Technical Director / Deputy Chief of Party 59 views

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against tuberculosis (TB), the first deadliest infectious disease in the world. KNCV is an international center of expertise for TB control that promotes effective, efficient, innovative and sustainable tuberculosis control strategies in a national and international context.

Background

The USAID Eliminate TB Project is a five-year USAID-funded project awarded to Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and its core partner KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation. The goal of the project is to reduce TB incidence and mortality to achieve End TB strategy milestones and targets by increasing the quality, access, utilization, and sustainability of TB services in Ethiopia. The project will support the Government of Ethiopia to target case detection based on prevalence; introduce highly sensitive and specific diagnostic and screening tools; and boost prevention and treatment for latent TB infection. Accordingly, through the project, the implementing partners will find and treat 484,540 new TB patients and 14,357 MDR-TB patients and achieve treatment success rates (TSRs) of at least 95% for drug-sensitive (DS)-TB and 85% for drug-resistant (DR)-TB and an LTBI treatment target of 450,000.

The End TB Strategy targets set for 2030 cannot be met without intensified research and development. Besides technological breakthroughs, innovations in programmatic implementation will significantly contribute meeting the End TB Strategy targets including the rapid decline in TB incidence rate. The USAID Eliminate TB Project has a significant research component. As part of main research, the project will integrate research questions that will identify and test alternative algorithms for TB screening, TB preventive Therapy (TPT) DOT model and effectiveness, frequency of administration for various TB prevalence levels, and LTBI for the general population. The project will also accelerate innovation and research agenda in Ethiopia including demonstrating a framework for elimination of TB in Ethiopia by 2050. The project will also determine the unit cost for elimination, social factors for TPT uptake, and positive and negative unintended effects of TPT. Interim results in the middle of the project lifetime and final results in the 5th year of the project will be shared in national and international forums.

Purpose of the position
Under the leadership of the Chief of Party (CoP), the Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will be responsible for the technical quality of the USAID Eliminate TB Project. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) coordinates the planning and provides oversight to all technical areas under this Activity. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP)will be responsible for providing managerial and technical guidance for the program. The primary responsibilities of this position will be to identify technically sound, cost-effective, and practical approaches to enhance TB control that are consistent with USAID’s strategies/regulations, international standards and Government of Ethiopia policies and priorities. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) solicits and utilizes necessary short-term technical advisers, both local and international as needed and as approved in the work plan. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) provides day-to-day supervision to in-country technical staff in the project. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) enhances and anchors the in-depth knowledge of specific technical areas and ensures the quality of work of the technical unit. The Technical Director provides technical assistance to the project and oversees national and regional developments in TB control and develops and positions TB technical standpoints. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) reports technically to the CoP and is a member of the senior project management team. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) represents the CoP on technical issues on request. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will act as a CoP when the CoP is absent and when delegated

Position in the organization

The Technical Director/ DCOP will report functionally to the project Chief of Party and hierarchically to KNCV Country Representative. The Technical Director/Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will work closely with relevant technical teams of the project at the central and the regional level.

Duties and responsibilities:

Technical assistance and Technical representation

• Oversees the technical quality of the project in Ethiopia;
• Coordinates the planning of all technical areas and technical activities of the project;
• Provides managerial and technical guidance to the project;
• Identifies technically sound, cost-effective, and practical approaches to enhance TB control consistent with USAID’s strategies and regulations and international standards;
• Solicits and utilizes relevant short-term technical advisers, both local and international;
• Provides day-to-day supervision to technical staff of the project;
• Ensures alignment between the USAID Eliminate TB Project and other KNCV projects and strategies;
• Identifies opportunities and ensures appropriate strategies/policies are in place to improve TB control at all levels;
• Contributes to knowledge management by identifying key results for performance improvement and communication strategies;
• Identifies and supports the national TB program in the introduction and scale-up of innovative interventions, models, diagnostics, and treatments;
• Addresses evidence generation as one of the major focus area and work toward its achievement;
• Ensures the quality of work of the technical unit of the project;
• Provides technical assistance to both the USAID Eliminate TB Project and the national and regional TB control programs.

People, project and quality management

• Inspires team members while creating an environment where sharing, technical debate and innovation are part of the routine;
• Identifies technical capacity issues within the projects and also strengthening in country TB staff and interventions to address these.

Knowledge management

• Enhances and anchors the knowledge of technical areas;
• Supports evidence gathering in relevant strategic areas in close coordination with Research and M&E teams;
• Coordinates and contributes to documentation and sharing of project results at national and international level;
• Identifies areas for crosscutting collaboration with national and regional partners;
• Enhances and anchors the in-depth knowledge of TB technical areas in the technical unit;
• Maintains personal in-depth knowledge on TB control areas.

What does KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation offer?

• A fixed-term contract for a year with a possibility for extension;
• An informal work atmosphere in an international environment where a pro-active mentality is appreciated;
• A highly-motivated team of experienced, self-driven colleagues;
• The salary is dependent upon education and relevant working experience;
• KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation has its own Employment Conditions Scheme;
• Full-time employment consists of 40 hours per week.

Qualifications

• MD plus master’s degree in public health, infectious disease or related field of study;
• Concrete and clear understanding and knowledge of Ethiopia’s health care system and National TB program;
• More than 10 years of proven and demonstrated experience in technical and strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and supervision of a comprehensive TB program;
• A reputable technical leadership and program management experience in public health for at least 15 years;
• Excellent track record of knowledge management, experience in capacity building and utilizing participatory learning methodologies and ability to fully utilize the capabilities of technical advisors under his/her supervision;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Amharic;
• Demonstrated experience of more than 10 years in technical and administrative management of USAID and/or other internationally funded programs;
• Proven track record in people, partners and project management in complex settings, preferable with international organizations;
• Experience in capacity building and utilizing participatory learning methodologies;
• The ability to organize and prioritize with eye for detail;
• Past experience with USAID would be an advantage;
• Willingness to locate in Addis Ababa and to travel frequently (max 30-40%) within Ethiopia required.