Job Opportunity at Henry Jackson Foundation Medical Research International (HJFMRI, Technical Advisor

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Henry Jackson Foundation Medical Research International (HJFMRI) In Support of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP)is an international non-governmental organization working in several countries providing care and treatment to people affected by HIV/AIDS and conducting research studies and has been actively involved in HIV and AIDS programming for over 30 years.


HJFMRI implements PEPFAR funded HIV prevention, care and treatment activities in the Southern Highlands, providing resources, personnel and services to the Zone. The program has expanded from supporting the Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital in becoming a hub for anti-retroviral treatment in the Southern Highlands zone; to community support through decentralized services, with the overall objective of implementing research, clinical HIV, prevention, care and treatment services in Mbeya, Rukwa, Katavi, Ruvuma and Songwe regions in the zone.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDGEC) and community NGOs, HJFMRI has been leading a comprehensive HIV and AIDS care and support program in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania since 2004. The program, which is sub-contracting with Regional Health Management Teams (RHMTs) and 14 community outreach partners, extends to 25 district councils in the five regions. Collectively, the zone, which has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Tanzania, represents a catchment area with close to 6 million people (13% of the population of Tanzania mainland). Despite remarkable achievements made over the past ten years, the expansion of HIV care and treatment interventions remains critical both at the facility as well as the community level.

HJFMRI is seeking qualified candidates to fill the position below.

Position: Care and Treatment Technical Advisor (Pediatrics) - (Re-advertisement)

Reports to:  Medical Director
Location : Mbeya 

General Overview:
The purpose of this position is to provide Technical support in the design: implementation and monitoring as HJFMRI scale-up Pediatric HIV and EID services in supported regions. She/he will provide technical support to the HJFMRI Pediatric HIV care and treatment officer based in Songwe, Rukwa, Katavi, Ruvuma and Mbeya regions. The program Advisor for Pediatric HIV care and treatment will be part of a team of experts whose areas of work will include: scaling up of PMTCT, PITC, TB/HIV and ART Services. He will represent HJFMRI in National technical meetings addressing pediatric HIV issues.

The Pediatric Advisor's position is based in Mbeya with frequent travels to Rukwa, Katavi, Ruvuma and Mbeya regions and limited travels to Dar es Salaam for support visits, and MoHCDGEC and USG Technical meetings. She/he directly report to the Medical Director.

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Provide technical advice to the Medical Director in the development of Pediatric HIV program design, work plans and implementation strategies necessary to achieve the set targets and service coverage to the Southern Highlands zone. 
• Provide technical support in the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs), treatment protocols, targeted continuous medical education (CME) packages and other relevant materials for improving and advancing Pediatric HIV services in the Southern Highland Zone. 
• Provide technical support to the regional HJFMRI program and field officers and regional teams in the planning, initiation and implementation of paediatric services including roll out of Option B+ in the context of early infant diagnosis of HIV and paediatric care and treatment, 
• Responsible for the design, implementation, coordination, and evaluation and a broad range of agency- funded Pediatric program activities , initiatives and studies required to implement the President's Emergency Plan for aids Relief (PEPFAR) in the zone 
• Support HJFMRI regional teams in providing technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of regional and council health management teams for delivering quality pediatric care and treatment services. 
• Work with program and field officers in the region to design and implement innovative strategies for improving the quality of pediatric services in collaboration with the Regional & Council Health Management Teams (R/CHMTs) and Hospital Management Teams, 
•  Provide support at the national level in development of tools, protocols and clinical guidelines as needed to improve delivery of Pediatric services 
• Regularly conduct supportive supervision, mentoring, and formal training to ensure delivery of quality pediatric HIV interventions. 
• Work with the monitoring and evaluation team to ensure Pediatric HIV data are well collected, compiled and timely reported. 
• Constantly review program performance data and develop new strategies to improve program performance. 
•  Technically support and coordinate with pediatric officers to ensure pediatric activities are standardized and contribute to increased pediatric enrollments and retention in care and treatment. 
• Work as part of the multi disciplinary technical team to provide technical guidance to the regional teams in planning program activities, ensuring close linkages between PMTCT, EID and pediatric services. 
• Work closely with MoHCDGEC and other partners to ensure the functionality of support services including availability of adequate stocks of supplies for PMTCT/EID and improve on turnaround time for HIV results of exposed infants. 
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor from time to time

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE: 

• Medical degree preferably with Masters in Public Health (MPH) or similar degree 
• Minimum five years' experience working with HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs. 
• Experience with Pediatric HIV programming 
• Clinical experience of pediatric HIV medicine 
• Strong supervisory and management skills 
• Proven interpersonal skills in working effectively as a member of a team or independently 
• Ability to deal effectively and diplomatically with multiple government agencies, non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations, and the private sector 
• Proven verbal and written communication skills including a demonstrated ability to write technical documents and give state-of-the-art presentations 
• Willingness to travel in Southern highlands up to 40% of the time 
• Fluency in Kiswahili and English 

HOW TO APPLY:

Cover letters and resumes should be sent by mail through post/EMS/DHL/ or any reliable Courier to;

The Human Resources Manager, 

Henry Jackson Foundation Medical Research International HJFMRI,

P.O. Box 6396, 

Mbeya 

or transmitted by email to; recruitment@wrp-t.org 

NOTE: to be considered, applicants must put the TITLE OF THE JOB in the SUBJECT LINE, avoid delivering the application in person. Deadline for submission of the application is March 26th, 2018. Those who do not meet the minimum requirements as detailed below should not submit applications. 

HJFMRI is an equal opportunity employer; women are highly encouraged to apply

Source: The Guardian March 14, 2018