Senior Technical Advisor

The Senior Technical Advisor will cover all key aspects of pandemic preparedness, response and recovery, with an emphasis on: local leadership and governance; epidemic surveillance and information systems; health planning; preparation for and management of COVID-19 and other pandemic-prone infections, including infection prevention and control, and triage; continuity of non-COVID health care; risk communication and community engagement; and multi-sectoral partnership development for planning and coordination for the response and for equitable allocation of resources, including possible vaccines and treatments. S/he will liaise and collaborate with other experts particularly for emergency supply chain, laboratory services including testing, and other areas and keep up to date on the latest scientific developments in the field. S/he will apply lessons and adapt approaches from other epidemic and pandemic response efforts, and ensure that the latest WHO, CDC and other relevant guidance is used. The Senior Advisor will work closely with and under supervision of the MSH’s Sr. Director for Pandemic Preparedness, Response and Recovery and be a key member of MSH’s COVID-19 technical working group and other epidemic emergency technical working groups. S/he will also advise MSH’s epidemic emergency task force. S/he will engage with project partners, donors and subject matter experts to design, monitor, evaluate and implement learning and coaching/mentoring, and assist with customizing strategies to build the capacity of both external and internal stakeholders. The Senior Technical Advisor will have significant experience and expertise in pandemic preparedness and response, an understanding of global health security and all-hazards preparedness and experience working on programs in low and/or middle income countries. This position will initially be home-based until MSH resumes office-based work. At that time, the location of the position will be re-evaluated, and possibly move to an MSH office in Arlington, VA or Medford, MA. The position will be contingent on availability of funding. Specific Responsibilities Include:

Develop and implement the global learning and capacity development efforts in pandemic preparedness and response by providing technical support and strategy development efforts.
Serve as the principal in-house pandemic preparedness and response resource for MSH worldwide, develop instructional and other technical materials and facilitate their use.
Lead the training, mentoring and coaching strategies on technical assistance in multi-sectoral pandemic preparedness and response.
Oversee and conduct needs assessment, establish objectives, and work with diverse capacity building methodologies, and evaluation strategies both in-person and through virtual platforms.
Maintain strong understanding of USG (particularly USAID and CDC), GHSA, WHO, IHR and other capacity building best practices.
Facilitate the delivery of capacity building activities to stakeholders in targeted countries.
Promote, and where possible facilitate, the integration of COVID-19 health response activities with governments and non-government actors’ (including private sector, NGOs, CSOs, FBOs) efforts, to maximize synergies and impact, and avoid service gaps and unnecessary overlaps.
Identify fundraising opportunities and lead the dialogue with potential partners, with support from resource mobilization.
Apply and disseminate international emergency response standards (SPHERE, etc.) as applicable to COVID-19 preparedness and response.
Monitor regional and national epidemiological data, standard health indicators and disaster patterns for analysis and early detection of trends, disease outbreaks and/or epidemics, and facilitate evidence-based identification of necessary actions and corrective measures
Obtain and collate information, reports and case studies from COVID-19 preparedness and response to establish best practices on epidemic preparedness and response and share knowledge with global health stakeholders
Education: Master’s degree in epidemiology, public health or a related discipline, or equivalent (required); medical degree preferred, with strong expertise in pandemic preparedness and response

Experience: Minimum 7+ years relevant experience and thorough knowledge of pandemic preparedness and response, GHSA and IHR. Knowledge & Skills:

Demonstrated experience and skills related to the design and delivery of capacity building activities for adult learning activities such as face-to-face, virtual and self-paced.
Excellent team player, ability to develop trust and leverage communication among colleagues, stakeholders and collaborators, and ability to guide and motivate others.
Awareness, sensitivity, and understanding of cross‐cultural issues.
Excellent and effective written and oral communication skills
Conceptual and analytical skills combined with the ability to take ambitious ideas and to break them into manageable, specific sets of objectives in order to plan and successfully implement creative, new projects.
Ability to work virtually and to travel internationally and domestically when circumstances permit
Fluency in English and proficiency in French are essential. Additional languages are a plus.

Competencies

Systems Thinking - Ability to understand, affect, connect, and leverage various parts of a system while maintaining sight of the whole system
Assessing, Managing and Measuring Work - Ability to set clear objectives, coordinate resources, people, and processes, and manage feedback loops to adjust approaches as necessary
Creativity and Innovation - Generates unique ideas and solutions and is good at bringing the creative ideas of others to the table. Exhibits good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work
Comfort with Ambiguity - Ability to deal with a lack of clarity in role definition, work processes, and decision-making and to create clarity for others when little exists
Flexibility - Ability to accept the unexpected and adjust to what the situation now requires rather than what was planned
Collaboration - Respect and fairness are the cornerstones of collaborative relationships. We appreciate others’ contributions and offer ours with humility.
Empowerment - The success of our colleagues and partners is at the heart of our work. In this spirit, we support local leaders in finding local solutions for their challenges.

Deadline: 30th September, 2020 APPLY HERE

Tags: Management Sciences for Health (MSH)