HIV Technical and Counseling Advisor Job at Jhpiego Botswana

HIV Testing and Counseling Advisor needed to provide technical leadership for anticipated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) project focusing on increasing access to and utilization of high quality, integrated, confidential, voluntary client- (VCT) and provider-initiated (PITC) HIV testing and counseling (HTC). The Advisor will oversee the scale-up of HIV testing and counseling services and coordinate sustained demand creation activities. The Advisor will work closely with district teams to ensure that approaches are effectively implemented. The Advisor will contribute to the drafting of annual work plans, building team capacity, and monitoring and evaluation team performance. The project will operate over a five-year period. This position is contingent upon award from CDC. Botswana nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities:

Provide technical oversight, strategic direction and ensure appropriate support for the implementation of project activities in HTC project to achieve project goals, objectives and target.

Contribute technical leadership to the development of HTC activities for the project strategic plan, work plan, and project monitoring, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, CDC and other stakeholders
Identify appropriate facility- and community-based strategies at district health management level to address HTC service delivery systems bottlenecks that act as an impediment to effective service delivery
Refine evidence-based training materials, job aids, and curricula, supervisory systems and other training materials needed for implementation of HTC to meet the needs of the project
Identify HTC training needs and assist in the design and implementation of measures to address those needs
Provide mentoring and capacity building at the district health management level in HTC
Ensure timely implementation of all project inputs related to HTC, including planning and implementing assessments, site strengthening, follow-up and supervision, advocacy, demand creation, policy support, capacity-building and M&E across project sites, in close coordination and collaboration with CDC and Ministry of Health
Lead the formulation of approaches for scale up of HTC
Actively participate in all Technical Advisory Group Meetings for HTC, and represent Jhpiego in professional forums by participating and presenting in pertinent meetings and conferences, as well as technical working groups
Guide Ministry of Health, professional associations, other national stakeholders in the revision/development of evidenced-based standards for competency in HTC
Mobilize international level clinical/technical expertise to resolve clinical issues that shape or effect local public policy or project design
Collaborate with all local stakeholders and implementing partners, especially the Ministry of Health and other US and international implementing partners, in order to ensure that all activities conform to the requirements and regulations
Conduct regular reporting to the Project Director, and project and technical staff, of successes, challenges and lessons learned in implementation related to areas of technical expertise
Author and co-author abstracts and presentations for journals and conference
Assist in the preparation of donor reports and project reports
Work with finance and project staff to develop and track project budgets
Work with Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) staff to develop M&E frameworks and effectively track data/results
Contribute in the oversight of data collection, analysis and development of conclusions and recommendations to further strengthen project implementation
Coordinate and monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of short-term consultants as required
Work closely with Jhpiego headquarter office staff to ensure effective, timely and coordinated project implementation
Ensure compliance with CDC operational policies and regulations

Required Qualifications: Advanced degree in public health, health administration, international health or a related field; MD preferred.

8+ years' experience in design and implementation in donor funded health sector development projects (over $3M per year) that have implemented successful activities in HIV prevention, care and treatment, preferably in Southern Africa
Experience working closely with national HIV/AIDS control programs and regional/district health authorities
Experience training health workers on aspects related to HTC
Understanding of the Botswana social and political context, and developments in the health sector
Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and sustain interpersonal and professional relationships with CDC missions, host-country counterparts and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs, PVOs, the private sector and other donors.
In-depth knowledge of CDC projects, regulations, compliance and reporting
Demonstrated outstanding leadership, strategic thinking, organizational, team-building and representational skills.
Training or clinical background in HIV prevention, care and treatment, TB, and health systems strengthening
Expertise in research to practice—identifying best practices and adapting them to project realities
Previous experience working in Botswana, with intimate understanding of local health system and health systems strengthening, HIV care and treatment gaps and opportunities, and solid relationships at government agencies
Ability to work in a complex environment with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to perform
Proficiency in Microsoft Office
Fluent in written and spoken English
Excellent oral and written communications skills
Ability to travel nationally and internationally