Senior Technical Advisor - Health Systems

Job Summary:

Ipas is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) which works to assist the Government of Pakistan in achieving the country’s commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (good health and wellbeing). Founded in 1973, Ipas is a pioneering global organization that developed the manual vacuum aspirator technology for safe uterine evacuation, which is endorsed by the World Health Organization and by various countries including Pakistan. In Pakistan, Ipas seeks to support the government and development partners’ efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity associated with complications due to unsafe practices. It collaborates with provincial governments to provide technical assistance and support for strengthening the public and private healthcare system.

Ipas Pakistan seeks to hire a seasoned professional to serve as its Senior Technical Advisor – Health Systems, responsible for the implementation of its reproductive health program focusing on increasing access to high-quality family planning and postabortion care services. This position will work closely with other staff in the program team, government officials, and partners to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate interventions to ensure the efficient delivery of integrated PAC and FP services within the healthcare system. The position will guide the work of the designated team at the head office and field office involved in implementing clinical service enhancement and community engagement activities. The Senior Technical Advisor will support the strengthening and expansion of existing services and integration of PAC and FP into other intersectoral areas such as nutrition, climate-change induced and other humanitarian emergencies preparation and protection for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) survivors.

Job Responsibility 1: Technical Guidance and Program Management

• Lead the process of setting targets and workplans for the work of the health systems unit according to Ipas Pakistan’s commitments in multiple projects.
• Manage technical workstreams. Provide subject matter expertise while ensuring that all milestones and deliverables are met to a high standard, on time and on budget.
• Effectively manage the allocated budget for health systems activities and make responsible decisions within delegated authority level.
• Organize and implement clinical trainings and technical capacity building workshops on high-quality post abortion care, post-partum care and family planning.
• Oversee the effective procurement, distribution and management of PAC and FP supplies and commodities provided to Ipas-supported health facilities.
• Lead the design and delivery of women-centered postabortion care (WC-PAC) clinical trainings for strengthening the knowledge and skills of healthcare providers (doctors and mid-level) according to Ipas’s global reference material and training guides. The agenda of these trainings is adjusted to integrated other related topics such as postpartum care according to need.
• Ensure Ipas global clinical reference manuals and training aids are appropriately customized for Pakistan context.
• Provide subject matter expertise in PAC and FP across all Ipas program interventions.
• Provide quality assurance for Ipas Pakistan’s reproductive health outcomes, products and IEC material.
• Ensure referral linkages from community engagement activities are functioning for strengthening uptake of PAC and FP services at Ipas-intervention health facilities.
• Monitor progress of health systems work, including analyzing service delivery data; identify issues and trends and work with partners to develop solutions to address challenges and improve service delivery. 
• Contribute to the development, dissemination, and implementation of national standards and guidelines and training resources for abortion and contraceptive care. 
• Guide Ipas Pakistan’s objective of strengthening pre-service training on PAC and FP at nursing and midwifery education institutions.

(Level of Effort: 60% of Time)

Job Responsibility 2: Thought Leadership and Knowledge Management

• Analyze evidence to determine best practices.
• Proactively introduce innovations to scale up access to safe PAC and FP services.
• Manage report writing and development of technical guidance for areas within technical purview.
• Stay knowledgeable on the latest literature on reproductive healthcare and ensure key learning is shared across the country node team.
• Liaise with Ipas’s global technical staff to provide advice for monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning related activities. Where technical assistance needs extend beyond the individual’s capacity, source the necessary technical assistance from Ipas global, consultants, or other technical partners.
• Engage with other departments within Ipas Pakistan and contribute to internal decision-making as a subject matter expert.
• Engage externally to represent Ipas Pakistan and demonstrate technical expertise, capacity, and experience in a specific technical area.
• Develop new tools/frameworks and content for publications (e.g., articles, position papers, research papers, policy and program briefs etc.) that demonstrate Ipas’ technical expertise and experience.

(Level of Effort: 15% of Time)

Job Responsibility 3: Representation 

• As requested by the Head of Programs or CD, engage with donors and represent Ipas in external forums, working groups and alliances within technical purview.
• Build partnerships with key implementing partners including various Central and Provincial Ministry of Health departments and staff, medical training institutions, medical and professional associations, commodity and supply agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
  Represent Ipas Pakistan in access negotiations with key government counterparts to secure their collaboration and approval for program activities.  
• Convey Ipas Pakistan’s work in written and verbal form for external audiences in key communities of practice. Participate in technical conversations and meetings convened by other stakeholders.

(Level of Effort: 10% of Time)

Job Responsibility 4: Business Development

• As requested, work with the HoP, CD and other team members to contribute to new business development by writing or reviewing proposals, as well as identifying new funding opportunities.

(Level of Effort: 5% of Time)

Job Responsibility 5: People Management

• Line manage designated staff ensuring appropriate goal-setting, KPIs, conducting regular check-ins and formal appraisals.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to staff for professional development.
• Build the technical capacity of the team in a deliberate and concerted manner.
• Conduct regular team meetings and implement effective team management processes to ensure work targets are achieved on time while promoting a learning and accountability culture.

(Level of Effort: 10% of Time)

• Perform any other duties as assigned by the supervisor or CD.
• Travel as and when required with supervisor’s or CD’s approval

Note: Time percentages listed above are not exact. These are estimates and may change. This is also not an exhaustive list of all tasks that an incumbent is expected to perform but is instead a summary of the primary responsibilities and requirements of the job. The incumbent may be asked to perform duties not included above. Ipas reserves the right to revise job profiles at any time based on changes to the required job responsibilities.

Minimum Requirements

• Medical doctor (MBBS qualified) with demonstrable work experience in gynecology
• Diploma or professional training certification in SRH (focusing on family planning and/or safe PAC.)
• At least 15 years of demonstrable work experience in reproductive health
• Clinical experience in providing family planning services and/or safe PAC services.
• Must be a seasoned health professional with vision, strategic planning skills, and an understanding of the integration of FP/RH services with other health services to ensure efficient and effective service delivery and provision.
• Certified trainer for SRH capacity building of diverse cadres of healthcare providers.
• Strong capacity building skills and experienced in adult teaching methodologies.
• In-depth knowledge of latest clinical guidelines and technical approaches related to modern contraceptive methods, safe uterine evacuation techniques and medical abortion options.
• Strong technical expertise in leading the design and quality assurance of comprehensive SRH programs (such as on family planning, postpartum care and postabortion care) to improve access to quality services.
• Ability to customize global clinical reference materials, training guides and aides for local context appropriateness in Pakistan.
• Ability to guide the design of culturally appropriate IEC materials on RH for use in trainings with healthcare providers and also with community members.
• Ability to set up and ensure strong quality assurance mechanism for safe PAC and FP service delivery to ensure compliance with Quality of Care Standards.
• Excellent written and spoken English and Urdu.
• Excellent documentation skills to prepare reports, presentations, position papers and research papers.
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills.
• Proficient in the use of MS office and other software applications for project management
• Ability to work in a diverse environment.
• Willingness to travel in field up to 40% and work additional hours when needed

Preferred

• Advanced medical degree such as MCPS or FCPS in gynecology
• Master’s or post-graduate qualification in public health
• Specialized OBGYN practitioner
• 2 or more years of program management and team management experience.
• Effective personnel management skills to build high-performing teams.
• Reliable understanding of the public health system in Pakistan and health policies and ability to create opportunities for increasing SRH as part of an enabling ecosystem.
• Understanding of the nursing and midwifery education system to strengthen pre-service interventions for enhancing their capability for PAC and FP service delivery.
• Prior work experience of a local or international NGO
• Prior experience in providing technical assistance to government authorities in policy formulation.
• Program design experience with FP/RH programs is desirable.
• Experience in presenting findings, results, and lessons learned to a variety of audiences is desirable.
• Fluent in a provincial language of Pakistan

Ipas is strongly committed to providing a work environment that is free from all forms of harassment, discrimination, and inequity.  We recruit, employ, train, promote, and compensate our personnel without regard to race, age, sex, religion, national origin, color, creed, ancestry, citizenship, caste, ethnicity, regional identity, tribal identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic protected by law or outlined by Ipas policy. Ipas acknowledges that these personal characteristics may differ in different contexts.