Mercy Corps Maternal Child Health and Nutrition Manager Jobs in Uganda

Mercy Corps Maternal Child Health and Nutrition Manager Jobs in Uganda

Closing date: 13 Sep 2019

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been present in Uganda since 2006, focusing its interventions on economic and agricultural development, maternal child health and nutrition, governance, conflict management and humanitarian response.

General Position Summary

The Maternal, Child, Health and Nutrition (MCHN) Manager will play a key leadership role in the implementation of the USAID Food for Peace Activity to support pregnant and lactating women and children under five years of age living across the districts of Amudat, Kotido, Kaabong and Moroto in Karamoja.

The Activity is multi-sectoral with programming in livelihoods, nutrition, WASH, and governance with cross-cutting attention to gender and youth.

Essential Job Functions

Strategy & vision

Support the Apolou Leadership in developing a vision and strategy for the Activity;

Play an active role in identifying and developing new initiatives that foster or improve food security and nutrition strategic objectives of the Activity and the country office;

Integrate nutrition more broadly into the Apolou program.

Program Management

Manage a team of four technical leads, that manage a cascading team of 50+ staff;

Support scale up of MCHN and nutrition Behavior Change strategy in four districts through Mother Care Groups, male engagement programming, and other activities as relate to the overall nutrition objective;

Support implementation of health system governance activities across the four districts;

Ensure nutrition activities are implemented according to best practice with technical oversight of implementation strategy and related materials;

Develop and roll out associated MCHN curricula to community platforms as needed;

Manage team of nutrition implementers, including national staff and international consultants;

Provide budget oversight and administration for the health and nutrition component and ensuring staff compliance with donor and agency regulations;

Work with partners and team leaders, advocate for nutrition and health priorities in line with Apolou strategy at key district, regional and national events;

Ensure an integrated approach to health and nutrition related program activities in order to maximize resource utilization and synergy between the staff, consortium members, district local governments, the Ministry of Health and other implementing partners;

Support coordinated data collection systems and reporting formats within the MCHN team and between partners, with integrated communications to ensure sharing of lessons learned and foster a supportive environment driven by achievement;

Identify and communicate learning agenda for the nutrition and health sector within Apolou;

Recommend program priorities and explore, evaluate and present new opportunities with high potential for impact in the areas of health, nutrition and gender. Work to integrate Resource Transfer activities into the MCHN component.


Team Management

Lead quarterly review meetings, and monthly sector meetings to guide implementation, coordination and learning;

Participate in the recruitment of new staff, establish effective supervision structures, identify and meet training needs and ensure adherence to Mercy Corps’ performance management system within the team;

Establish an adaptive management learning culture in which evidence is continuously generated and lessons learned are actively shared across the consortium for maximum impact;

Work with HQ and national office staff to strengthen operations, identify and pursue complementary programming;

Build capacity of team leaders to take primary responsibility for respective data gathering, quality control and communication to MELC focal person.

Influence & Representation

Ensure establishment and provide oversight on the team’s maintenance of relationships with communities, village councils and local government in Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong and Amudat/Karamoja target areas (and soon Karenga District);

Support and coordinate visits from regional and HQ based staff and external visitors, such as donors and media, in collaboration with DCOP and CoP;

Establish and maintain contact with all key actors as relevant for program implementation – government ministries, UN agencies, NGOs, private sector partners – and establish mechanisms for

contacting local community organizations and partners and other local NGOs/CBOs in line with key Apolou areas of work;

Advocate and make appropriate presentations when requested at local, regional, and where possible national and international platforms for Apolou supported strategies for health and nutrition;

Represent Apolou Ministry and District level at Nutrition-related meetings, implementing partner coordination meetings, events and conferences

Finance, compliance and operations management
Oversee the smooth flow of routine program support functions (e.g., finance, administration, logistics) in the field office and compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures;

With the support of the Operations Director and Senior Operation Manager ensure adequate operational systems are in place to provide for sector operations;

Manage program budget(s) as secondary budget holder;

Strictly follow Mercy Corps Fraud and Corruption Prevention guidelines.**

Ethics and Integrity:

All Mercy Corps staff are expected to behave ethically and demonstrate highest integrity in their professional and personal life. Mercy Corps has zero tolerance to any form of fraud, corruption, abuse, harassment or exploitation.

Any breach of our policies or misconduct will lead to disciplinary action or may lead to termination.

Supervisory Responsibility

MCHN Team: The MCHN manager will be responsible for directly managing the MCHN Team, Care Group Manager, Community Behavior Change Manager, Senior Health Systems Strengthening Officer and indirectly managing MCHN officers and community behavior change assistants.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief of Party

Works Directly With: Chief of Party, Resource Transfer Manager, Gender Advisor, Purpose1, Purpose 3 and Purpose 4 Managers, Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning Advisor, Program Quality and Partnership Manager, Leads of Consortium Partner Teams in Apolou, Operations Manager and Operations staff, Finance staff and HQ Technical Support Unit.

Knowledge and Experience

A Master’s Degree or equivalent in nutrition or Public Health;

At least 8 years’ experience in nutrition specific programming with at least 3 of the years in nutrition programming implementation.

Experience working with Mother Care Groups/Male Change Agent models will be an advantage.

Experience working with USAID Food for Peace programming will be an advantage.

Experience in working in the Karamoja region will be an advantage.

Demonstrated understanding of key concepts in public health nutrition, community behavior change, preferably with an understanding of the facilitative approach to development;

Demonstrated experience with budget oversight and management.

Superb English verbal and written communication and presentation skills required;

Strong understanding of nutrition data analysis and statistics;

Ability to communicate with donors, private sector and civil society partners and host government representatives;

Demonstrated flexibility, creativity and enthusiasm as well as a willingness to learn and to be continually adaptive within a dynamic and often self-directed working environment is mandatory;

Self-starter, with strong capacity for critical thinking and problem solving;

Demonstrated capacity to generate and to translate innovative ideas into practical development approaches as well as marketable investment proposals and concepts;

Willingness to travel at least 40% of working days in the region or to necessary events outside the region.**


Success Factors **

The success of the MCHN Manager will combine strong program management skills with one’s ability to execute program activities with high quality.

S/he will have an ability to develop, implement and manage innovative activities focused on health and nutrition.

S/he will also have proven experience with cross-cultural teams and capacity building, individual staff development, and strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail are essential.

The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

How to Apply:
Submit your application through email to ug-mcjobs@mercycorps.org addressed to the Human Resource Director, Mercy Corps Uganda. Include a cover letter clearly stating your salary requirements, CV (with 3 referees), and copies of academic qualifications/certificates.

Deadline for Submission: Close of business on Friday, 13th September 2019. Subject of email should include the position you are applying for. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted by Mercy Corps.

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer; qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.