Programme Specialist - mothers2mothers

Mothers2mothers (m2m) is an Africa-based NGO that unlocks the potential of women to eliminate paediatric AIDS and create healthy families across eight sub-Saharan countries. m2m trains, employs, and helps empower HIV-positive women to work as community healthcare workers in understaffed health centres and underserved communities. Through a peer-to-peer approach, these ‘Mentor Mothers’ deliver a range of health services, advice, and support to women and their families. Started in Cape Town, South Africa in 2001 with an initial focus on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, m2m has innovated and built on its strengths and now provides family-centred support for a range of related health and social issues spanning pregnancy, birth, childhood, and adolescence. It also partners with governments and other NGOs on the adoption of its programme to spread the Mentor Mother Model and its benefits. m2m has a track record of scaling its services and proven impact. In 2017, m2m and its partners enrolled 2.3 million new clients. m2m has virtually eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV among the enrolled clients it serves directly for the last four years, with an average transmission rate of just 1.6%, while 97% of children in its ECD programmes meet all of their development milestones at 12 months. For more, visit www.m2m.org.

Job Title: Programme Specialist (Fixed Term) – Accra

As m2m prepares to commence operations in Ghana, there is a requirement for a Programme Specialist to plan and implement start-up activities, recruit Mentor Mothers, and initiate and manage m2m’s integrated interventions focusing on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH), and early childhood development (ECD).

The programme will be established initially at two health facilities in Ghana (exact locations to be finalised). The Programme Specialist will supervise in-country staff members, oversee operations and project implementation, and act as the m2m focal person with funders, government and other key stakeholders. The Programme Specialist will manage direct service delivery activities and provide support for training, mentorship and guidance for community- and facility-based Mentor Mothers and other m2m staff, as well as ensure that data collection and reporting to m2m funders is in line with project deliverables. The post-holder will represent m2m in stakeholder forums and other external meetings with decision makers from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, and Ghana Health Service, among others, and provide meeting planning and logistics support as needed.

Key Performance Areas:

Programmatic Implementation, Management, and Supervision – 65%

•   Support m2m’s launch in Ghana, including but not limited to: curriculum adaptation, Training of Trainers, recruitment and selection of Mentor Mothers, training of Mentor Mothers and relevant Ghana Health Service staff, community mapping, commencement of on-the-ground activities, hosting of m2m launch event, etc.
•   Directly supervise m2m site staff (facility- and community-based Mentor Mothers and Coordinators) to ensure coordinated, high-quality project delivery and fidelity to m2m model, including reviewing weekly activity planner, scheduling and conducting mentorship and support visits, and contributing to m2m quality assurance and quality improvement activities
•   In collaboration with m2m staff and the Ghana Health Service, provide ongoing mentorship to Mentor Mothers on RMNCH, PMTCT, ECD, and HIV case management, including documentation, ensuring that the integrated Mentor Mother programme is effective
•   Coordinate Mentor Mother in-service training, including conducting training needs assessments
•   Facilitate monthly and quarterly meetings for community- and facility-based Mentor Mothers
•   Support implementation of m2m’s mobile health (mhealth) applications (App1 and App2) for client management at facility and community levels
•   Request and coordinate TA visits from m2m Head Office
•   Provide regular updates to in-country stakeholders on the progress of the programme
•   Support m2m Head Office Business Development Department in applying for further funds for sustained programming in Ghana
•   Scope and identify possible in-country or regional funding opportunities
•   Contribute to positioning m2m as an ECD/RMNCH leader in Ghana, through seeking roles for m2m on relevant national and regional/district Technical Working Groups and collaborating with the African ECD Network in establishing and playing a role in the proposed new national ECD Network

Program Monitoring & Evaluation – 20%

•   Collect, quality assure, and submit m2m project data
•   Work with site coordinators to ensure all Mentor Mothers submit monthly reports in a timely fashion
•   Review, collate and submit relevant project reports to fulfil donor requirements
•   Support Head Office-led routine evaluations and dissemination and in-country interpretation of routine m2m quality assurance initiative (Project BIO) for m2m Ghana staff

Financial, Operational, and Logistics Support – 15%

•   Support project logistics, including procurement, payments, and delivery of site supplies and other site requirements
•   Liaise with Head Office Finance and Country Management Unit staff to manage accounts and perform monthly finance tasks
•   Review requisitions from programme staff and process payments for programmatic activities

Qualification Required & Experience

•   Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health, Early Childhood Development, Social Work or related field Master’s degree preferred.
•   At least five years’ work experience in a similar position managing multiple priorities and individuals at a non-governmental organization or government bureau
•   Familiarity and documented work experience with RMNCH, PMTCT and ECD programming

Competencies:

•   Strong organizational skills, with demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize tasks with remote supervision
•   Strong leadership capacity, ability to take initiative and problem-solve, and authority to be recognised as m2m’s representative in Ghana by key stakeholders
•   Ability to supervise, mentor and coach community workforce
•   Excellent analytical skills and attention to detail
•   Strong monitoring & evaluation experience and competency
•   Understanding of and experience with managing project finances and programme management principles
•   Ability to multi-task and coordinate across departments and projects
•   Strong skills in MS Office and relevant monitoring & evaluation software
•   Adaptability to new technologies, including digital/mobile health systems
•   Ability to represent organization with stakeholders and government bodies

Location: Accra

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