Options works to strengthen services, increase access and improve the quality of health and social care at all levels of the health system. We aim to improve the health and quality of life of poor and marginalised women and their families.
Job Title: Voice and Accountability Deputy Adviser
Job Description
Background
PATHS2 is DFID’s flagship health sector reform project in Nigeria. It seeks to improve the planning, financing
and delivery of sustainable and replicable pro-poor services for common health problems in 5 states,working under 5 outputs, namely:
• Output 1: Stewardship role for health at national level strengthened
• Output 2: Systems to support appropriate health services improved
• Output 3: Delivery of and access to sustainable, appropriate health services and supplies improved
• Output 4: Ability of citizens and civil society to increase the accountability and responsiveness of the health system improved
• Output 5: Capacity of citizens to make informed choices about prevention, treatment, and care strengthened.
The project’s five focal states are Lagos, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna and Kano. The programme also works at Federal level.
PATHS2 forms part of a suite of four State Level Programmes (SLPs), which seeks to contribute to the more effective and efficient use of Nigeria’s resources to achieve the MDGs: the State Programme for
Accountability, Responsiveness and Capability (SPARC), which focuses on the reform of core public administration processes such as policy, strategy and public financial management; the State Accountability
and Voice Initiative (SAVI) which seeks to enable civil society and government to contribute to achieving improved use of public resources; and the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN), which strengthens the governance of the education sector to deliver improved primary and secondary education.
The SLPs are half way through their six year period of implementation and, for PATHS2, the second half of the programme is expected to produce significant results in the ways health services are delivered. Under
Output 4, strategies in Voice and Accountability (V&A) have been designed to play an integral role for achieving these results by increasing the accountability and responsiveness of the health system by fostering
citizen voice and influence over health service delivery, health policy and strategy, as well as budgeting processes.
Job Summary
As a senior member of PATHS2’s V&A Team, the Voice and Accountability Deputy Adviser (VADA) will provide key support to the V&A Lead Adviser in the implementation of the programme’s V&A strategies.
The V&A team provides technical oversight and leadership to the V&A work of PATHS 2, and contributes actively to the development and implementation of all relevant strategies at State level. The position is
based in Abuja, but expected to have frequent engagement with all the State teams to ensure that appropriate skills and approaches are applied in each State. The VADA needs to be both a team player and a
self-starter, and will deputise for the Voice and Accountability Lead Adviser, from whom mentoring will be available as needed.
Key Responsibilities
1. Technical Support to Facility/Ward Health Committee roll-out Strategy
• With supervision and support from the V&A Lead Adviser, oversee the technical evolution and implementation of PATHS2 Facility/Ward Health Committee Strengthening Initiative, including by:
o Developing and co-ordinating the implementation of appropriate strategies for the scale up of the PATHS2 Facility/Ward Health Committee pilots, in collaboration with PATHS2 State Offices;
o Co-ordinating the monitoring of the Facility/Ward Health Committee Strengthening Initiative
o Leading lesson learning from the PATHS2 Facility/Ward Health Committee Strengthening Initiative and co-ordinating the dissemination of lessons learnt
o Commissioning, managing and quality assuring external TA contracted to deliver elements of the Facility/Ward Health Committee Strengthening Initiative
• As part of the V&A team, directly provide TA to the work of PATHS2 in each State to ensure that the Facility/Ward Health Committee Strengthening Initiative and its links with other parts of the PATHS2
programme, including the V&A policy advocacy work, is well understood and effectively implemented by the V&A State Officers within each state.
2. Support to Institutionalising Accountability
• With support from the V&A Lead Adviser, take a leading role in the institutionalisation of the
Facility/Ward Health Committee Strengthening Initiative in States and at federal level. This will require the direct provision of technical assistance and the management of external TA to State and Local Governments to ensure government units mandated to lead the Initiative build up the necessary human and financial resources to do this. It may also require the provision of similar assistance to Federal Government.
3. Strategic Development of V and A Work
• Liaise with teams leading the other PATHS2 workstreams to ensure that the V&A plans and activities are complementary to, and well linked with, the broader PATHS2 programme.
• Work with the V&A Team to identify opportunities and challenges for voice and accountability work within the broader PATHS2 programme.
4. Workplanning
• Make leading contributions to critical steps in the project cycle management process, including:
o Development of annual workplans and budgets
o Development of quarterly mobilisation plans
o Six monthly reporting against the routine tracking indicators
o Monthly, quarterly and annual reports to DFID.
5. Leadership and Management
• Deputise for the V&A Lead Adviser
o ensuring that the relevant Abuja V&A team member covers work appropriate to their area;
o co-ordinating team responses to senior management for information3
o representing the V&A Team in relevant PATHS2 meetings, SLP meetings and DFID briefing meetings, and ensuring that all the salient comments made by other parties are communicated with the Lead Adviser
o making comments and contribution to reports and discussions, and responding to queries from DFID on V&A work.
• Manage the V&A Technical Officers, quality assuring their work, and provide technical supervisory support to the State Voice and Accountability Officers, ensuring they are able to assume their roles
• Be a team player for the V&A Team and for the broader PATHS2 team by:
o actively participating in core team meetings and other team events as appropriate
o providing updates to the PATHS2 team on V&A activities
o providing on-going support to improve performance of State V&A officers
• Contribute to facilitating good working relations with other relevant DFID programmes, including
SAVI, SPARC, PRRINN-MNCH, and ENR in focal states and support the strengthening of linkages between the SAVI and SPARC and PATHS2 programmes.
• Provide support to the V&A Lead Adviser as necessary
Skills and Competencies
• At least 10 years experience working in complex technical assistance programmes, including in commissioning and quality assuring technical assistance
• Experience in the planning and budgeting activities
• Good skills in reporting on progress and outcomes to clients
• Demonstrable leadership skills
• Experience of managing and mentoring staff and partners
• Excellent listening skills and a willingness to work in a participatory way, encouraging contributions from all team members
• Ability to critically assess one’s own performance and a strong commitment to personal improvement and development
• Good understanding of voice and accountability issues as well as effective approaches to promoting citizen voice and greater government responsiveness
• Demonstrable experience of successful approaches to institutional change within government in Nigeria
• Good knowledge of community dynamics in different geographical settings in Nigeria
• Experience of working on DFID programmes preferred
• Experience of working in the health sector desirable
• Excellent writing skills
• Nigerian nationals only.
Method of Application
To apply, please send a copy of your CV, and a covering letter outlining how you meet the person specification, to Katharine Boaden at k.boaden@options.co.uk by 10.00am on Monday 10 October 2011.
Applications should include Application for Technical Officer as the subject.
Interviews are provisionally scheduled for week commencing 17 October 2011. Only those shortlisted for interview will be contacted.
