About the role: This is a 24 month role (negotiable) with unaccompanied terms based in Mogadishu, Somalia, with an annual salary of Grade 4 €44,133 – €49,038. You will travel to Concern’s operational areas as required.

You will report to Concern Somalia’s Programme Director, and will directly line manage the Mogadishu based Health & Nutrition Programme Manager and CMAM Surge Manager.

You will also work closely with the following colleagues and their teams: Programme Coordinators for Emergency, Resilience and Durable Solutions, Systems Director, Country Financial Controller, Deputy Programme Director (Programme Quality) Grants & Information Manager, MEAL Unit, Partnership Advisor, Somaliland Area Coordinator, as well as focal points of local and consortia partner organisations and relevant health authorities in Concern’s operational areas. You will also collaborate closely with Concern’s Head Office based Health and Nutrition Technical Advisors.

We would like you to start in August 2022.

Your purpose:

The overall purpose of this role is to provide strategic management and oversight of Concern Somalia’s Health and Nutrition programme, which comprises of interventions in Emergency Preparedness and Response, Durable Solutions to protracted displacement, and Resilience programming, plus a research study that was jointly implemented together with University College London (UCL) which is in the final reporting stages.

The person manages, coordinates and provides technical expertise to quality design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Concern’s health and nutrition interventions in South Central Somalia and Somaliland, including the effective scale-up of Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM including CMAM Surge), Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF), and Maternal, New-born and Child Health (MNCH) services. The post-holder is also responsible for representing Concern on related Somalia fora and coordinating with key stakeholders at all levels, including the Nutrition and Health Clusters.

You will be responsible for:

Overview:

With support from the Programme Director (PD), ensure strategic technical leadership, overall management, efficient and effective implementation and development of Concern’s health & nutrition programming in Somalia.

Strategic and Technical Leadership

• As a senior member of Concern’s Somalia team, contribute to the development and roll out of the new Country Strategic Plan 2022-2025, especially as pertains to Health and Nutrition (H&N).
• Lead development, implementation and review of country H&N programme, including treatment and prevention interventions, Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) approaches, essential package of health service (EPHS) alignment and research agendas; ensure standardization with and adherence to all National Protocols and treatment guidelines stipulated by the Ministry of Health.
• Contribute to country programme Monthly and Annual Reports, ensuring key achievements, learnings and challenges captured, and highlighting programme adaptation/responsiveness to evolving context.
• Strengthen initiatives to prevent undernutrition, morbidity and mortality, and integrate into resilience and durable solution programming, while ensuring quality treatment of SAM, MAM, and delivery of MNCH services and management of endemic/epidemic-prone communicable diseases in targeted locations.
• Actively foster integration between Health and Nutrition, Livelihoods, WASH and Education sector programming across all regions of operation.
• Regularly assess needs of the target population.
• Strengthen Concern’s capacity to expand H&N operations as needed (through regular assessment of priority needs and targeting plus timely identification of gaps), while maintaining quality programming.
• Working closely with the PD, research partners and study team, actively contribute to Concern’s H&N related research initiatives: identify priorities and opportunities for research, strengthen and support Concern staff capacity on research techniques, review of data and analysis of findings, critically review and provide inputs to draft reports and presentations, and lead on any research proposal development.
• Through regular team meetings, supportive supervision and other mechanisms, foster an institutional environment conducive to using M&E, Research findings and emerging learning to strengthen evidence-based adaptive programming towards greater impact; lead timely sharing and dissemination of key findings and recommendations to relevant audiences both internal and external.
• Keep the Country Management Team (CMT) and relevant HQ colleagues fully and timely updated on evolving health & nutrition context as well as key findings and recommendations emerging from internal and external assessments/reports/learning.
• Contribute to the Country COVID-19 task force to ensure COVID-19 protocols are well adapted in both the office and facility settings.

Programme Management and Fundraising:

• Collaborating with Grants Manager, lead development of timely, quality H&N funding concept notes, proposals and budgets, incorporating key lessons learned and best practices.
• Support the Health and Nutrition PM and CMAM Surge Manager to develop and roll out monthly and quarterly work plans, oversee their implementation and support field teams to adapt to emerging challenges and incorporate learnings to strengthen programme responsiveness and impact.
• Ensure a strong monitoring system is in place, which reflects the realities of Somalia contexts and fuels programme learning and adaptation. Actively support the H&N PM, CMAM Surge Manager and MEAL staff to implement this system, including SMART and Coverage Surveys, KAP Surveys, Initial Rapid Assessments, Barrier Analyses household surveys.
• Prepare timely and quality reports, both narrative and financial, to fulfil internal (Country and HQ) and external (Ministry, Donors, Consortium and Cluster) requirements.
• Lead efficient procurement and delivery of nutrition and medical supplies to avoid stock outs, through continuous liaison with Logistics and other relevant staff.
• Work closely with Finance to ensure proper management of budgets, in compliance with donor rules.
• Support capacity building of relevant health and nutrition authorities’ and of Concern’s local Implementing Partners, with a focus on the management and supervision of facility-based CMAM (including the introduction of CMAM Surge) and MNCH services and community-based health interventions including IYCF/prevention.
• Train and provide technical support to staff working in MNCH/Nutrition centres, including nursing staff, Community Health Workers (CHWs) and others, to ensure quality MNCH care is being offered.
• Ensure that CHWs, Care Groups and other community-based H&N structures are effectively trained, supported and capable of providing effective maternal, new-born and child H&N services.

Representation, Coordination & Liaison:

• Represent Concern at appropriate coordination fora in Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Nairobi. Directly engage with technical and other relevant staff of the Ministry of Health, donor organisations, Nutrition and Health Clusters, Consortium partners, other NGOs, UN agencies and peer organisations.
• Maintain Concern’s active engagement in various advisory and working groups, e.g. Cluster Assessment & Information Management (AIM) Working Group and H&N Cluster Taskforces.
• Keep the CD/PD updated by preparing programme briefs and updates on matters of strategic concern, for presentation at Consortia Steering Committees, donor meetings and for HQ update.
• Maintain strong links with Concern’s Global Health & Nutrition Advisors to ensure technical quality and ensure Somalia programme is in line with and informs Concern’s global H&N strategy and guidelines.
• Engage in review and active dissemination of research study findings at appropriate national and international fora per request and in collaboration with Research Partners and HQ Technical Advisory team.

Staff Management and Development:

• Line-manage the Health and Nutrition Programme Manager and the CMAM Surge Manager in Mogadishu and support them to manage the national H&N staff effectively.
• Develop and oversee implementation of a flexible, responsive, long-term capacity development strategy for Concern’s H&N teams. Use all opportunities to strengthen staffs’ critical thinking and analysis capacity, ensuring their reporting reflects the same.
• In coordination with HR, ensure timely recruitment of staff (as needed) and support the H&N team members’ continued motivation and learning through orientation, training, mentoring and supervision.
• Lead contracting of consultants and timely provision of in-house technical support for H&N as needed, in consultation with the PD.

Emergency Response

• Concern is committed to responding to emergencies efficiently and effectively in order to help affected people meet their basic needs, alleviate suffering and maintain their dignity. To this end, when emergencies strike in Somalia/Somaliland and an intervention by Concern is deemed necessary, all staff are required to actively participate in the response regardless of location, and to contribute to efforts aimed at achieving organisation’s humanitarian objective.

General

• Ensure staff members under your reporting strictly comply with the country security management plan (SMP) and its standard operating procedures (SoPs). Assist in regular reviews of the SMP as relevant.
• Actively promote highest standards of quality and accountability, including compliance to the Core Humanitarian Standard.
• Any other ad-hoc duties as may be assigned by PD that are consistent with the nature of Concern operations.

Accountability

In line with Concern’s commitments under the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS):

• actively promote meaningful community participation and consultation at all stages of the project cycle (planning, implementation, M&E);
• work with relevant colleagues to ensure that the Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) is functional and accessible, that feedback and complaints are welcomed and addressed;
• work with relevant colleagues to ensure that information about CRM, safeguarding and expected staff behaviour is disseminated among programme participants and communities

Your skills and experience will include:

Essential:

• MSc or BSc in Nutrition, Reproductive Health, Public Health, Nursing or similar.
• At least 5 years’ experience in Health and Nutrition programming, including CMAM Surge, IYCF, Nutrition and Health prevention and promotion, MNCH and related areas, in increasingly senior positions.
• At least two years of Health/Nutrition programme management experience, preferably in an insecure emergency or early recovery context.
• Significant knowledge & experience of technical design, implementation, and analysis of Nutrition and Health programming, assessments, surveillance, surveys, protocols and research, especially in complex contexts.
• Solid understanding, and ideally prior experience, of Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) approaches, with proven ability to build ownership and capacity of Ministry of Health at various levels.
• Proven ability to write reports and proposals to a high technical standard, with respect to deadlines and in compliance with donor requirements.
• Extensive experience in supervising, training and mentoring nutrition & health sector staff and partner organisations, supporting continual capacity development.
• Solid experience of providing technical support, monitoring and programme oversight, including through remote management.
• Practical understanding of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) processes and tools.
• Excellent facilitation skills, with strong organisational and interpersonal competencies.
• Excellent, proven communication skills including negotiation and networking with actors at all levels.
• Flexible, reliable, culturally sensitive, proven ability to work extended hours when required and retain composure under pressure.
• Working knowledge of Accountability principles and ability to promote them in practice.
• Strong experience working with consortia and ability to effectively contribute and influence decisions.

Desirable:

• Experience in research studies and collaboration with academic partners.
• Experience in integrated programming (WASH, food security, livelihoods, education).
• Understanding of H&N interventions within varying programmatic approaches: emergency, resilience, durable solutions to protracted displacement.
• Good understanding of crosscutting issues including equality, protection, Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), HIV/AIDS, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), etc. and ways of promoting and supporting their integration in programming.
• Previous experience in Somalia/Somaliland, or in the Horn of Africa region.
• Familiarity with the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS).
• Previous experience working with Concern wold be an advantage.

We would also like:

• Must have a ‘hands on’ practical mentality, be self-driven and very motivated.
• Must be organised.
• Able to take initiative and work independently.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Very high attention to detail.
• Cultural and political sensitivity.
• Must be flexible and willing to adapt to a fluid situation.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills and good command of English.
• Good interpersonal skills.