Malaria & Vaccination Mobile Implementation Officer (m/f/x) – Brussels- MSF Belgium

CONTEXT

The medical department of MSF OCB (Operational Center Brussels) plays a strategic role by defining the modalities of implementation of MSF’s medical strategy so that both coherence and quality can be safeguarded. Strategical support is given along the phases of the project cycle. It has a normative role and a technical support function with regards to implementation and follow-up of the projects. The medical department ensures knowledge transfer to the medical workforce and stimulates research and innovation by challenging current medical practices and scanning of new approaches.

Vaccination is a cornerstone of MSF interventions and a fundamental part of children’s health care, emphasized in MSF’s multi-year medical strategy. First, MSF wants to assure integrated catch-up vaccination in all our activities, to mitigate the risk of outbreaks due to the drop in vaccination coverage over the last years, accelerated by COVID-19. Secondly, reactive mass vaccination campaigns remain one of the core activities of MSF during outbreaks with, since 2021, the use of reactive vaccination campaigns as opportunities to administer other vaccines through multi-antigens campaigns if this does not slow down the outbreak response. And the third pillar are the multi-antigens preventive vaccination campaigns, as a strategy to mitigate the disastrous effects of poor Extended Program of Immunization (EPI) over time, or to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases in humanitarian emergencies, especially in chronic crisis.

Malaria is still among the main causes of child mortality and hospitalization in many projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Last year, MSF-OCB treated almost a million cases, including 48,000 who were severely ill and 26,000 who were pregnant women. Encouraging news, in the form of a newly-WHO-approved vaccine and newer technical recommendations, are offering the possibility to implement more comprehensive strategies to fight malaria. OCB is committed to expanding the community malaria management to increase the timely access to detection and treatment of malaria and decrease the number of severe cases and deaths.

As Malaria & Vaccination Mobile Implementation Officer, you play a crucial role in supporting malaria-related activities and in reinforcing routine vaccination and responding to outbreaks. You will join a dynamic, multidisciplinary team at MSF focused on managing infectious diseases and you will bolster our efforts in malaria and vaccination implementations. You will also support projects with technical guidance from malaria and vaccine preventable disease referents.

Your main objective is to provide technical support to projects for malaria and/or vaccination related topics through focused visits of 4-8 weeks.

Your specific objectives are:

• Support the implementation and evaluation of routine vaccination activities
• Support the implementation of preventive or reactive campaigns
• Support project teams in the practical implementation of malaria activities (preventative and curative strategies)
• Support in identification of gaps in existing malaria activities and formulation of a proposal for interventions tailored to the context

You will work under the technical supervision of the OCB malaria and vaccination referents.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

All vaccination activities

• Support the creation (or update) of a repository of all relevant national vaccination documents (national vaccination policy, pluri-annual plan, etc.)
• Assess the availability and quality of the material used for vaccination (available quantities/storage conditions of vaccines and consumables, cold chain material, waste disposal)
• Assess the respect of vaccination-related procedures and practices (safe injection practices, cold chain management, waste management, reporting of AEFI)
• Support the development of adapted basic messages on vaccination activities together with the health promotion team, considering vaccination decision making process framework
• Support the field to improve data collection for vaccination activities
• Support the field to improve stock management of vaccines and vaccination material (estimation of needs and orders)
• Train the staff about vaccination related topics and discuss training plan with the supervisor of vaccination activities
• Collaborate with the HP team to better understand the vaccination decision-making process of the population. For Outbreak response / Preventive campaign

Routine vaccination

• Help the project teams to situate their project within the national vaccination framework/plans and identify priorities for improvement or lobby
• Ensure that the recommendations of MSF vaccination protocols and policies for targeted populations are implemented (malnourished, PLHIV, pregnant women, SGBV, wounded, post splenectomy, PEP, migrants, etc.)
• Evaluate vaccination activities, gaps, missed vaccination opportunities and knowledge of the staff about vaccination practice

Mass vaccination campaigns

• Participate to the risk assessment and support the field to define vaccination priorities
• Support the team in the development of the micro-plan for the outbreak response
• Adapt the job profiles and prepare training plan for all members of the vaccination team
• Support the team for ordering vaccination material and vaccines

Malaria related activities

• Assess the quality of malaria case management (from diagnosis to treatment and nursing care) and chemoprevention measures; support quality improvement initiatives and identify the need for specific training
• Provide training in the field with a focus on implementation procedures, diagnostic and treatment protocols, preventative activities, data collection
• Participate in developing or adapting existing tools to the needs of projects: simplified protocol and algorithms, data collection and monitoring tools
• Support the implementation of community malaria management: provide on-job training for community health workers and support the team in the supervision of these activities
• Promote a comprehensive malaria approach including vector control, chemoprevention, case management and vaccination
• Collaborate with HP team specifically to increase the proper use of preventative tools among the community
• Participate in operational research focusing on malaria and provide a direct field support for their implementation

REQUIREMENTS

Education & Experience

• Registered nurse, Bachelor in Nursing, Clinical Officer or degree in medicine
• Minimum 2 years of international field experience with MSF in low- or middle-income countries is mandatory
• Practical experience in vaccination activities (routine and outbreaks) is mandatory
• Previous experience in projects in which malaria was a significant component is mandatory
• Postgraduate training in tropical medicine and/or public health is an asset
• Training in epidemiology or vaccinology is an asset
• Experience in logistics and knowledge in cold chain management are an asset

Competencies

• High degree of work autonomy
• Capacity to work within agreed timeline and ability to prioritize activities/tasks
• Good communication skills: active listener, clear and effective communication, sense of diplomacy and pedagogy
• Proven training, coaching and mentoring skills
• Ability to establish and retain positive working relationships (internally and externally)
• Good team player with flexibility, creativity, and management skills
• Strong cross-cultural awareness and adaptability

Languages

• Excellent written and spoken communication in English and French
• Spanish, Portuguese, or Arabic is an asset