Health Technical Manager At Relief International

Position: Health Technical Manager

Reports to: Deputy Country Director

Location: Kabul, Afghanistan with at least 50% travel to RI program field sites

About RI:

Relief International is a leading nonprofit organization working in 18 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty. Relief International began working in Afghanistan in 2001, originally focusing on reconstructing schools and training midwives. Relief International later expanded its programming to include healthcare, climate change mitigation, agricultural development, natural disaster response, women’s empowerment, gender-based violence prevention, water supply and sanitation, enterprise development, shelter and reconstruction, and civic skills trainings. In 2019, Medical Refresher Courses for Afghans (MRCA) joined the Relief International alliance as MRCA/RI-France, expanding coverage areas and technical capacity in Afghanistan.

Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach — which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

Position Summary:

The Health Technical Manager’s role is to lead and provide technical support for the planning and smooth operation of quality Health and nutrition activities throughout RI’s Afghanistan country program. This includes active involvement to develop a country Health and nutrition strategy based on the specific context, ensure assessments/needs identified, and contribute to overall country program goals, and to support proposal development. In addition, the Health Technical Manager will support overall capacity building of National staff and stakeholders in Health and Nutrition.

Position Responsibilities and Duties:

Program Management & Implementation

• Provide Health sector leadership and technical support to health program teams; working with the Provincial and national level technical health and nutrition teams, oversee and coordinate development of Health activity detailed implementation plans and budget forecasts for all projects
• Coordinate with other sectoral leads to ensure multi-sectoral programs are integrated and cross-cutting (e.g. gender, protection, climate, and sustainability within all Health interventions).
• Coordinate with field teams to ensure the proper execution of the Health program against all set objectives and targets within the agreed budgets and timeframes.
• Implement and maintain reporting systems to monitor and evaluate the Health objectives, indicators and outcomes of the projects.
• Contribute to the creation of reports, ensuring the quality and accuracy of technical information provided as well as the confidentiality of internal information as required. Support field teams in regular budgetary follow up to ensure timely expenditure of health budgets.
• Liaise with all internal and external counterparts of the project; ensure external representation of RI in relevant sectors including participating in technical and sectoral meetings to ensure visibility amongst local authorities. Pass relevant information to the DCD
• Work closely with program support functions (logistics and finance departments) for Health and Nutrition program supplies and activities planning.
• Assist with the recruitment of new health staff.
• Any other task as delegated by the Supervisor

Technical Oversight

• Ensure that technical quality and standards are upheld during project implementation; assess and analyze Health activity progress continuously through lessons learned, field assessments, and design and implement response plans; and identify opportunities for innovation, improvement and adaptive management.
• Planning/overseeing Emergency response activities in case of outbreaks, such as cholera, measles, COVID 19.
• Responsible for overseeing proper management of drug supplies at main warehouse and at health facilities and closely monitor consumption to avoid stock rupture and to ensure rational use of drugs.
• Coordinate and participate in regular monitoring and supervisory visits to supported health facilities to ensure provision of quality care to beneficiaries.
• Liaise with MOPH and/or other INGOs to set up efficient referral mechanisms to facilities with higher level of care. This includes developing referral protocols, drafting MoUs and other agreements.
• Coordinate with MEAL department to develop data collection tools in line with donors reporting requirements.
• Ensure gender and protection is considered throughout the project cycle, with women being enabled to influence decision making around Health challenges.
• Coordinate with Operations team to prepare national and international medical orders, including pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and medical equipment.

Program Development

• Identify and stay updated on the latest Health and Nutrition sector best practice within the country through routine engagement and dialogue with the Cluster network, and the international community as applicable to the Afghanistan context. Evaluate the options and propose innovations and updates to RI Sudan’s Health sector services to ensure provision of the highest quality sustainable services possible, and to maintain RI’s competitive advantage in the field.
• Provide sectoral and technical leadership to the design of, and engage in rapid needs assessments and their analysis, and ensure their linkage to activity plans and budgets.
• Assess in-country resources and capacities (human, material and financial) for Health program roll out, and ensure provision of requisite capacity building.
• Formulate the overall aims and objectives of the Health response program through ongoing development and refinement of a clear Health Strategy.
• Select and design the most appropriate form of health systems, and health services and public health promotion programs taking full account of local conditions, resources, customs and cultural norms. Ensure sustainability and capacity building is fundamental components of these systems and programs.
• Ensure National country level, WHO, Sphere and any other relevant standards are considered through the program cycle and are well documented.
• Development concept papers, letters of intent, proposals and budgets related to the above.

Staff Management and Development

• Directly supervise technical health teams in Kabul.
• Ensure capacity development plans are in place and capacity is built for all direct reports and for the health team as a unit.
• Ensure a positive and safe working environment and good team dynamics (solve out potential conflicts) and promote team working conditions.
• Create an environment that fosters learning and development.

Qualifications & Requirements:

This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment.

• Master’s degree in Health: MD, MPH, or other relevant qualification.
• At least five years’ work experience in a development, emergency or post-conflict setting in integrated Health interventions.
• Excellent written and oral English skills required. Must be able to draft high quality, donor reports and proposals.
• Strong project management skills.
• Experience and understanding of key intuitional donors’ policies, guidelines and strategies e.g. USAID, BHA, ECHO, DFID and UN.
• Must be able to function effectively in a fluid, loosely structured, but complex work environment and to set appropriate priorities and deal effectively with numerous simultaneous requirements.
• Must be able to work independently, with minimum supervision, within the context of a larger team.
• Strong coordination skills; flexibility, adaptability, and patience; facilitation and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work under pressure to strict deadlines.
• Analytical and problem solving skills.
• Cross cultural awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences.
• Ability to understand and address gender- related challenges within the beneficiary groups.

Success Factors:

The ideal candidate will be passionate, enthusiastic and driven, and have experience of working with national and expatriate team members in nutrition programmes in complex and protracted emergency responses. A demonstrable commitment to national capacity strengthening is mandatory. S/he will have demonstrable experience of managing health programmes, have excellent written and verbal communications skills and will be fluent in English. Experience working in project management within an INGO in conflict-induced fragile settings is mandatory, with previous experience in Afghanistan desirable.

RI Values: We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities.

We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and Accountability
• Agility and Innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions

This position is based Kabul, with very frequent travel to filed locations in Afghanistan. It offers an opportunity to join a diverse and open workplace, with a team committed to inclusion, innovation, and personal development. We also offer:

• A living accommodation with shared bathroom and kitchenette in shared compound in Kabul.
• 6-week R&R cycle with a financial contribution towards the R&R costs.
• Very competitive compensation, Danger Pay and daily post differential among other benefits.
• Access to RI’s award-winning learning management system with a wide menu of training resources, and internal/external training courses.