Technical Director, MNCH At John Snow

JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) is seeking a Technical Director for a five-year USAID-funded Maternal Child Health Nutrition Activity in Laos. The project aims to build upon previous USAID and Government of Laos investments to improve priority maternal and child health and nutrition outcomes among the most underserved populations in targeted areas of Laos. This will be achieved through a health system strengthening approach to ensure quality of services and equitable access. This will be a full-time position based in Vientiane, with approximately 50% local travel expected. The Technical Director will report directly to the Chief of Party (COP).

The Technical Director will provide overarching technical leadership on the design and implementation of the RMNCHN programming. S/he will be responsible for ensuring the technical direction of the project is strategic, coherent, and supports the achievement of project objectives. The Technical Director will ensure close coordination and technical alignment between and among the project’s partners, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), knowledge management (KM), and finance and operations (F&O) activities and ensure that technical implementation is data-driven, agile, impactful, and sustainable.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the strategic approach, design, implementation, and monitoring of the project’s RMNCHN interventions to achieve the objectives, ensuring integration of global standards of excellence and learning in the Lao context.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to the development of the project’s work plans and technical activities to ensure alignment and synergies across all aspects of the technical programming.
• Develop and maintain relationships with the Laos Ministry of Health (MOH), USAID, other implementing partners and local counterparts to foster productive collaboration towards accomplishing the shared objectives.
• Actively participate in key technical advisory/working groups, coordination committees, professional forums, and conferences at the national and provincial levels.
• Provide technical guidance and supervision to technical leads.
• Assist the COP in cultivating an environment of collaboration, technical excellence, shared learning, open communication, and mentorship.
• Any other duties as assigned by the COP.

Qualifications:

· Master’s degree or higher in public health, public policy, international development, or a related field, with at least ten years of increasingly responsible technical experience in RMNCHN and donor-supported public health programming.

· At least five years of experience, credibility, and effectiveness as a technical advisor in RMNCHN projects.

· Demonstrated ability to supervise, support and develop staff, especially in a decentralized context.

· Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

· Demonstrated knowledge of USAID’s policies, priorities and projects.

· Proven ability to develop effective working relationships with USAID, government counterparts, local organizations, and other stakeholders and partners.

· Expertise working directly with host-country senior government officials and policy makers.

· Effective verbal and written communication and presentation skills.

· An open mindset and a history of using collaborative and innovative approaches, excellent critical thinking, strong facilitation, team building, and planning skills.

· Demonstrated understanding of the Lao context in public health-related issues preferred.

· Fluency in written and spoken English required.

· The Technical Director is anticipated to be an expatriate position.

*JSI is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer committed to workplace diversity. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, gender, disability, marital status, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual preference, genetic information, political affiliation, or protected veteran status in any employment decisions. M/F/V/D
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