Health Security Advisor At International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc.

About Us

We are International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), a global consulting firm working some of the most complex and impactful development problems worldwide. We work on programs that help government agencies, private companies and donors improve the lives of others. At IBTCI you will be part of an inclusive team that provides expert solutions and advice to understand and address critical problems while giving you opportunities to succeed and grow.

Assignment Title: Health Security Advisor, Tajikistan – USAID/GHTASC (Global Health Advisory Support Contract)

Department/Location: USAID/Tajikistan Mission (Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan) Open to Third Country Nationals/U.S. Citizens

Technical Point of Contact: ISPI Project Manager

Type: Consultant (6-12 months)

Clearance Required: Facilities Access – to be applied for upon engagement

Overview:

The Republic of Tajikistan is a small, landlocked and mountainous country in Central Asia with a population of approximately 9.5 million people. It is the poorest country in Central Asia, with one-third of the population living below the poverty line.

Many of the country’s long standing, systemic challenges have been exacerbated by COVID-19. The health system is defined by uncoordinated, disease-specific stovepipes, which prevent improvements in the care and treatment of infectious diseases such as COVID, TB, and HIV. Malnutrition remains a threat in rural areas, and in the education sector, Ministry efforts have failed to address long-standing gaps in learning and job-preparation. Moreover, the World Bank estimates that the social and economic wellbeing of the population severely deteriorated following the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus), and the country remained far from full recovery at the end of 2020 reversing 15 years of progress. Pre-pandemic, more than one million Tajikis worked as labor migrants in Russia, generating a third of the country’s GDP through remittances. COVID-driven border closures and economic shutdowns stifled remittances, impacting thousands of already struggling families.

To address such challenges, USAID continues to build effective programs that share development priorities with the Government of Tajikistan and Tajiki communities. In the health sector, through USAID support, the country has piloted cutting-edge approaches to control infectious disease and address chronic malnutrition, programming $14 million in HIV, TB, and nutrition in FY 22 and managing an additional $14 million of COVID American Rescue Plan Act funding.

Beginning in FY 2023, USAID will begin receiving Global Health Security (GHS) funding. The Global Health Security Agenda is a global initiative that was launched at a White House event on February 13, 2014. GHSA’s goal is to advance a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats and to elevate global health security as a national leaders-level priority. In 2014, member countries developed 11 lines of effort in support of the GHSA – known as Action Packages – that work across human health, animal health, and other sectors to help countries to achieve GHSA objectives and to meet country requirements for the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR) and related animal health regulations. While the precise parameters of GHS funding streams, it now appears that funding for GHS will increasingly absorb the COVID-19 pandemic response activities of the USAID/Tajikistan mission going forward, and existing global health programming in Tajikistan related to HIV and TB will also contribute to GHS targets.

The U.S. Agency for International Development seeks to employ a U.S./TCN PSC Senior Global Health Security Advisor who will be responsible for providing technical leadership and support for a range of health and health security issues. including ensuring well-coordinated and effective program implementation of the Agency’s GHS portfolio in the Republic of Tajikistan. The incumbent will provide substantive input in the design, implementation and monitoring of health and global health security projects, involving a full range of project and program design, management, oversight, activity monitoring, data collection, analysis and evaluation of the portfolio.

This position will be under the supervision of the USAID/Tajikistan Office of Public Health Director. The Health Security Advisor will act as a technical resource to the USAID Mission in Tajikistan, including the health and education, economic development, and democracy and governance teams. The Senior Advisor must be able to effectively develop and cultivate cooperative working relationships with local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and implementing partners, international donors, and government partners in Tajikistan. In addition, the incumbent must coordinate closely with interagency partners in the U.S. Embassy Dushanbe, particularly the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Responsibilities

A. Technical Leadership (40%)

1. Provide technical leadership to design, oversee, and manage the Office of Public Health’s activities, particularly those related to GHS and COVID-19
2. Represent USAID in interagency planning, execution and implementation of the health portfolio, providing expertise to USAID and other USG agencies on health and GHS issues in the Republic of Tajikistan
3. Provide technical assistance to MOH and other relevant stakeholders in implementing GHS and other health initiatives
4. Participate in regular and ad hoc donor and government health and GHS coordination meetings and provide expert technical advice to stakeholders
5. Analyze reports, performance statistics and other available data and, make strategic recommendations to the Health and Education Office leadership, the USG interagency and to USAID/Washington on health and GHS trends and programming in Tajikistan
6. Keep abreast of new developments and emerging issues that affect USAID‘s priorities and share relevant information and recommendations with USAID, USG and other technical counterparts

B. Program Management and Coordination (40%)

1. Serve as an activity manager for selected activities, providing guidance and direction for proposals, implementation, and monitoring of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.
2. Ensure coordination across the USAID/Tajikistan Republic health program.
3. Proactively communicate health and GHS activities, plans, and results, and share with appropriate teams including technical advisors from the USAID/Bureau for Global Health, USAID/Asia Bureau, USAID implementing partners, other USG agencies, and the Government of Tajik Republic. Serve as the source of information on GHS to enhance USG awareness and collaboration and to address concerns/questions from USAID and Embassy leadership.
4. Represent USAID in interagency platforms, including the USG GHS Interagency Technical Working Group, actively fostering and facilitating USG interagency collaboration and cooperation

C. Program Monitoring and Reporting (20%)

1. Monitor implementation progress, ensuring that actions are completed on schedule or adjusted to meet changing conditions and identifying constraints to activity implementation as well as proposing solutions for their resolution.
2. Conduct site visits and attend relevant meetings and events where USAID presence is required to ensure programmatic quality is maintained. Coordinate site and field visits as needed for monitoring and other purposes.
3. Work closely with partners to ensure that program achievements and lessons learned are widely disseminated in the Republic of Tajikistan and back to USAID Washington.
4. Lead USAID inputs for preparation of key mission, embassy, GHS, and agency reporting documents, cables and other documents as required
5. Participate in coordination and information-sharing fora with counterparts in USAID Washington/regional missions.

The incumbent will work closely with the Office of Public Health Director. To the extent possible, the Senior Advisor is given wide latitude in planning and executing work assignments. The position will serve as a mentor for up to two locally engaged staff. S/he will be required to act as a mentor or provide on-the-job training to colleagues in the Health and Education Office and around the Mission on infectious disease development practices.

The incumbent operates independently, and her/his work is reviewed primarily in terms of results achieved within the broad constraints of policy and priorities.

If a third country national (TCN) is selected for award, during the period of this contract, the TCN incumbent must provide at least 10 hours/week of training to a cooperating country national (CCN) designated by USAID. The Health and Education Office Director will establish a training plan with benchmarks to measure the incumbent’s progress toward achieving this training deliverable.

Qualifications

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: The candidate must have an advanced degree (Master’s level or higher) in Medicine (MD), Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Epidemiology, Public Health, or relevant technical field.

Prior Work Experience: A minimum of eight 8 years of progressively responsible professional experience in Public Health, Animal Health or Epidemiology, five of which must be in developing countries, with a preference for experience in the former Soviet states.

Language Proficiency: Level V of (Native) English (oral and written) and level IV Russian fluency or Tajik is required.

Technical Knowledge and Skills

• Must have demonstrable advanced knowledge of public health and socio-economic development issues and challenges in developing countries similar to the Tajikistan.
• Superior familiarity with international development theory, programming policies and practices, including multi-sector linkages and synergies.
• Excellent project management skills are required.
• Professional knowledge of a broad range of infectious disease, health systems, and development issues
• knowledge of the Central Asia cultural/work environment
• Specialized knowledge and demonstrated expertise in infectious diseases, surveillance and response, policy implementation.
• Knowledge of how to work with stakeholders across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
• The applicant must possess strong management, negotiation, collaboration, team building, networking and interpersonal skills.
• Candidates must have a proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong interpersonal skills are necessary to establish and maintain strong contacts with counterparts both inside and outside of USAID and in order to explain USAID objectives and procedures to government officials, private businesses, corporations, foundations, NGOs, and other non-traditional development organizations.
• Candidates must have a demonstrated ability to work as a member of a team and to foster teamwork.
• The incumbent must be able to communicate effectively with Mission employees; local government officials at the Senior Minister level; international and local organizations, donors and other embassies; and various Washington based U.S. Government agencies.

Interpersonal and Leadership Skills and Abilities

• Exceptional leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability and willingness to function collaboratively and productively as both a leader and a member of a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team and must have the ability to work effectively in a team environment to achieve consensus on policies, activities and administrative matters and to influence relationships positively.
• Proven ability to work well in complex institutional settings and to develop networks of relationships that facilitate collaboration among colleagues and a genuine interest in assisting USAID staff with expedient program implementation.
• Must exercise discretion, tact and diplomacy especially when dealing with politically sensitive issues, must be able to interact effectively with a broad range of internal and external partners

Supervisory Responsibilities: This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

Travel: The incumbent will be based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan; domestic travel may be required inside the country.

About the Organization:

IBTCI has been in business since 1987. We specialize in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), Institutional Support (IS), Financial & Risk Management (FRM), Supply Chain Management & Procurement (SCMP); Social & Behavior Change (SBC) and Capacity Building. We provide these services across many sectors including, but not limited to, agriculture, resilience & food security, conflict & crisis, democracy & governance, economic growth & trade, education, energy & Infrastructure, environment & climate change, global health & WASH and humanitarian and disaster assistance. At IBTCI, our colleagues are encouraged to collaborate and be part of the solution while getting the tools and guidance needed to grow and support our clients’ missions.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

IBTCI is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identification, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran, or any other classification protected by applicable anti-discrimination laws. We prohibit and do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

If you are an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability, or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact the Talent Acquisition team at [email protected] (Do not send your resume to this account, for consideration please apply in our career page).

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