Background/IRC Summary:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the largest humanitarian agencies in the world, providing relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of oppression and violent conflict. IRC has worked for over seven decades and today is involved in over 25 areas affected by conflict. We address both the immediate, life-saving needs of conflict-affected people in an emergency and the reconstruction needs in post-conflict societies. Health programs represent the largest single sector within which IRC currently operates, constituting approximately 45% of the international budget and with activities in over 20 countries.
Evidence-based interventions to reduce child morbidity and mortality represent a main area of focus for the IRC health team; this includes immunization programming. Over the last two decades, improvements in vaccine technology, cold chain equipment and global financing have resulted in substantial improvements in immunization coverage. But the job is unfinished: vaccine coverage in developing countries remains stuck at less than 80%. Therefore, one in five children in the developing world-over 22 million children each year-faces an increased chance of death or crippling disability simply because they did not receive basic childhood vaccines.
It has become clear that the tools and strategies used by governments, organizations and other actors to reach children who are non-/under-vaccinated are insufficient to achieve complete immunization coverage. The IRC supports routine immunization programming in over 15 countries and is working with ministries of health (MoHs), including those in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, on strategic projects to close the immunization gap ensuring that every child receives the life-saving vaccines to which they have the basic right. With partners, the IRC has launched a cluster randomized control trial in northern Uganda and a formative evaluation in western Ethiopia examining methodologies of empowering facility-based and community health workers, especially those working in the most remote and difficult areas, to identify and promptly serve non-/under-vaccinated children.
Job Overview/Summary:
This position will provide the technical oversight and support necessary for both routine analysis and programming based on IRC’s global immunization indicators as well as for select country-based, more strategic, projects focused on improving immunization outcomes. Stakeholder engagement at the global, national and district levels will be critical, particularly for evaluation and research initiatives; though the majority of implementation and technical support will be focused on improving equity in service delivery and building health system-community trust at the sub-district and community levels.
This position will work directly with and be supervised by the Immunization Team Leader, will work closely with members of the Child Health, Health Unit Research and Research & Development Teams as needed and build and maintain technical support relationships with field-based Health Teams to help ensure implementation quality and robust monitoring and evaluation, and research when applicable. The preferred location for this position, New York, is negotiable given the amount of travel required.
Major Responsibilities:
The Immunization Technical Advisor will actively participate in defining and implementing the IRC’s technical agenda for immunization system strengthening and support country programs with the roll-out of this technical agenda and any other immunization technical support needs, in-line with country program Strategy Action Plans and the IRC Outcomes and Evidence Framework. Responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following assigned duties:
- Provide guidance to IRC country programs, the IRC Health Unit and other teams in the areas of routine immunization, use of community engagement strategies to increase immunization coverage, new vaccine introduction, and control of vaccine-preventable disease;
- Identify the needs and provide technical support (remote and in-country) and backstopping for country program interventions related to routine immunization, introduction of new vaccines, accelerated disease control, and other aspects of quality immunization service delivery;
- Support select country programs to coordinate with Ministries of Health, international partners such as UNICEF and Gavi, as well as other key stakeholders, in developing planning, implementation and evaluation capacity at national and sub-national levels as needed;
- Participate in and train others in collection of data related to achievement of immunization results (both IRC Health Teams and MoH staff, particularly at the sub-district level);
- Participate in and train others in use of data to strengthen planning, management and monitoring of progress towards achievement of immunization results (both IRC Health Teams and MoH staff, particularly at the sub-district level);
- Synthesize key findings of current literature related to increasing routine immunization coverage, particularly through ‘last mile’ and community engagement strategies for dissemination within the Health Unit and country programs;
- Support country programs and the Immunization Team Leader with proposal development as needed and the expansion of IRC’s immunization portfolio;
- Prepare issues papers, technical documents, presentations and peer-reviewed articles on program strategies, findings and research results;
- Provide backstopping support, as needed, related to the cultivation of relationships with potential implementation and research partners and to the management of existing relationships;
- Work with IRC’s Research & Development Team and other teams across the organization as needed;
- Perform other technical duties as assigned by the Immunization Team Leader.
Job Requirements:
Education: Graduate degree in public health or equivalent
Work Experience: 6-8 years working in the field of international public health and minimum 2 years direct experience managing, advising working directly with routine immunization programs at national and/or sub-national level in several developing countries, preferably in Africa
Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:
· Experience working as a technical advisor to ministries of health, international agencies and/or NGO public health programs in Africa and other developing countries
· Knowledge of disease control initiatives (e.g., polio, measles, tetanus), GVAP and Gavi strategies for health systems strengthening
· Proven ability to independently assess routine immunization needs and lead stakeholders in the development and implementation of successful program interventions, including prior experience with: 1) national or sub-national immunization planning; 2) capacity building for system strengthening; 3) design of community-oriented strategies to increase coverage; 4) use of immunization data for monitoring and decision making; 5) assessment of cold chain and logistics performance and needs; and, 6) other actions to sustain quality immunization services
· Excellent interpersonal and team skills, (demonstrated ability to interact professionally with culturally and linguistically diverse staff and partners, including ability to motivate staff who are not direct reports)
· Ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks concurrently, and meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality
· Excellent written and verbal communication and computer skills
Language Skills: Fluent spoken and written English; French proficiency also highly desirable
Working Environment: Willingness to travel up to 35% of the time, primarily in the Africa region
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