The Technical Specialist will support the USAID-funded Child Health Task Force Secretariat and Child Survival Action initiative. The Task Force is a global network of over 7,000 individuals from 1,000 organizations and 150 countries who are committed to strengthening comprehensive child health programs through advocacy, coordination, learning, knowledge management and partnership with countries. The Task Force convenes and coordinates stakeholders to share knowledge and innovative solutions to programmatic issues. The Task Force develops new and improves existing tools and works with country partners to translate evidence into stronger child health programs that are equitable and sustainable. The Secretariat, led by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., with funding through the USAID MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity project, coordinates and supports the Task Force network, including the members, subgroups and Steering Committee. The Secretariat monitors progress towards the Task Force implementing its strategic plan for 2021-2025 and an annual USAID-funded work plan.

The Child Survival Action (CSA) initiative is a renewed call to end preventable child deaths and reach the under-five SDG mortality target of 25 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births. The Secretariat convenes the working group, action teams, and advisory group for CSA which includes the African Union, ALMA, Gavi, Global Financing Facility, International Pediatrics Association, Roll Back Malaria, Save the Children, Sierra Leone Government, UNICEF, USAID, and WHO. The initiative is time-bound and focuses on accelerating actions in the 54 countries off track to achieving the under-five mortality target by 2030.

The Technical Specialist will engage with JSI child health work beyond the Task Force Secretariat, including across the MOMENTUM suite of awards, to contribute to the CSA initiative. The Technical Specialist will contribute to documentation and sharing of programmatic experiences and lessons.

The Technical Specialist will work as part of a team to backstop the project and work closely with project management, operations and technical staff as well as country offices. Overall responsibilities include a range of activities related to providing project management, operational, technical, and financial support to the Child Health Task Force Secretariat. Roles of the Technical Specialist include leading coordination of support to country programs, managing the Child Survival Action Secretariat, managing consultants and contracts, tracking budget expenditures, projections, and pipeline, and collaborating with subgroup co-chairs to share programmatic lessons and practices for child health. The Technical Specialist will work closely with the Director on implementing the Task Force strategic plan, developing the annual work plan and budget, and reporting to USAID on progress. The Technical Specialist will work with the Program Coordinator to ensure effective coordination and reporting and with the Communications Advisor on knowledge management products.

Program management responsibilities include,

• With minimal supervision, manage and collaboratively develop project deliverables, including materials and report development and presentation.
• With minimal supervision, manage and collaboratively develop project budgets.
• With minimal supervision, manage the timely completion of the annual work plan as well as reviewing routine reports, such as quarterly and annual reports on progress.
• Lead staff hiring and onboarding, including the creation of position descriptions, scopes of work, the hiring process and orientation of new staff to the project.
• Manage identifying and recruiting qualified technical experts and contracting organizations for long and short-term consulting assignments. Will include collecting CVs, drafting the scope of work and consultant agreements, and managing deliverables.
• Overseeing travel logistics and reviewing expense reports for accuracy and compliance.
• Working closely with the M-RITE financial officer to track expenditures, projections and pipeline for project budget on a monthly basis.
• Oversee the coordination of the Steering Committee, co-chairs, subgroup, and Task Force-wide meetings, both in-person and via webinar or other online platforms
• Coordinate the Child Survival Action Secretariat and overall programmatic support; Track progress across the action teams and prepare for working group meetings.
• Provide inputs into new Task Force and subgroup resources and quarterly newsletter.
• Collaborate with the Program Coordinator to lead weekly team meetings with Program Director and Knowledge Management Advisor, as well as meetings with USAID.
• Collaborate with the Program Coordinator to manage the team’s weekly to-do lists, delegate tasks to team members and track progress in order to meet donor deadlines.
• Participate in M-RITE staff-wide meetings to keep track of programmatic rules and regulations.
• Other program management duties as needed

Technical responsibilities include,

• Conduct quantitative and/or qualitative analysis, including web and literature searches, key informant interviews, conduct secondary data analysis, etc.
• As needed and allowable based on project parameters, serve as TA coordinator or activity manager for country engagement efforts.
• Provide support on technical initiatives, including data analytics and visualization for MOHs as needed.
• Support documentation and learning (structured process) under CSA and other Task Force initiatives in collaboration with Communications Advisor and CSA partners.
• Support resource mobilization, including developing concept notes and/supporting data
• Support Task Force and Child Survival Action partner countries via the child health technical working groups (CH-TWGs) with technical needs as they arise (e.g., partner mapping, coordination, data analytics and visualization, etc.); connect Task Force members with the CH-TWGs and support alignment at country level
• Participate in and coordinate technical assistance activities as needed, including travel as required by the task.
• Represent the Secretariat at domestic and global conferences for child health and survival.
• Participate in M-RITE technical meetings, contribute to the discussion and present on child survival work as relevant.
• Support the Child Health Technical Advisor to engage with other child health programs across JSI to facilitate documentation and sharing of programmatic experiences and lessons.

Requirements for this position include:

• Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 3 years working in the field of international public health or related field, including relevant in-country experience
• Masters Degree in public health or related field preferred
• Experience with child health, nutrition, immunization, or related program strongly preferred
• Experience working with or backstopping USAID-supported or international projects; overseas developing country experience an added advantage.
• Professional experience interacting with at least one of the following: community based organizations, NGOs, host country governments, or other relevant stakeholders.
• Experience managing and organizing a team.
• Supervisory and mentorship experience preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to assess priorities and handle multiple tasks simultaneously to meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality.
• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people representing a wide range of personal and organizational cultures.
• Excellent writing abilities.
• Fluent Excel user.
• Strong metrics, data analysis and visualization skills.
• Excellent English language skills required.
• Professional proficiency in French is preferred.
• Familiarity with the research methods and qualitative research skills preferred.
• Ability to travel as needed.