Senior PMTCT/Pediatric Technical Advisor At Sustaining Technical and Analytic Resources (STAR)

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FELLOWSHIP TITLE: Senior PMTCT/Pediatric Technical Advisor
HOST ORGANIZATION: Health Office, South Africa, United States Agency for International Development
LOCATION: Pretoria, South Africa
POSITION LEVEL: Senior Technical Advisor
STAR-P2-095

TRAVEL: 25% estimated travel

STAR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Sustaining Technical and Analytic Resources (STAR) is a project of the Public Health Institute (PHI) supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Global Health (GH) Bureau. Its purpose is twofold: (1) Through individual fellowships, STAR will help strengthen the capacity of diverse American and low-and-middle-income country (LMIC) health professionals at all levels to make innovative contributions to global health (GH); and (2) STAR will create ground-breaking opportunities for both US and LMIC GH academic institutions and other groups, including professional associations, to create systems for open-access knowledge sharing, resulting in effective partnerships. STAR’s individual and institutional participants are contributing to the development of self-sustaining systems and tools that will produce global citizens with the full spectrum of relevant health competencies. STAR is managed by the Public Health Institute and implemented in partnership with Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH).

ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP

The STAR Fellowship is a two-year global health and learning opportunity with:

• Individualized, tailored support to enhance the fellow’s achievement personal and professional goals
• Personalized learning plans and access to learning resources (courses, conferences, mentoring) based on fellow’s learning style and preferences.
• Access to broad professional networks to enhance peer learning and knowledge sharing.

FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

Background:

The USAID/South Africa (SA) Health Office (HO) manages one of the largest President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programs in the world. The Health and HIV/AIDS portfolio covers a broad range of health topics, including HIV Treatment, Care, Voluntary Counseling and Testing, Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT), Tuberculosis/HIV, HIV Prevention, and Orphans and Vulnerable Children programs. An estimated 80% of the USAID/South Africa portfolio is implemented through local organizations. These partners are tasked with reaching ambitious targets so that South Africa can reach HIV epidemic control by 2020. This requires USAID and its implementing partners to advocate for strong national health policies, quickly adapt to changing data trends, and adopt reflexive technical and organizational reforms.

Introduction:

The Senior PMTCT/Pediatric Technical Advisor (Senior Advisor) will provide technical leadership to drive programmatic improvement in pediatric care and treatment and PMTCT portfolios. The Senior Advisor will act as the technical and programmatic lead in Pediatric care with emphasis on newborn and child health issues including HIV/AIDS pediatrics and PMTCT services that includes programmatic linkages with USAID Health and PEPFAR Teams. They will provide technical support, planning, design, implementation, and evaluation expertise for the PMTCT portfolio. The Senior Advisor will be responsible for advising on technical and policy-related issues with Government Ministries, the USG interagency Health and PEPFAR team, other donors, and non-governmental organizations working in the area of maternal, newborn/child health and HIV/AIDS, with particular emphasis on HIV/AIDS pediatric care and treatment programs, as well as PMTCT which includes maternal and child health and postnatal care to newborns.

Reporting structure:

The Senior Advisor will be based in the Southern Africa Health Office. They will work closely with the Care and Treatment Team and receive technical guidance from the Care and Treatment Team Lead in the Health Office at USAID/South Africa who will serve as their onsite manager.

Essential Duties and Outcomes:

Improved technical quality of USAID/South Africa’s pediatric care and treatment and PMTCT portfolios:

• Advise PEPFAR in the areas of contact tracing and linkages, postnatal care for newborns including management of neonatal sepsis, family focused care and linkages to improve quality services to orphans and vulnerable children.
• Provide technical expertise and leadership in the scale-up of pediatric treatment and care services and PMTCT
• Collaborate with local partners and the Government of South Africa (GoSA) to provide technical guidance to pediatric HIV/AIDS and PMTCT programs.
• Ensure that clinical support referral systems are established and maintained between child health and HIV/AIDS programs to facilitate linkages to care, treatment and support including psychosocial, educational and material support for children and their family members.

Advise on technical approaches to inform management of implementing partners

• Monitor program progress, identify implementation achievements and performance problems, and advise appropriate actions in consultation with the Care and Treatment Team Lead.
• Participate in regular site visits to review program implementation. Based on the information collected during site visits, communicate findings and recommendations to the Care and Treatment Team and, as appropriate, implementing partners and government counterparts.
• Oversee/conduct appropriate analyses of relevant data in order to strengthen activities in the areas of neonatal/child health, PMTCT and pediatric HIV care and treatment; in particular, data collection, tracking and reporting efforts.
• Review performance reports to ensure that partner(s) are in compliance with bilateral government agreements, and with the performance expectations outlined in their work plan(s) and their agreement(s) with USAID.
• Ensure that implementing partners are in compliance with all relevant USAID and PEPFAR regulations and procedures.

Improve collaboration with partners, Government agencies, and stakeholders of pediatric HIV care and treatment and PMTCT programming:

• Develop collaborative relationships and facilitate frequent communication with a wide range of partners and stakeholders (the Ministry of Health, the National AIDS Commission, UN Agencies, other donors, USG interagency team, Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), NGOs and FBOs).
• Work with the Government of South Africa to build capacity of government counterparts to ensure best practices on pediatric ART and PMTCT are implemented by PEPFAR implementing partners.
• Disseminate USAID program achievements and lessons learned to sector representatives.
• Serve on interagency and GoSA technical working groups to further country wide PEPFAR implementation plans.
• Serve as the technical lead for guidance on pediatric HIV/AIDS care and treatment and PMTCT programs initiated by the Government of South Africa, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, USAID Headquarters, and other donor agencies.

Anticipated learning outcomes: * Required 10% time

• Enhanced expertise in project management and monitoring of HIV/AIDS program activities, including financial management.
• Enhanced understanding of all relevant USAID and PEPFAR regulations and procedures, and ability to communicate this with partners to ensure compliance
• Enhanced technical expertise in making programmatic recommendations based on reports, data, and site visits.
• Deepened understanding of the HIV/AIDS context in South Africa.
• Increased understanding of USAID and PEPFAR reporting requirements, such as Performance Strategic Plans, Operational Plans/Country Operational Plans, etc.
• Deepened ability to oversee the analysis of data to be used in order to strengthen activities in the areas of neonatal/child health, PMTCT and pediatric HIV care and treatment; in particular, data collection, tracking and reporting efforts.
• Increased leadership expertise in the interagency space.

FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Required:

• At least a master’s degree in public health, child health and HIV/AIDS prevention, care and/or treatment services.
• At least 13 years of progressively responsible experience in pediatric health, pediatric HIV/AIDS-related activities including PMTCT, and monitoring and evaluation.
• Thorough knowledge of neonatal/child health, pediatric HIV/AIDS care and treatment services including PMTCT in a resource poor-setting, program design, linkages to maternal and child health services, and program implementation and evaluation.
• In-depth understanding of and familiarity with facility/community neonatal and child health strategies, HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally in English and participate in discussions and meetings effectively.
• Excellent computer skills with proficiency in word processing and Excel.
• Ability to obtain and rapidly analyze information, evaluate data, and prepare reports and related documents under time pressure and in complex situations.
• Ability to establish and maintain contacts with a wide-range of government officials, implementing partners, and site-level providers engaged in neonatal/child health, HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services.

Additional skills (preferred)

• A medical degree is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of the South African government’s national health and HIV/AIDS-related policies, the South African health care system, and the health-related programs of other donors.
• Proven Ability on leading technical teams; working across agencies, with government and implementing partners.

TO APPLY:

All applicants are required to apply for this position through STAR’s online recruitment system at https://www.ghstar.org/, which allows you to store your CV/resume and separate cover letter describing your qualifications and experience, interest and familiarity with issues relating to this position, and how this position relates to your career goals is required for each application. All applications will be reviewed until position is filled.

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