Organization: IRC – International Rescue Committee
Location: Nairobi | Amman | New York City
Grade: Mid level – Mid level
Occupational Groups:
Public Health and Health Service
Medical Practitioners
Humanitarian Aid and Coordination
Emergency Aid and Response
Managerial positions
Closing Date:
Requisition ID: req51712
Job Title: Emergency Health Coordinator
Sector: Health
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: Yes
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Work Arrangement: In-person
Job Description
The IRC’s Emergencies & Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU) is responsible for IRC’s global emergency preparedness and response activities. The mission of the EHAU is to expand and improve IRC’s ability to help affected communities survive in acute emergencies and hard-to-reach contexts by investing in people, systems, and solutions to complex humanitarian challenges. Members of the Emergency Response Team (ERT) are deployed to either support existing country programs in their emergency response, or to initiate a new program. The overall responsibility of the team is to rapidly develop and manage the IRC’s on-site humanitarian response to meet the immediate needs of the affected population. The ERT is also responsible for supporting the transfer of responsibilities and knowledge to the long-term staff to ensure the continuity of IRC programming and operations.
The Emergency Health Coordinator oversees health programming to reduce maternal and child mortality rates and to support survivors of GBV to access necessary clinical care. The Emergency Health Coordinator is responsible for the implementation of all health programming. They will provide technical and managerial leadership to programs and ensure all activities are of high quality. They will ensure program delivery is on time and on budget, as well as ensure special initiatives, expansion and scale up efforts align with specific and overall program strategies. They will be responsible for programmatic, operational, financial, and staffing aspects for the health team, as well as representation with key actors in the field including the Secretariat of Health (S0H), UN agencies and other NGOs.
Key responsibilities
Program Management and Development
•Provide strategic direction, leadership, and overall technical and implementation management to the Health Program.
•Ensure program design is based on best practices, impact, local context, and operational capacity and adjust as necessary.
•Lead implementation of programs and ensure delivery of planned activities.
•Conduct monthly meetings with management to provide regular updates on spending (BVAs, burn rates), progress of achievements against targets and indicator tracking, program challenges and successes, and ways forward for ongoing implementation.
•Coordinate and manage all grant reporting, working in collaboration with field, grant and finance colleagues to meet all reporting requirements and deadlines in a timely manner.
•With support from the Supply chain department, maintain an operational drugs and medical supply chain system, and up to date inventory, drug stock recording, timely and rationally ordering for the relevant essential medical supplies while ensuring maintenance of a functional cold chain system.
•Provide strong leadership and guidance for drug and supply management system to ensure best practices, donor compliance and accountability.
•Lead on drafting of technical narrative and budget aspects for new proposals and ensure proposals fit into overall strategy and take into account lessons learned.
•Provide technical support to the Program Coordinator for GAVI and SHF projects.
Program Quality and Capacity Building
•Ensure that the program utilizes standard protocols, policies and guidelines for outpatient and inpatient care, and is guided by MISP for reproductive health including: facility deliveries, B-EmNOC, referrals, early neonatal care, family planning, post-abortion care, clinical management of rape, antenatal and postnatal care services
•Support the program and clinical staff in the implementation and monitoring of the work plans ensuring that activities reflect the commitments made to the donor and the community; support and facilitate the development with effective work, spending, procurement and training plans.
•Undertake health capacity-development activities/training for clinical health staff; and work closely with the health manager to build their capacity to oversee health activities in line with project’s best practices.
•Oversee the program’s monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in coordination with the M&E Coordinator, focused on strengthening data collection, information sharing and data management systems.
•Analyse health data collected from the field to obtain evidence-based trends in diseases and track program progress against set targets; lead and support health managers and SoH health officers to utilise data for informed decision-making on program direction.
•Support quarterly data analysis review meetings with the Field Coordinator, Program Director, Sector Coordinators and other key colleagues to direct the utilisation of evidence for program decisions.
•Liaise regularly with the relevant technical advisors for support, technical assistance and technical support visits.
Representation and Coordination
•Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with key health stakeholders including local authorities, NGOs and other relevant actors.
•Represent the health program with external stakeholders in relevant forums and coordination structures.
•Coordinate with field teams, supply chain and logistics colleagues on major procurement and pharmaceutical management.
Staff Supervision
•Provide ongoing training, technical support and guidance to the program and clinical staff.
•Conduct annual performance reviews for staff.
key working relationships
Reports to: Emergency Project Director
Indirect reporting: Emergency Field Coordinator
Other relationships: WASH Coordinator, HR Coordinator, Program Coordinator, Logistics, Finance, Grants.
Job requirements:
•Master’s or post-graduate degree in Public Health or equivalent.
•Minimum 3-5 years’ work experience in health programming in a leadership capacity.
•Effective leading and building programs and/or operations in fast-paced, multifaceted environments. Leadership and team management skills are important.
•Solid track record leading in an emergency environment and/or start-up environment as part of a multinational team, as well as resource mobilization for health emergencies.
•Excellent oral and written communication skills, including demonstrated ability to communicate technical information in a clear manner.
•Fluency in English required.
•Digital literacy: MS Word, Excel & email applications required; MS Access, Project & GIS preferred.
•Excellent writing and editing skills, and can effectively write and edit grant proposals and reports.
•Effective people- and program-management skills in acute emergency contexts: can train and lead staff productively under stressful circumstances.
•Flexible, focused, and reliable in an environment of changing demands.
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