Senior Advisor

The East Meets West Foundation (EMWF), “the foundation for learning, healing and health", is a US-based non-governmental organization that assists disadvantaged communities in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia through programs in education, health, clean water and sanitation. Founded in 1988, EMW has a 32-year track record of innovative and effective work in Vietnam and a vast portfolio of completed projects. EMW projects and programs are known for their high quality, long -term sustainability, emphasis on results, and significant scale. East Meets West Foundation is in partnership with John Snow Inc. (US), a health care consulting and research organization dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities in the U.S. and around the world, to implement the “Building Health Cities (BHC)” project in Da Nang city. Building Healthy Cities (BHC), a five-year project funded by USAID, aims to embed a health equity lens into city policies, planning, and services while improving data flow for existing Smart Cities in India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Health and Smart Cities planning are related; decisions about transport, environment, sanitation, education, recreation, information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and the built environment can have a major impact on health, despite being outside of the health sector. When this decision-making is harmonized, it can improve access to health services, decrease lifestyle and environmental risk factors for poor nutrition and non-communicable diseases, reduce speed of transmission during infectious disease outbreaks, and increase availability of usable data for urban health decision-making. Building Healthy Cities will work in partnership with Smart Cities initiatives and urban health coordination structures to add value via improved health goals and metrics in proposed infrastructure and ICT projects, enhance interoperability of data systems, and increased efficiency of multi-sector urban spending. In addition, Building Healthy Cities can help Smart City citizens of every demographic have a voice in the process through integration of a mobile citizen reporting system. Our goal is to integrate health within the Smart City context, reduce time and costs of producing data for decision-making, and empower citizens to demand better health-related services. As laid out in the work plan, BHC will provide technical support to the city of Da Nang in the following key actions: food safety, health surveillance in the Education system, and tourism (air pollution and waste management). BHC will work with the Departments of Information and Communication (DIC), Education and Training (DOET), Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE), and Tourism (DOT) as well as the Food Safety Management Authority to complete these activities. In order to manage the operations of BHC project in Da Nang city, East Meets West Foundation is seeking a BHC Senior Advisor based in Danang. S/He will coordinate with key officials in various sectors including city authorities, municipal bodies, health, urban development, environment, transport, data systems, NGOs/CSOs and other stakeholders. The Senior Advisor will be the lead staff member of a team of three in Danang, under the direction of the Deputy Project Director, with terminal oversight provided by the BHC Project Director and technical connections to other global staff. Key Duties and Responsibilities: A – Key Duties and Responsibilities: The incumbent is supposed to fulfil the following key duties and responsibilities which include but are not limited to:

Manage day-to-day activities of the Project in Danang, aligned with project expectations and approved global and city work plans.
Actively create and seek out positive government interactions and build relationships as senior technical representative of the Project in Danang. Primary sectors to be engaged include Departments of Information and Communication (DIC), Department of Foreign Affairs (DOFA), Education and Training (DOET), Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE), and Tourism (DOT) as well as the Food Safety Management Authority .
Assist in developing memorandums of understanding with government, private sector entities, and local institutions partnering with BHC.
Comply with rules and regulations of the Project Authorities and comply with local laws.
Provide technical expertise to BHC leadership on best ways to engage city government on key topics.
Keep the EMWF CEO, Deputy Project Director, and Project Director apprised on complex and/or sensitive issues and work closely with the country support team to troubleshoot these and identify the appropriate course of action.
Monitor progress of assigned activities against targets; take corrective action where necessary to realize project commitments.
Work in conjunction with local university partner (Danang University) to support dissemination of systems mapping research results.
Attend BHC staff meetings on regular basis to share and receive information across country teams.
Travel as needed to participate in global BHC events (pending relaxation of COVID-19 travel restrictions).

B- Qualifications and Required Competencies: The successful candidate is required to have:

Advanced (MS or Phd) degree in urban planning, urban health, education, environment & natural resources, environmental health, and food safety, tourism
A minimum of 15 years of experience, and minimum 5 years in municipal government in Vietnam;
Demonstrated experience in leading teams in the areas of urban planning, urban health, education, environment & natural resources, environmental health, and food safety, tourism etc.
Demonstrated experience in working within Danang city government from one of the BHC-related departments;
Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop collaborative relationships;
Strong networking skills with senior government officials, NGOs and private sector.
Excellent written and oral communications skills and ability to make high quality presentations to senior officials.
Demonstrated ability to interact with key stakeholders in the city.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office required
Very strong team spirit
Based in Danang with occasional travel as needed.

Salary and benefits will be determined based on experience and qualifications. The deadline for the above position is October 31, 2020. submit a cover letter and CV to East Meets West, attention to Ms. Thoi Phan at thoi.phan@eastmeetswest.org, subject: “Application for BHC Senior Advisor”. Electronic copies only.