Nigeria: Gender Advisor -- Nigeria

Management Sciences for Health (MSH) saves lives and improves health by helping public and private organizations throughout the world to effectively manage people, medicines, money, and information. Working from more than 35 country offices and our Arlington, Virginia and Cambridge, Massachusetts US headquarters, our staff from more than 74 nations is highly regarded for its technical expertise, integrity, and commitment to making a lasting difference in health. We live our mission to save lives and improve the health of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health.

MSH is seeking candidates for an upcoming DFID-funded integrated health program in Nigeria. The project will work to increase the number of female health workers in training, and serving health facilities and rural communities in five Northern Nigerian states (Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe and Zamfara).

The Service Provider will set up and manage the Women for Women Health Initiative (W4H) project to deliver the specified outputs through providing technical and advisory input, being responsible for day-to-day management and overseeing the implementation of the project in the five Northern Nigerian states. This position is contingent upon MSH winning the project award.

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Gender Advisor provides expertise and leadership in the development and implementation of evidence-based and culturally appropriate strategies and approaches to integrate gender considerations into all aspects of the project. The Gender Advisor also develops gender-centered programming to build the capacity of country stakeholders (including Ministries, civil society organizations, and other partners). This includes the improvement of education and training for female health workers, as well as development and management of initiatives to recruit and retain female nurse midwives and ensure sufficient female accommodation throughout training.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate familiarity with MNCH, family planning, malaria, HIV & AIDS, BCC/IEC programming as well as a passion and commitment to gender and public health issues.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILTIES

1.Assess and develop pre-service and in-service educational and training materials in areas that include the development of gender-sensitive client-provider interaction skills. This will enable health workers to better understand cultural roles in society, their impact on health behavior and status, and how to address this role, thereby facilitating better health outcomes.
2.Develop gender-centered programming that addresses gender-related constraints and opportunities of Ministries, CSOs, and partner organizations’ Human Resource practices, including recruitment, training, retention, performance management and career development. 3.Provide technical direction, and monitor implementation of all gender-related leadership, management, and governance-related activities to ensure that the programming activities achieve target and are responsive to all donors, stakeholders and partners.

QUALIFICATIONS:

•Master’s degree in public health, social sciences, or other relevant field. •Minimum of 6 years experience in a similar technical role. •Demonstrated ability to integrate gender analysis into health (preferred) or social programs. •Knowledge of specific gender issues in public health and sensitivity to local culture and traditions in Nigeria. •Ability to design strategies to integrate gender and gender strategies in the entire cycle of planning and scheduling of projects. •Demonstrated ability to manage complex activities involving coordination with multiple government, donor, and implementing partners. •Ability to build and maintain relationships with senior-level colleagues, particularly interacting productively, proactively, and comfortably with community leaders, government agencies, NGOs, private sector groups, and donor representatives. •Demonstrated computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. •Written and spoken fluency in English and Native Languages of afore mentioned regions.

Management Sciences for Health is an equal opportunity employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, citizenship, physical or mental handicap, or status as a disabled or Vietnam Era veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.