Jobs at Amref Kenya

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Programme Officer will manage the implementation of Amref’s Learning for Life (L4L): Building a Resilient and Responsive Health Workforce in Africa programme in Kenya. This 4-year programme in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, will be implemented in Kenya, Senegal and Zambia during this first phase. The estimated ratio of health workers per population in Africa is 11.2 workers per 10,000 people, far below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended ratio of 44.5. It is estimated that the global shortage of health workers will increase from 12 to 18 million by 2030, translating to a shortage of six million health workers. Africa also has the world’s fastest growing population, which presents governments and policy makers with both opportunities and challenges to ensure sufficient livelihood opportunities for its young population. To address these challenges and accelerate the current Universal Health Coverage (UHC) gains, Amref is implementing this innovative, multi-country, multi-million dollar programme with the ultimate goal of contributing to increased and sustainable job creation within primary health care (PHC) sectors across Africa.

Reporting to the PHC Technical Advisor, the Programme Officer will provide technical support during the implementation of the Learning for Life programme’s pillars of health employment, health entrepreneurship, and health ecosystem building. This will stakeholder engagement for continued relevance and alignment of the programme interventions with the national and sub-national levels’ needs and priorities. S/he will facilitate the assessment, training, and convening of ecosystem players to strengthen the primary healthcare health workforce, including Community Health Workers. S/he will also strengthen the Ministry of Health, training institutions' and other relevant public and private 2 sector players’ capacity to strengthen the production and absorption of a fit-for-purpose health workforce.

ABOUT YOU

You are a people person who understands the importance and power of building strong relationships to drive a common and ambitious goal. You are a problem solver, looking at each challenge as an opportunity to find innovation in the way of doing things. You are highly organised and have great attention to detail. You are committed to achieving stellar results and success and are not afraid to dig in get your hands “dirty”.

Stakeholder and partner engagement and management are skill sets that you pride yourself in. You thrive under pressure, can prioritise, are resilient and have a high level of EQ. You are a great communicator and a team player, who’s pragmatic and driven, and ultimately has a passion to deliver impact!

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES
PHC Health Care Workers Employment

•  Provide technical expertise, operational support, and supervision throughout all stages of the programme’s processes to ensure optimal implementation in-country and coherence with the multi-country programme.
•  Participate in strategic discussions to inform programme implementation within the programme partnership, and with external stakeholders, to foster collaboration and innovation.
•  Collaborate with critical stakeholders in conducting cross-sectoral assessments to map out health sector and adjacent industries needs to ensure the relevance of the programme interventions.
•  Work with the National and County Governments, Regulatory Bodies and Training Institutions to co-develop, review, or adapt country-specific curricula responsive to training and health ecosystem needs across community, middle, and tertiary levels.
•  Collaborate with critical stakeholders and subject matter experts to develop training resources that include experiential learning and critical thinking modules to enhance essential soft skills in leadership among young leaders in primary healthcare settings.
•  Provide strategic guidance and continuous support supervision to tertiary, midlevel, and community institutions to sustainably train and absorb primary healthcare workers, and leaders with a focus on youth.
•  Facilitate the establishment of knowledge exchange platforms to improve practice in health worker training institutions of primary healthcare workers, promoting peer-to-peer learning exchanges and communities of practice.
•  Support young leaders with mentorships and scholarships to pursue specialized or advanced skills including soft skills in the health ecosystem.
•  Support the day to day management of activity budgets, including processing and accounting of field resources and other financial transactions in liaison with finance teams.
•  Support the development and review of necessary regulations per country and region towards cross-border labour movement and harmonization of curriculum and qualifications.

Health Entrepreneurship Support

•  Work with critical stakeholders in public and private sectors to conduct targeted mapping and vetting of entrepreneurship opportunities in the health and related sectors.
•  Conduct entrepreneurship skills and opportunities mapping among youth and provide training geared towards addressing health ecosystem needs.
•  Work with critical stakeholders to develop and deploy training programmes and networks that enhance the health workforce and affiliated entrepreneurs' skills in business development, social entrepreneurship, and supply chain considerations.
•  Develop, test, and scale sustainable innovative business models, such as Social Franchising, Social Marketing and other entrepreneurship models, management platforms and community groups.

Research and Advocacy

•  Support comprehensive in-country assessments to identify priority gaps in health worker training programmes, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities within the health ecosystem to inform strategic planning and resource allocation.
•  Support the development of evidence-based advocacy and policy and guidelines to enhance health worker training programmes, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities.
•  Provide technical support in developing and reviewing necessary policy guidelines and regulations in-country and the region to harmonize health training programme standards and access to regional training and employment opportunities.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

•  Provide technical support in monitoring and evaluation of the programme to track progress, ensure accountability, and determine impact.
•  Support national health worker data monitoring and audits as required by ensuring reporting in the iHRIS, National Health Workforce Accounts, CHW registry and programme-based tools.
•  Lead in documentation, institutionalization and dissemination of achievements, best practices and lessons learnt in implementing programme interventions.

Policy Engagement and Partnership and networking

•  Facilitate stakeholder policy engagement, including youth, to address identified gaps in the health sector.
•  Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with the health and related sectors, government counterparts, regulators and county stakeholders for programme visibility and relevance.
•  Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders during National and County technical meetings, conferences and workshops to support the co-design and institutionalization of programme interventions.
•  Represent the programme in relevant partner consultative meetings as delegated by the supervisor.

Programme development

•  Participate in concepts development and writing to promote programme growth.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Knowledge

•  The ideal candidate should have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in the health sciences.
• Master’s degree is an added advantage.
•  Training, knowledge and experience in implementing curricula and capacity building of health workforce.

Experience

•  Should have at least 3 years relevant work experience in health workforce related project management, capacity building, curriculum development, and health entrepreneurship.
•  Strong understanding of health systems, training methodologies, and entrepreneurship principles.
•  Demonstrated ability to work effectively with government representatives, for-profit private sector entities, regulatory bodies, donors and other stakeholders.
•  Proficiency in data analysis, report writing, and presentation skills.
•  Experience in working with health care workers at health facilities, and community levels.
•  Experience in working with project funded by large donors.
•  Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required

Skills and competencies

•  Excellent oral and written communication skills
•  Good coordination, problem solving and networking skills
•  Excellent stakeholder engagement skills
•  Excellent report writing skills
•  Ability to work independently and in isolation
•  Decision making and problem-solving skills
•  Ability to work under pressure, and within strict time limits
•  The ability to plan, organize and prioritize work

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ABOUT THE ROLE

The Senior Technical Advisor will offer leadership, management and technical assistant for Amref’s Learning for Life (L4L): Building a Resilient and Responsive Health Workforce in Africa programme in Kenya. This 4-year programme in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, will be implemented in Kenya, Senegal and Zambia during this first phase. The estimated ratio of health workers per population in Africa is 11.2 workers per 10,000 people, far below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended ratio of 44.5. It is estimated that the global shortage of health workers will increase from 12 to 18 million by 2030, translating to a shortage of six million health workers. Africa also has the world’s fastest growing population, which presents governments and policy makers with both opportunities and challenges to ensure sufficient livelihood opportunities for its young population. To address these challenges and accelerate the current Universal Health Coverage (UHC) gains, Amref is implementing this innovative, multi-country, multi-million dollar programme with the ultimate goal of contributing to increased and sustainable job creation within primary health care (PHC) sectors across Africa.

Reporting to the PHC Programme Manager, the Senior Technical Advisor will lead the implementation of the Learning for Life programme’s pillars of health employment, health entrepreneurship, and health ecosystem building in Kenya. S/he will oversee stakeholder engagement to ensure ongoing relevance and alignment of programme interventions with both national and sub-national priorities.

The role involves guiding and inspiring the assessment, training, and coordination of ecosystem players to bolster the primary healthcare workforce, which includes Community Health Workers. The Senior Technical Advisor will also support the strengthening of the Ministry of Health, along with those of training institutions and other pertinent public and private sector entities, to optimize the generation and integration of a skilled health workforce that meets the evolving needs of the healthcare landscape.

ABOUT YOU

You are a leader who understands how to inspire and guide teams, fostering collaboration, and driving towards common ambitious goals. You are a clear and concise communicator who uses your skills to engage and maintain positive relationships with stakeholders, conveying strategies, and ensure alignment across various levels of the healthcare system. You are able to think strategically to understand, analyze and influence the broader healthcare landscape, identifying opportunities for improvement, and developing long-term plans to address challenges.

You also are a strong project manager who is able to use the skills in planning, implementing, and evaluating programme interventions effectively, while ensuring adherence to timelines and budgets. We know that the health sector is dynamic, and thus you are adaptable to respond to changes and challenges but still having an eye on the goal which is the key to success.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Project Management

•  Provide management and technical expertise, oversee coordination, and supervise activities within the Learning for Life programme, ensuring alignment with programme goals and objectives.
•  Lead discussions to guide the implementation of the programme, offering insights and recommendations based on technical expertise.
•  Offer technical and operational support across all phases of the programme, ensuring seamless integration and alignment with the multi-country programme.
•  Conduct regular risk assessments, identifying potential obstacles and developing mitigation strategies to ensure programme success and minimize disruptions to activities. PHC Health Care Workers Employment
•  Steer conversations with the stakeholders including National and County Governments, Regulatory Bodies, and training institutions to co-develop, review, and adapt country-specific curricula responsive to training and healthcare ecosystem needs.
•  Facilitate the establishment of knowledge exchange platforms to promote south-to-south and peer-to-peer learning and communities of practice among primary healthcare workers.
•  Support young health workers through mentorship programmes and scholarships to enhance specialized or advanced skills, including soft skills relevant to the health ecosystem.
•  Facilitate the development and review of regulations at national and regional levels tofacilitate cross-border labor movement and ensure harmonization of curricula and qualifications.

Health Entrepreneurship Support

•  Lead strategic mapping and vetting of health and related-sector entrepreneurship opportunities, leveraging the Social Health Insurance Fund.
•  Provide comprehensive support to health workforce and affiliated entrepreneurs in business development, focusing on supply chain optimization.
•  Drive development, testing, and scaling of innovative business models such as Social Franchising and Social Marketing in healthcare.
•  Establish and nurture inter-university social entrepreneurship networks in collaboration with tertiary institutions.

Monitoring, Evaluation Research and Learning

•  Support monitoring and evaluation processes to assess programme progress, ensure accountability, determine impact, and facilitate organizational learning.
•  Support management of health data monitoring and audit activities, ensuring accurate reporting in various systems including iHRIS, National Health Workforce Accounts, CHW registry, and project-based tools.
•  Take the lead in documenting, institutionalizing, and disseminating achievements, best practices, and lessons learned from health activity implementation.
•  Support comprehensive in-country assessments and collaborate with regional team to identify knowledge and skills gaps in the health ecosystem, guiding strategic planning.
•  Support in conducting and applying research to inform the implementation of best practices in health interventions.

Health Ecosystem

•  Lead stakeholder policy engagement initiatives, including with youth, to address identified gaps within the health sector.
•  Support the project steering committee at country level;
•  Develop and maintain strong, collaborative partnerships with health sector entities, government counterparts, regulators, and county stakeholders to ensure effective programme implementation.
•  Represent the organization at national and county-level technical meetings, conferences, and workshops, collaborating with other Amref Projects to support the co-design and institutionalization of project interventions.

Programme Development

•  Actively participate or lead programme concept development and proposals for fundraising.
•  Engage in strategic partnerships towards programme development

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Professional Qualifications

•  University degree in health sciences or healthcare management.
•  Master’s degree in health or social sciences is preferable. Additional years of relevant programme management experience combined with a Bachelor’s Degree can substitute the requirement for a Master’s Degree

Required Experience

•  A minimum of 5 years relevant health system strengthening experience.
•  Demonstrated experience in project management.
•  Demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary teams is an advantage.
•  Experience in implementing development programmes is an advantage
•  Experience in implementing in the private sector is an advantage;
•  Experience in delivering technical assistance and/or institutional capacity building is an asset.
•  Proficiency in report writing, and presentation skills.
•  Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required

Skills and Competencies

•  Strategic thinking and leadership skills
•  Excellent oral and written communication skills
•  Good coordination, problem solving and networking skills
•  Excellent stakeholder engagement skills
•  Excellent report writing skills
•  Decision making and problem-solving skills
•  Ability to work under pressure, and within strict time limits