Non-Communicable Diseases & Mental Health Director -Partners in Health (PIH)

Job Description

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE:

Partners in Health (PIH) is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, whose mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. Through service delivery, training, advocacy and research, PIH works globally to bring the benefits of modern science to those most in need and to serve as an antidote to despair. PIH has programs in Haiti, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Kazakhstan and Boston.

PIH began working in Malawi in 2007, where today we support the Ministry of Health (MOH) to serve a catchment area of 165,000 through 12 health centers and two hospitals in partnership with our sister organizations. Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (APZU) has its headquarters in Neno District with operations across the country.

We therefore seek to recruit suitably qualified and experienced candidates for the following position:

Position : Non-Communicable Diseases & Mental Health Director

Reports to: Chief Medical Officer

Commitment: Full Time (Monday-Friday)

Working Hours :

Regular Office Hours (40Hrs/ Week)

Location: Neno District, Malawi

Position Summary

The Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Director will be a key member of Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (APZU)/ Partners in Health Malawi senior management team who will be responsible for

management team who will be responsible for developing, advancing, monitoring and evaluating the NCD and mental health portfolio for APZU.

S/He will oversee and supervise direct NCD and mental health implementation for APZU, working directly with the MoH NCD and mental health Unit leadership at the national level, and District Health System level with the aim of strengthening NCD and mental health care delivery as well as drive innovation and help to bring successful interventions to national scale. S/He will provide direct and specialized patient care for advanced NCD and mental health disease, provide broad NCD and mental health mentorship in Neno as well as other districts where PIH/APZU is implementing NCD and mental health interventions, including the primary care IC3 system and inpatient NCD care at the two hospitals in Neno. S/He will lead clinical excellence in NCDs and mental health and in collaboration with other key internal stakeholders, lead medical education, research, partnerships and advocacy in NCDs and mental health and work with the rest of clinical teams to improve overall patient outcomes.

In coordination with grants acquisition and other critical sections within the organization, the Director will further provide technical leadership in NCD and mental health grants design and implementation, making sure that all awarded grants are implemented successfully.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), the NCD & Mental Health Director will provide strategic oversight over the general administration, leadership and discipline of the NCD and mental health department and will have the following responsibilities:

Strategic Planning & Leadership – 30%

• Provide strategic leadership, vision and direction in planning, developing, implementation and evaluating overall NCD and mental health programs and services
• Provide strategic oversight on direct patient care at all levels of NCD and mental health care delivery, implementation of NCD & mental health grants and programmes, innovations, monitoring and reporting in and outside Neno including their eventual transition to MoH.
• Work directly with MoH’s leadership and APZU clinical leadership in Neno and other districts to strengthen overall implementation of the NCD and mental health care programme Coordinate the support to NCD prevention and control activities, ensuring sound technical support for planning, programming, monitoring and evaluation
• Manage, supervise, and mentor clinical teams at Neno district hospital, Lisungwi Community Hospital and other district under the support of APZU in the delivery of NCD and Mental Health; responsible for operations and clinical care of the advanced NCD clinics Provide direct and specialized patient care in the hospital as well as in the advanced NCD clinics
• Contribute to development and implementation of clinical protocols for the care of complex chronic conditions including, but not limited to: heart failure and rheumatic heart disease, asthma and COPD, diabetes, sickle cell disease, cancer, epilepsy, chronic kidney disease etc.
• Assist in teaching and training on key NCD and mental health protocols for health care providers (general practitioners, nurses, and physicians in training) across primary care, hospital clinics, and inpatient care with a focus on Neno and as needed for support in other districts.
• Support protocols and management of inpatient care for NCD chronic conditions (e.g. heart failure, brittle diabetes, epilepsy, and other mental health conditions)
• In collaboration with M&E department, ensure all NCD and mental health programming has a comprehensive M&E framework for tracking and reviewing programmatic indicators with making data available for impact measures for efficiency, effectiveness and quality of service delivery
• Support with proposal development processes, provide clinical leadership oversight in coordination with the Chief Medical Officer and other relevant departments in the implementation and evaluation of NCD and mental health grants
• Other duties as assigned including working clinically as a physician.

Strategic Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement – 30%

• Collaborate with other departments i.e. the Health education/promotion, community health, POSER, policy and partnerships, HR, operations etc in order to improve coverage and quality of the range of NCD and mental health services delivery at primary health care level and to promote healthy lifestyles across the society
• Advance and support collaborations and partnerships with the Ministry of Health and other government ministries both at national and district level as well as health facility and community levels to strengthen NCD and mental health programming, innovations and approach to government accompaniment as well as to facilitate collaborative planning and implementation
• Collaborate with development and grant management teams grant acquisition, management and compliance.
• As a member of the senior management team, contribute to accompaniment of the public sector including policy advocacy, technical assistance and strengthening PIH/ APZU’s presence at national level through strengthened involvement in relevant technical working groups
• Lead collaboration between APZU leadership, partnerships with the Ministry of Health and other government ministries both at national and district level as well as health facility and community levels to strengthen NCD and mental health programming, innovations and approach to government accompaniment as well as to facilitate collaborative planning and implementation
• Collaborate with development and grant management teams grant acquisition, management and compliance.
• As a member of the senior management team, contribute to accompaniment of the public sector including policy advocacy, technical assistance and strengthening PIH/ APZU’s presence at national level through strengthened involvement in relevant technical working groups
• Lead collaboration between APZU leadership, national MoH, the Neno DHMT, medical schools i.e KUHES and other implementing partners/ institutions to create an NCD training hub in Neno District to train NCD clinicians and nurses in delivery of high quality NCD and mental health care in districts throughout Malawi Work closely with APZU clinical leadership as well as the cross-site NCD team on developing
• NCD and Mental Health programs, protocols, policy statements, research projects and other relevant SOPs and interventions to strengthen NCD service delivery in Malawi
• Liaise with and support APZU’s work with the district MoH leadership in Neno and the central MoH NCD leadership, including routine communication, mentorship to NCD implementation at a district level, adherence to national guidelines, research collaboration, and policy and protocol development as needed
• Identify research needs and priorities aimed at improving NCD and mental health implementation including promotion and strengthening of research capabilities

Human Capital Development & Management – 20%

• In collaboration with HR, build an effective team by recruiting, coaching, and mentoring an NCD and mental health clinical team and ensure the team receives regular assessment, supportive supervision, feedback and have active development plans
• Promote a culture of high performance, professionalism, ethical behavior, integrity and transparency in accordance with PIH/APZU values, policies and procedures
• Ensure all NCD and mental health teams timely develop their annual work plans and budgets and are tracking spending closely
• Oversee overall performance management for direct reports which include setting up of annual performance contracts/objectives; supervision and evaluation of performance as well as identifying skills/knowledge gaps within the units and providing mentorship and relevant support for capacity building.
• Handle discipline and grievances of employees within the sections as needed in collaboration with HR.

Operational Management – 20%

• Create and uphold systems of transparency and accountability ensuring prudent management and tracking of NCD and mental health budgets and resources
• As far as possible and in collaboration with the CMO, provide strategic leadership in the alignment of APZU NCD and mental health programmes to MOH priorities, harmonization of PIH and MoH NCD and mental health indicators for improved reporting on district level outcomes, alignment of PIH planning, budgeting and activity implementation to DIP and LAPA
• Provide overall oversight on NCD and mental health quality improvement projects, program impacts through systematic program evaluation, presentations to internal stakeholders as well as cross-site working groups, national and international stakeholders, conferences and other forums such as academic publications.
• Support with NCD and mental health proposal/budget development processes, provide leadership oversight in coordination with the CMO and other relevant departments in the implementation and evaluation of NCD and mental health grants
• Support in the quantification of drugs and supplies to compliment delivery of care towards chronic conditions i.e. Diabetes, Hypertension, Epilepsy and Asthma in Neno district.
• Ensure timely development and submission of relevant reports and any other required documents i.e. annual procurement plans etc for the NCD and mental health section In accordance with organizational policies, provide director level approvals for funds requisitions, transport requests, procurement processes, etc. in liaison with operations leadership
• Ensure effective communication and collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders including donors and sub-awardees on overall NCD and mental health programming
• Collaborate with both local and cross-site procurement teams to strengthen NCD & mental health supply chain, ensure timely procurement of equipment, medications and other NCD and mental health supplies and ensure that all procured items meet clinical needs, avoid stock-outs, and support strengthened care delivery both in Neno and other districts

Qualifications and Requirements:

• MBBS, MBChB holder or equivalent
• Masters’ in Public Health/ Global Health or any other relevant will be an advantage Strong background of chronic disease care program scale up will be an added advantage
• Experience in proposal and program development and implementation in health Minimum of 10 years’ experience working in Health programming in resource-limited setting
• Experience in team oversight, managing clinical staff, using data for action and managing budgets
• Strong strategic planning capabilities, ability to analyse situations and skills to elaborate possible solution strategies
• Fluent in English and demonstrated proficiency in English writing skills
• Fluent in Microsoft Office with ability to produce reports and cocumentation independently
• Willingness to live and work full-time in the rural, hard to reach district of Neno Active registration with the Medical Council of Malawi by the time of starting the job Ability to work well in a dynamic team environment alongside health workers, support staff and patients from a variety of background

Benefits & Remuneration

An attractive remuneration package will be offered to the successful candidates commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Qualified and interested persons should apply strictly to the email address below, enclosing their cover letter; copies of relevant certificates and Curriculum Vitoe indicating three names of traceable referees with valid telephone numbers and email addresses not later than Friday, 30th August, 2024.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.

Email: apzuhr@pih.org with the title of the position indicated on the subject of the email addressing;

The Director of Human Resources and Administration
Partners In Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (PIH/ APZU)
P.O. Box 56
NENO

NB: Partners In Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (PIH/ APZU) is is an equal opportunity employer, so, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, tribe, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We strive to provide an inclusive and supportive working environment.

Partners In Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (PIH/ APZU) is committed to safeguarding staff, children and communities with whom we work with. We are committed to ensuring that those who benefit from our work- including our patients, families and community members – as well as our staff are treated with dignity and respect and are protected from sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment.

Therefore, any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of applicable background checks.

The Organisation does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. If you are asked to make a payment at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact gondwe@pih.org and speakup@pih.org.