Health and Nutrition Technical Advisor

Position: Health and Nutrition Technical Advisor

Location: Sana’a – Yemen

Reports to: Deputy Country DirectorPrograms

Duration: 12 months

About RI: Relief International (RI) is a leading non-profit organization working in 16 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty.

Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach — which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

RI includes the four corporate members of the RI Alliance: RI-US, RI-UK, MRCA/RI-France and RI-Europe. Under our alliance agreement, we operate as a single, shared management structure.

About our Country Program/ Regional Programs.

RI in the Middle East has programs in six countries – Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Yemen, with a focus on the 4 main RI sectors: Health, WASH, Education and Economic Opportunity.

Relief International currently employs 3900 staff (direct and indirect) in the region and has a range of emergency response and development programs valued at 70 million USD on an annual basis.

Position Summary: Relief International (RI) currently seeks a dynamic Health and Nutrition Technical Advisor to support our Yemen Program. The Health and Nutrition Technical Advisor will provide timely and adequate technical support to the country health programs/project staff, including guidance on overall health program planning, health assessments, project/program design, fund-raising, project monitoring and evaluation, and service quality monitoring and improvement. The capacity building of National Teams and local partners will be an integrated component of his/her work. In addition, the Advisor will, on on-going basis, assess current health and nutrition needs and assist in program development to secure funding for new projects from a range of donors. This position requires an individual who is used to the pace of emergency response programming, does not require close supervision or direction, and is flexible and highly responsive.

Position Responsibilities and Duties:

General Management

• Review the short- and long-range plans for delivery of project services, and provide guidance to the RI staff, health facility staff and/or local partners to improve planning, management and delivery of quality services or various program components.
• Evaluate activity progress and determine necessary actions in short and long term.
• Supervise cross project functional roles: referral system, pharmaceuticals management and mental health (in cooperation with Protection TA).
• Support medical audits to assess status of health and nutrition services, quality of supply and facilities, and on-site health information systems, in accordance with RI and international standards and policies.
• Adapt training materials and build staff capacity on standards and policies.
• Review and share program-specific tools / resources / curricula and work with Regional and Global team members to contextualize and adapt global and country-specific materials.

Program Quality

• Provide technical support to program teams consistent with international and national standards and ensure that program design and implementation creates no harm in the communities, promotes human rights and has positive impact.
• Provide support and recommendations for delivering of service in line with RI policies.
• Integrate protection principles in RI humanitarian interventions, in order to ensure protection form violence and child protection in intervention areas.
• Assist RI programs in establishing a referral network with available service providers in the target area particularly Health and Nutrition programs.
• Propose and implement capacity building activities aimed at enhancing skills of National Teams, local health providers and/or partners in delivery of primary care, maternal and child health, reproductive health, etc.
• Provide direction to RI during outbreaks of disease or other health emergencies.
• Work closely with field teams and community groups to involve communities in program management and to build long-term impact and sustainability of programming.
• Share methods, approaches and tools with RI colleagues across the region, and contribute toward RI’s regional response strategy by ensuring programmatic coherence, innovation and responsiveness.
• Propose and implement capacity building activities aimed at enhancing skills of National Teams, local
• Work with Reporting and Communications Officer to ensure that the H&N program is well documented and that the institutional memory of RI Yemen is preserved.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning

• Provide a summary of recommended areas of improvement, areas of success, and lead the commencement of an action plan with RI staff, local partners and/or health facility staff to evolve and make positive systems improvements where needed.
• Include the participation of beneficiaries and communities, particularly those most vulnerable or at-risk, in all stages of the project cycle wherever possible and appropriate.
• Revise program reports and other types of reports (ex. assessment, KAP etc.) and ensure they are timely and meet quality methodological, institutional and donor requirements.
• Develop and support effective monitoring and evaluation system by collection, analysis of data about protection issues in order to improve the program interventions.
• Take part in field trips to assess project sites and provide support to team as needed.
• Assist the program health teams to document and share lessons learned and best practices, including inputs on health program reports and technical publications.

Donor Relations / Funding

• Ensure that high quality, integrated, and needs-based proposals are developed and according to RI Yemen priorities identified in its country strategy.
• Provide technical input, writing and budgetary input for new program design, as needed.
• Take lead in assessments to inform new programming of impact of RI current programs.

Administration: Finances, Human Resources, and Logistics

• Support project teams to develop job descriptions and recruit qualified staff.
• Ensure that activities and expenses are regularly monitored and that action plans are developed to correct any over- or underspending in a timely manner.

Representation/coordination with external actors

• Represent RI at sector working groups, coordination meetings as well during other stakeholder meetings (if relevant), and maintain a positive, continuous and visible presence for RI.
• Ensure RI’s mandate is shared and explained to relevant stakeholders.
• Pro-actively liaise and build rapport with local officials, community representatives, UN agencies, and any other relevant stakeholders.

Safeguarding

• Uphold and promote RI’s commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve.
• Consistent with RI’s safeguarding and protection policies, ensure all people who come into contact with Relief International are as safe as possible.

Equity and Diversity commitment

• Demonstrate sensitivity and understanding of systemic diversity and cultural differences.
• Ensure that gender equity is addressed in our staffing and programming

Qualifications & requirements:

This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment.

• Advanced degree in a health or nutrition field (M.P.H., MD, R.N);
• At least 5 years’ experience in public health, including at least two years in complex humanitarian setting, preferably in a conflict humanitarian setting in the Middle East
• Demonstrated technical expertise in more than one of the following areas: primary health care, child health, reproductive health, health systems strengthening, research and evaluation;
• Able to transfer technical knowledge and skills and experience of coaching and capacity building of teams
• Demonstrated experience in project design, proposal development and fund raising
• Excellence in writing and presentation; strong interpersonal communication and ability to facilitate collaboration.
• Solid background and knowledge of UN agencies and other international emergency response systems, standards and modalities of work in Health and Nutrition sectors;
• Experience in technical management of programs, coaching or capacity building of teams and M&E activities;
• Strong skills in remote setting management;
• Excellent English writing skills, and Arabic preferred;
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and tasks efficiently;
• Excellent time management skills and resourcefulness with strong attention to detail;
• Knowledge of other sectors (WASH, Protection, FSL) is an asset.

RI Values

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities.

We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and accountability
• Agility and innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability