Background

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation, through the Directorate of HIV, STIs and Viral Hepatitis (DHA), with support from the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in line with the Cooperative Agreement (CoAg) under the Government-to-Government framework, is implementing a national strategy to strengthen adult HIV care and treatment services. This initiative aims to improve treatment outcomes, enhance retention in care, increase viral load suppression and ultimately improve the quality of life for people living with HIV.

The strategy further aims at improving identification, linkage to care, retention and viral load suppression among children and adolescents living with HIV.

Background

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation, through the Directorate of HIV, STIs and Viral Hepatitis (DHA), entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through a Government-to-Government (G2G) funding mechanism aimed at strengthening district-level HIV response capacitythe aim is to transition the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) support for direct service delivery to MoH while facilitating district capacity strengthening in HIV program.

Purpose of the Position

The Technical officer will work under the supervision of the team lead and is responsible for managing the HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment performance in non-partner supported sites in Dedza and Ntcheu. He/She will be responsible for mentorship and building the capacity of technical staff, establishing clear systems and protocols to ensure that HIV/TB Prevention and treatment services are of quality and meet Ministry of Health and Sanitation standards.

S/He will provide key technical guidance towards implementation of the cooperative agreement, working closely with the Directorate of HIV, Viral Hepatitis and STls, District Assembly Leadership Team, District Medical and facility teams to improve HIV/TB Prevention and Treatment key performance indicators, which are aligned with the MoH’s strategic priorities.

The technical lead will develop and lead a dynamic team responsive to meeting ambitious targets, technical and operational excellence.

Leadership and management

Provide technical, administrative and fınancial leadership in the planning, management and implementation of the CoAG, guided by national policies and strategies, development of annual and quarterly work plans, budget management and reporting, monitoring facility performance, compiling reports, developing proposals and disseminating findings

Technical expertise

Alongside the technical lead and district teams, ensures training for technical staff to strengthen their skills in HIV/TB Prevention, Care & Treatment for facility and community services, routine data collection, reporting and other relevant areas

Alongside the Directorate of HIV, STIs, and Viral Hepatitis, participates in the development, dissemination, utilization of policies by the facility teams to support HIV/TB prevention and treatment service delivery

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Develop and track work-plans and action plans for CoAG Grant
• Prepare quantitative and qualitative reports of all CoAg activities according to reporting guidelines.
• Develop reporting tools for data collection and ensure that reports are submitted on time
• Oversees the monitoring and evaluation of the CoAg activity implementation and ensures alignment with relevant reporting indicators

Program Improvement and Innovation

• Evaluate progress and identify gaps in providing quality, comprehensive HIV/TB services
• Identifies promising practices and devises innovative approaches to support the delivery of high-quality services while improving performance indicators

Team Leadership and Management

• Develop and lead a dynamic team responsive to set targets and technical excellence
• Manages assigned technical and administrative staff under CoAg

Key Responsibilities

• Provides technical guidance on the implementation of the CoAg, guided by national policies and strategies. development of the technical aspect of the annual and quarterly work plans, monitoring facility performance, compiling technical reports, developing technical proposals and disseminating findings Ensures training for technical staff to strengthen their skills in HIV/TB Prevention, Care & Treatment for facility and community services, routine data collection and reporting and other relevant areas
• Evaluates progress and identifies gaps in providing comprehensive quality HIV/TB services
• Identifies promising practices and designs innovative approaches to support the delivery of high-quality services while improving
• Monitors quality of care, ensuring adherence to SoPs, designs, and implements quality improvement initiatives
• Participates in the development, dissemination, and utilisation of policies to facility teams to support HIV/TB prevention and treatment service delivery
• Ensures the availability of data reporting tools and ensures timely submission of tools
• Performs other duties assigned by the Team lead

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Thorough understanding of the functioning of Malawi health delivery systems, current health sector programs, HIV program policies, strategies, guidelines and SoPs.
• Demonstrated technical leadership skills
• Knowledge of operational research that may include designing, data collection, analysis, and documentation.
• Management and implementation experience of HIV prevention, care and treatment services and key performance indicators
• Trained in Testing Services, ART, PMTCT, Viral Hepatitis, and other HIV interventions Experience in capacity building of health care workers in HIV testing, Care & treatment
• Experienced mentor and supervisor in HIV, STI and Viral Hepatitis services
• Ability to exercise good judgment and decision making
• Strong initiative, ability to develop and carry out work plans, and demonstrated skills for solving problems independently.
• Highly organized, meticulous and reliable.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Excellent oral and report writing and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to write high quality scientific/management documents

Professional Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine or Nursing from a recognized University/Institution, and be a registered member of the Medical or Nursing Council of Malawi. Those with Master’s Degree in Public Health will have an added advantage
• Must be currently working within the Government of Malawi (Civil Servant)
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in HIV program.
• Experience in policy development, program implementation, and M&E systems

TENURE OF OFFICE

The successful candidate shall be offered a 1-year contract, renewable based on satisfactory performance and availability of funding.

• Provide technical, administrative and fınancial leadership in the planning, management and implementation of the CoAG, guided by national policies and strategies, development of annual and quarterly work plans, budget management and reporting, monitoring facility performance, compiling reports, developing proposals and disseminating findings
• Ensure training for technical staff to strengthen their skills in HIV/TB Prevention, Care & Treatment for facility and community services, routine data collection, reporting and other relevant areas
• Participate in the development, dissemination, utilization of policies by the facility teams to support HIV/TB prevention and treatment service delivery
• Develop and track work-plans and action plans for CoAG Grant
• Prepare quantitative and qualitative reports of all CoAg activities according to reporting guidelines.
• Develop reporting tools for data collection and ensure that reports are submitted on time
• Oversee the monitoring and evaluation of the CoAg activity implementation and ensure alignment with relevant reporting indicators
• Evaluate progress and identify gaps in providing quality, comprehensive HIV/TB services
• Identify promising practices and devise innovative approaches to support the delivery of high-quality services while improving performance indicators
• Develop and lead a dynamic team responsive to meeting ambitious targets, technical and operational excellence
• Manage assigned technical and administrative staff under CoAg
• Provide technical guidance on the implementation of the CoAg, guided by national policies and strategies. development of the technical aspect of the annual and quarterly work plans, monitoring facility performance, compiling technical reports, developing technical proposals and disseminating findings
• Ensures training for technical staff to strengthen their skills in HIV/TB Prevention, Care & Treatment for facility and community services, routine data collection and reporting and other relevant areas
• Evaluates progress and identifies gaps in providing comprehensive quality HIV/TB services
• Identifies promising practices and designs innovative approaches to support the delivery of high-quality services while improving
• Monitors quality of care, ensuring adherence to SoPs, designs, and implements quality improvement initiatives
• Participates in the development, dissemination, and utilisation of policies to facility teams to support HIV/TB prevention and treatment service delivery
• Ensures the availability of data reporting tools and ensures timely submission of tools
• Performs other duties assigned by the Team lead

• Thorough understanding of the functioning of Malawi health delivery systems, current health sector programs, HIV program policies, strategies, guidelines and SoPs.
• Demonstrated technical leadership skills
• Knowledge of operational research that may include designing, data collection, analysis, and documentation.
• Management and implementation experience of HIV prevention, care and treatment services and key performance indicators
• Trained in Testing Services, ART, PMTCT, Viral Hepatitis, and other HIV interventions
• Experience in capacity building of health care workers in HIV testing, Care & treatment
• Experienced mentor and supervisor in HIV, STI and Viral Hepatitis services
• Ability to exercise good judgment and decision making
• Strong initiative, ability to develop and carry out work plans, and demonstrated skills for solving problems independently.
• Highly organized, meticulous and reliable.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Excellent oral and report writing and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to write high quality scientific/management documents

• Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine or Nursing from a recognized University/Institution, and be a registered member of the Medical or Nursing Council of Malawi.
• Master’s Degree in Public Health will have an added advantage
• Must be currently working within the Government of Malawi (Civil Servant)