Senior Reproductive Health Manager – Internal Only

Background:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Since October 2012, the IRC has been responding to humanitarian needs of Nigerians. The IRC initially intervened in response to floods that affected over 7 million people across the country, destroying harvest and damaging homes. The IRC is currently implementing programs in Health, Protection, WASH, Nutrition, Food Security, and Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) in Adamawa and Borno States in North-Eastern Nigeria.

The IRC is dedicated to making women and adolescent girls healthier from the earliest phase of acute crises (a target group most vulnerable during crisis) and implements evidence-based reproductive health interventions in line with the SPHERE-standard Minimum Initial Service Package for Reproductive Health in Crises (MISP). The goal is to ensure that the IRC’s health responses in emergencies include the core package of Sexual and Reproductive Health (RH) services in its interventions.

The IRC is in the process of scaling up and integrating Reproductive Health program into all health service delivery points including health outreach sites in all supported LGAs in Magumeri, Konduga, MMC/Jere, Gwoza, Askira Uba and Monguno in Borno state and Gusau and Anka in Zamfara state, Damaturu, Gujiba and Gulani in Yobe state. The focus of this program is to provide integrated quality comprehensive health services including SRH services and while maintaining CWC where SRH is integrated with WPE services to conflict-affected women and girls in a timely manner.

Scope of work:

The Senior Reproductive Health Manager is the focal point for both the IRC’s emergency and Non-emergency reproductive Health care services and in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. The Senior RH Senior Manager ensures that the IRC’s SRH interventions are guided by the Nigeria Country Program SAP Implementation Plan. He/she reports to the Health Coordinator and works closely with other sectors.

Key roles and responsibilities:

Program management

• Oversee the implementation of quality SRHR program activities at all IRC supported health facilities in the targeted areas
• Provide leadership, training, and guidance to staff and local partners to ensure SRH programming meets best practice standards and prioritizes the security of beneficiaries and staff.
• Design and lead assessments to ensure the voices of women and girls inform SRH program design
• Support proper SRH data collection and recording in the IRC supported SRH units and women centers, support the compilation of data and generation of quality RH reports on a regular and timely manner.
• Develop protocols on information management in insecure environments
• Support the SRH teams to develop awareness raising messages to promote uptake of emergency SRH response services in a timely manner
• Promote coordination with the WPE team and ensure SRH is incorporated into all the IRC supported facilities
• Prepare the SRH mobile team members to respond quickly to emerging crises and newly accessible areas.
• Promote a culture of learning whereby lessons-learned and good practices are documented and shared for institutional memory.

Business development and grant management

• Support the development of proposals as needed.
• Support crafting of budget during Business development and help monitor budget spent out plans to maintain program expenditure within budget.
• Participate in Grants Opening, Mid-Term and Closing meetings;
• Prepare internal and external reports within agreed deadlines using IRC and donor formats, as required;
• Assure appropriate and timely spending of grants to achieve RH program goals, grant reporting contributions, use and distribution of supplies and resources.

Staff management:

• Participate in recruitment of SRH program staff to positions as per the program demand.
• Maintain updated job descriptions, conduct interviews, orient new SRH staff to the IRC and the program.
• Undertake SRH capacity-development activities/training for RH and clinical health staff.  

Coordination and representation:

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with all stakeholders – including community leaders, NGOs, UN agencies, community based organizations and other IRC sectors to enhance cooperation and coordination;
• Ensure that information from coordination meetings is shared internally and with other sectors, as appropriate;
• Represent the IRC in coordination mechanisms and meetings with other agencies, including the Ministry of Health, WHO, UNFPA and other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, or donors.

Reporting, monitoring and evaluation

• Support the development and oversee implementation of strong monitoring and evaluation systems. Support the preparation of reports to the Supervisor and donors.
• Provide trend analysis on areas where there is programming to improve SRH services and advocacy for Target group/women and girls

Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to:  Health Coordinator
• Position directly supervises:  Roving Reproductive Health Managers, health research managers, and work closely with Sr. Health Outcome Managers
• Indirect Reporting: SPC
•  Other Internal and/or external contacts: describe the nature of departments or groups the position influences or requires support from to accomplish objectives.
• Internal: All other IRC sectors offering integrated services at all intervention areas.
• External:  SPHCDA, UNFPA, WHO, HMB, Federal Ministry of Health, other INGOs.

Work Environment

• The position will be based in Maiduguri –Borno State, Nigeria. The situation in northeast and Northwest Nigeria continues to be volatile and the security phase is orange or red depending on location.
• Benefit package for national position is inclusive.
• Competitive Monthly salary,
• Health Insurance Coverage for Family,
• Annual earned leave days,
• Pension scheme.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Health professional (MD, RN, PA or CO) with strong public health background, MPH preferred;
• 3 years SRH program management experience, preferably in insecure locations,
• Experience in technically supervising reproductive health staff in a complex setting;
• Thorough understanding of gender-based violence response protocols and service provision;
• Ability to validate and interpret health data;
• Demonstrated ability to support and build staff capacity;
• Ability to work independently and as a collaborative team member;
• Ability to live and work under pressure in an unstable security environment.
• Knowledge and experience of participatory planning methods
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Experience in grant management and proposal writing is preferred.
• Excellent computer skills: MS Word, Excel, Power point, use e-mail and internet.
• Fluency in English
• Additional qualities: ability to multitask, ability to handle pressure well, ability to improvise, flexibility.
• Ready to travel and work within Zamfara, Sokoto, Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states and travel to all field locations in Borno and other hard to reach areas as assigned by the management or delegated by the Health Coordinator.