, and early intervention (mainly through Play activities and education of the mothers), with a focus during the first phase on building the capacity of the health system to address issues of childhood disability, and in a second phase building the knowledge/understanding of disability and promoting behavior change at the community level (through awareness & education campaigns, health outreach activities integrated into existing campaigns, mothers’ groups, etc.). 

This project recognizes that the most effective way to reduce the prevalence and incidence of disability is by addressing the key risk factors and causes, as well as by intervening as early as possible to minimize the consequences of impairments and disabling conditions.  Many disabilities only become evident once a child starts attending school – whereas such conditions could be treated, prevented or otherwise appropriately addressed at a much earlier stage in life, thus significantly improving the child’s chances of survival and of he/she, and his/her family, benefiting from a much greater quality of life.

We have identified 2 poles of action to optimize the impact of this project. The first pole of action is the health system.  In 2009-2010, actions were undertaken to improve diagnostic capacity, appropriate case management and follow-up/referral, and strengthen outreach to the communities, primarily through the development and implementation of a training curricula for a group of  nurses from the target health centers, district hospitals and the PRC.  The second pole of action is the community. In 2011-2013 actions will be undertaken in order to increase community knowledge and understanding of disability, to increase appropriate and accessible care and information by community providers, to promote key family behaviors, and to improve the links between the communities and the health facilities.

At the end of 2010, the Core Group will have received all the theoretical training related to detection and early intervention and the referral system will be in place. A first draft of the monitoring system is finished and the main focus will be on the practical ‘early stimulation’ sessions that will be organized on a regular basis in the target health structures with families.

The goal of this project is to produce an evidence-based, reproducible and scaleable model for effectively addressing childhood disability in resource-poor conditions, which can be appropriated by the Ministry of Health and other health NGOs.

 

 

General Objective

The Program Manager will provide overall leadership for the MCH team while guiding the national Project Manager in the fulfillment of his primary responsibilities of project implementation. S/he will also provide both methodological and technical support to the project team and our partners.  The PM should have a strong background in community health and development, with significant field experience in rural, limited-resource areas. 

In terms of methodological support, the PM will bring to bear his/her experience in project development, particularly in terms of data collection, implementation of the logical framework, monitoring of indicators, and identifying project priorities during the quarterly planning of activities.  The PM will be the lead person responsible for setting up an effective monitoring and reporting system of the project activities and indicators.  S/he will also contribute to the overall vision and strategy, and be able to guide the project staff and our partners in the fulfillment of this strategy. The goal is for the project’s management to be the responsibility of a national Project Manager, and it is the responsibility of the Program Manager to guide the development of the Project Manager’s capacity.

In terms of technical support, the PM will be responsible for ongoing capacity-building of our partners at the district and provincial level, in terms of ensuring the overall quality of project activities, such as training and supervision and outreach services.  The PM will also provide ongoing support to the trained health staff in the development and implementation of community-based activities, and as such, should be prepared to play an active operational role in the field.  The PM should feel comfortable facilitating capacity-building through “learning by doing”. 

Starting in 2012, activities within the communities will be taking place.  These will include new activities with mother’s groups, the Lao Women’s Union, village decision-makers, as well as participation in existing activities such as vaccination drives, health education campaigns, etc.  PM will be responsible for supporting the project staff and District health actors in the development and implementation of these activities, with an eye towards sustainability and scaling-up.

                                                                         

Responsibilities

Programming Conception/Strategy

• Provide direction and guidance to the Country Director, the MCH project team and partners in the development of a sustainable and effective strategy on how to incorporate disability components into Maternal & Child Health policies, protocols and activities, taking into account the rural context and available resources.

• Contribute to the process of renewing or developing new MOUs with relevant government partners
• Adopt and integrate the rights-based approach into the project’s strategy
• Ensure that the project’s experiences and practices are capitalized
• Communicate regularly and collaborate with the Brussels-based Community Health Advisor in the development of HIB’s strategy on Maternal & Child Health
• Collaborate with the Country Director in supporting the revision of HIB’s prevention and rehabilitation program strategy

 Project Management

• With the assistance of the Project Manager and in collaboration with the partner, ensure project cycle management, with particular attention to:
  • Revising the project strategy and proposing changes to the logical framework if needed;
  • Ensuring that the quarterly planning of activities is not done in a mechanical way but that it addresses identified priorities and problems
  • Ensuring that information coming from the project’s M&E and regular measurement of indicators are properly taken into account
• Strengthen local HIB project staff and partner managerial capacity, increasing the role and responsibility of the partner in project management over time, through an advisory and collaborative approach
• Assume primary responsibility for developing an effective monitoring system
• Support project staff and partners in thinking through sustainable solutions to the problems encountered
• Prepare with teams annual and quarterly monthly planning
• Recruit and supervise project teams
• Prepare budget request and authorize expenditures for the project

 Technical Support to the capacity building of the target group

 The PM will be responsible to:

• Continuously assess the relevance of the trainings already planned and propose new trainings if needed; develop new training curricula and material and, based on needs, revise and improve existing ones.
• Develop IEC materials and health system protocols (including in the areas of prevention and referral system).
• Coordinate trainers (PRC, MCH Hospital, etc.) and, if needed, improve their skills through ToT training or capacity building. Provide or coordinate the provision of technical expertise in training sessions if needed.
• Develop a system to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of each training; participate to such evaluations if needed.
• Assist the PRC (and other partners) to conduct the on-the-job capacity building sessions with the target group; conduct the sessions if needed.
• Identify and bring in outside technical expertise for the project, as needed.

 Other technical Support

• Oversee the development of methodology and materials for the community-based activities; provide ongoing technical guidance to support their implementation and to monitor their effectiveness.
• Identify gaps and propose solutions in the existing health system, including the referral and counter-referral system as it relates to addressing childhood disability
• Implement organizational and protocol changes that facilitate more effective/efficient implementation of activities and use of resources

Monitoring and evaluation

• Responsible for developing an effective monitoring system and ensuring quality control for measuring the indicators of progress and impact of the project, and teach this concept to project staff and partners
• Actively support and advise project staff in the collection, storing and analysis of data
• Participate in the planning, management and follow up of internal/external evaluations (preparation of evaluators’ ToR, recruitment of evaluators, review of recommendations, etc.)
• Take into account the recommendations of evaluation made by external consultants and assess their implementation relevance

Networking

• Initiate new partnerships and strengthen current partnerships through meetings and collaborative activity implementation (for instance with WHO, UNICEF and the MOH at the national, provincial and district levels, and other INGOs)
• Network and develop relationships with similar projects in Laos and in the region (including but not exclusively with other HIB projects working on the Maternal and Child Health thematic), in order to draw from and capitalize on these experiences
• Identify the most pertinent fora for HIB participation in the development of national health strategy, in order to advocate for the mainstreaming of disability issues within the national health priorities

 Reporting

• Ensure that concerns or difficulties, especially those affecting the quality of activities, the achievement of projects’ result and the impact on beneficiaries are promptly reported to the Country Director
• Ensure internal reports and reports to donors and partners; in particular, review and ensure the quality of reports before final submission
• Organize the project’s capitalization and give the necessary support to ensure its realization

 

Coordination

• Develop and maintain positive and productive relationships with government partners at all levels, ensuring adequate involvement and ownership of both provincial and district level partners
• Coordinate with other INGOs working in the same sector or geographic area to ensure duplication is avoided and synergies are enhanced