Sr. Coordinator

This opportunity can be based in New York, NY or Washington, DC and is contingent on funding. The International Rescue Committee will serve as the host of Inter-agency Working Group for Reproductive Health in Crises (IAWG)’s new Newborn Initiative, focused on actualizing the five-year Roadmap to Accelerate Progress for Every Newborn in Humanitarian Settings 2020-2024 in alignment with global efforts to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH), well-being and equity. Key objectives of the Initiative are:

To accelerate the realization, adoption and timely implementation of the five-year Roadmap to Accelerate Progress for Every Newborn in Humanitarian Settings
To coordinate, document, and report progress in implementation of the Roadmap to Accelerate Progress for Every Newborn in Humanitarian Settings
To progress advocacy and support resource mobilization for implementation of the Roadmap to Accelerate Progress for Every Newborn Health in Humanitarian Settings
To support development and dissemination of technical resources and learning, in coordination with local, national, and global stakeholders across both development and humanitarian sectors

The Senior Coordinator will lead and oversee all activities associated with this initiative, including coordination with key global, national and local stakeholder networks, provision of MNH technical support to national governments and implementing partners (in partnership with IAWG MNH sub-working group members), and advocacy activities (in partnership with IAWG, Every Newborn Action Plan’s newborn health in emergencies working group, and IRC’s internal health advocacy team). The Coordinator will be considered IAWG staff, but will administratively sit with the Health Technical Unit at the IRC. They will supervise an SRMNH Policy and Communications Advisor, improving their performance and supporting their continuing professional growth. Major Responsibilities: Coordination and Advocacy

Coordinate knowledge exchange and partnership/network building to ensure investments in advancing newborn health in fragile and conflict-affected contexts address reach, coverage, and quality of services and continuum of care for the mother-newborn dyad.
Coordinate efforts, monitor and report progress for implementation of the Roadmap, including efforts of:
UN bodies, academics, donors, implementing agencies, civil society, research agencies, private sector, policymakers, and foundations at the global, regional, and local levels.
Working groups from the humanitarian and development sectors, such as IAWG, ENAP, and the Child Health Task Force.
Networks from related technical areas, including reproductive health, maternal health, child health and early childhood development, child protection, economic development (including cash and social protection), mental health, nutrition, supply chain, innovations and digital health, and WASH. Progress an advocacy agenda that elevates the importance of 1) health of mothers/newborns in the humanitarian agenda, 2) humanitarian settings and crisis-affected populations in the global maternal and newborn health agenda
Ensure newborn health in fragile and humanitarian settings is granted prominent attention at key global and regional forums ; and support national and local actors and policymakers with advocating for appropriate and sustainable policies and guidelines to be developed, costed, and implemented.
Support resource development efforts for both Roadmap implementation, and for initiative functions, influencing donors to mobilize resources at multiples levels to drive work forward.

Technical assistance / capacity strengthening

Facilitate holistic engagement across actors at all levels and across sectors. Orient Ministries of Health and other local / national stakeholders in fragile and crisis-affected settings to MNH initiatives in the development sector, and conversely orient development actors to humanitarian coordination mechanisms and initiatives.
Develop partnerships with local CSOs beyond fields of health, such as women’s empowerment, disability inclusion, and other relevant fields to strengthen technical and advocacy capacity for MNH in fragile contexts.

Evidence generation and knowledge management

Together with M&E staff, support the development and dissemination of evidence that illustrate progress and learning from implementation of the Roadmap.
Lead knowledge management for the initiative, ensuring coordination with and contribution to the MNH Knowledge Exchange Platform to align global maternal and newborn health advocacy, metrics, financing and action in support of accelerated improvements in MNH and well-being in low and middle-income countries

Qualifications Work Experience:

Minimum six years of experience in technical support or in policy and advocacy in the field of global maternal, newborn and child health, ideally in humanitarian sector

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

Technical expertise in the field of newborn health, from a public and/or clinical health perspective
Understanding of key global stakeholders in both global maternal and newborn health field and in humanitarian health sector, and demonstrated ability to work effectively in complex environments
Demonstrated accomplishments in leading large groups in consensus-building exercises
Excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as, an overall ability to be clear and concise in all communications
Strong organizational and time-management skills; proven ability to prioritize and deliver on time
Ability to work both independently and in a dynamic, cross-functional global team structure

Language Skills: English, French preferred Deadline: 31st October, 2020 APPLY HERE

Tags: International Rescue Committee (IRC)