Corus is seeking highly motivated individuals for a Senior Technical Director position for the USAID funded MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience (MIHR) project. MIHR works to improve access to and availability of high-quality, respectful, and person-centered MNCH/FP/RH care in fragile and conflict-affected settings. This project enhances coordination between development and humanitarian organizations and strengthens the resilience of individuals, families, and communities, supporting countries to progress on their Journey to Self-Reliance.

The Senior Technical Director will provide technical leadership and oversight for MIHR. Key health areas will focus on reproductive health (RH), family planning (FP), maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), immunization, nutrition, and WASH. The Senior Technical Director for will lend technical expertise in the areas listed above with an emphasis on issues for fragile health systems, health system strengthening, access, and social and behavior change (SBC).

The position will operate under the leadership of the Project Director and Corus senior management team and will oversee and ensure the technical and methodological soundness of all project activities. In collaboration with project team and partners, the position will support the design and implementation of service delivery strategies based on scientific evidence.

The position will be based in DC with extensive travel to target countries.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Ensure technical excellence:

• Provide technical leadership, oversight, strategic direction, and definition of appropriate project activities
• Establish and implement a system to ensure technical quality of project activities
• Provide mentoring and capacity building at the individual and organizational level in specific areas of expertise including but not limited to RH/FP, MNCH, Immunization, Nutrition, Health Systems Strengthening, WASH, SBC
• Lead the formulation of innovative approaches for implementation and scale up of targeted services in fragile and complex settings

Support high quality implementation:

• Provide technical leadership to the development of project strategic plans, work plans, and project monitoring, in close collaboration with Ministries of Health, USAID, BHA and other stakeholders to ensure timely implementation and compliance to the requirements and regulations of the award
• Provide technical directions for conducting initial rapid assessments post country buy-in, assessing health system fragility and resilience, and developing appropriate strategies to respond
• Identify and implement appropriate strategies to address service delivery gaps, often in fragile settings (i.e., post-conflict or post-natural disaster)
• Coordinate advocacy, demand generation, and policy support, across countries, as required
• Supervise technical staff both located at HQ and remotely

Engage with MOHs, USAID and Partners:

• Maintain excellent relationships with USAID/GH and in-country missions, and develop rapid responses
• Collaborate with all local stakeholders and implementing partners, especially MOHs and other U.S. and international implementing partners (e.g., BHA, UN agencies, etc.), to ensure that all activities conform to requirements and regulations
• Lead and direct project technical team participation in relevant technical advisory/working groups and professional forums in development and humanitarian response.
• Work with health care providers, local authorities, community members and project team members to identify service delivery issues that impede access to care and uptake of services
• Work closely with the Project Director to set project priorities and directions, and respond to requests for support from local counterparts
• Manage technical contributions of sub-grantees, including defining scopes of work

Use learning and data to drive action:

• Work with M&E staff to design, implement a plan to track data/results to inform adjustments in project implementation
• Document successes, lessons learned and challenges in implementation as well as reports of project activities and results to the project and donor, including routine quarterly and annual reports and other reporting requirements as requested
• Use adaptive management approaches to adapt project techncial approaches to the context and use of evidence-based interventions.
• Document and maintain an inventory of successful tools and approaches
• Author/co-author abstracts, presentations, and articles for journals and conferences

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION:

Post-graduate degree in Clinical or Public Health, or related field is required.

EXPERIENCE:

• Fifteen (15) years’ experience in international health programming, including at least ten (10) years’ experience in senior-level clinical/technical positions and experience designing, implementing, teaching, and/or managing integrated MNCH/FP/RH clinical and preventive service delivery, at facility and community level, and public or private sectors, with at least five (5) years doing this in countries with fragile settings.
• Has demonstrated experience in effectively engaging health-focused host country counterparts in both development and humanitarian settings, training and supporting service providers and supervisors in public and private sector health services.

LANGUAGE: Fluent English oral and written communication skills. Fluency in an additional language or ability to interact professionally in French, Arabic, and/or Spanish preferred, but not required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Strong leadership and supervision skills to lead a team of senior technical experts.
• Demonstrated international credibility as a leader on matters of designing, implementing, and strengthening the integrated health service delivery, training, supervision, and quality improvement systems.
• Has lived and worked in low and middle income countries for at least 5-7 years, with 2-3 years being in a fragile setting (can be part of the 15 years’ experience in international health programming); and
• Willingness to travel extensively, including too unstable and non-permissive environments.
• Willingness to support Corus’s Mission.