BACKGROUND

SCA has been working in Afghanistan since 1982 and is presently managing development programmes within Health, Education, Rural Development and Disability. SCA’s programming is built on the three strategic means of service delivery, capacity development and advocacy. SCA has around 8,000 staff and manages its activities in Afghanistan through the Kabul Management Office (KMO), five Regional Management Offices (RMOs) and two Liaison Offices (LOs) across 19 provinces. In Sweden SCA has 20 staff working at the Stockholm Management Office (SMO) and around 5,000 members organized in local chapters. SCA is funded by various institutional and private donors, including Sida, UNICEF, WHO, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, EU, NDC, FCDO and fund raising. The mission of SCA is to empower individuals, communities and local organizations, primarily in rural areas and with particular focus on women, girls, boys and vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, so that they may participate fully in society and influence their own development.

SCA’s Health programme strategy aims at outcomes within improved access and nutrition, quality enhancement, behavioural change, capacity development and systems building. SCA currently implements Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) and Essential Package of Hospital Services (EPHS) in Wardak and Nooristan provinces along with running a Midwifery Education programme in Parwan, Samangan and Nooristan provinces. Family Health Houses (FHH) project is implemented in Samangan and Nooristan, while Learning for Healthy Life (LHL) programme is implemented in in Laghman, Wardak, Parwan, Samangan and Balkh. SCA provides financial and technical support to Afghanistan Midwives Association (AMA), in implementing a mentorship project in Panjshir, Kapisa, Baghlan, Logar, Khost and Parwan. As a step toward e-health system, SCA implements Smart Paper Technology (SPT) in Laghman and Wardak provinces to digitalize Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) and mother and child (MCH) data. SCA builds capacity of community-based organisations and technical counterparts of health authorities, engages in research studies, institutional learning, policy-development, and advocacy within the health sector.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Senior Health Programme Specialist role focuses on three areas: (a) technical and innovative developments of programme strategy and design, (b) research, evaluations and quality assurance, and (c) planning, reporting and proposal development.

Under supervision of the Head of Health Programme (HoHP), to whom s/he reports, the Senior Health Programme Specialist has a central advisory role in strengthening and developing the Health Programme for ensuring long-term outcomes. S/he guides processes related to policy, strategy and methodology, provides technical support for result-based planning, monitoring and follow-up. The role encompasses strategic work at institutional and system levels as well as capacity building of key Programme/Project staff.

DETAILED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead processes related to policy and strategy formulation, development of technical guidelines, manuals and protocols
• Guide processes and provide quality assurance for the development of programme design, concepts, proposals, assessments, studies, evaluations and reports
• Contribute centrally to the analysis and documentation of lessons learned, ensuring that concerned units at regional/field levels are pro-actively involved and that pro-poor and marginalised groups perspectives and community-level needs are reflected 
• Lead annual planning and reporting processes within HPU, under close supervision of HoHP. 
• Facilitate active follow-up of progress made towards recommendations and management responses to evaluations, studies, surveys and third-party monitoring
• Spearhead learning and innovation processes, where programme development is stimulated by feeding in expertise and best practices gained from international experience. 
• Build capacity of KMO and RMO programme staff within areas of public health management, e-health, Maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), Sexual and reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), participatory and bottom-up planning, monitoring and reporting, gender responsiveness and right-based approaches 
• Partake in processes for systems development, policy-influencing and related advocacy and networking
• Contribute to synergies among SCA programmes

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Qualification:

• Medical doctor with Master degree in Public Health, holding a PHD will be given preference. 
• At least seven years of relevant work experience in senior positions in large organizations within public health sector. 

Essential skills and experience

• Strong experience in health policy and strategy formulation, particularly related to health systems development and e-health innovations 
• Experience of working with rights-based approaches to health
• Experience in MNCH and SRHR services
• Skills in results-based planning, reporting, evaluation, research and proposal development
• Skills in implementation strategies and operational plans 
• Knowledge of participatory methods and tools
• Experience in staff capacity building 
• Excellent analytical, facilitation, networking and communication skills
• Proven experience of policy-influencing and advocacy
• Willingness/ability to travel to field locations
• Understanding of social relations and commitment to integrate gender, diversity and other power-related issues into programme design and practices
• Fluency in written and spoken English

Desired competency

• Previous experience from Afghanistan or a similar context
• Experience of developing database and using statistical packages e.g. SPSS and STATA, ArcView to undertake quantitative analysis 

Application information
Contract period: 2 years with an initial 6 months probationary period
Conditions: Non- family posting. SCA offers a competitive salary, free housing, insurances and other benefits.
Duties to begin: May 2023
Last date for application: 26 February 2023
Apply from Svenska Afghanistankommittén (workbuster.com)
Download a 1-page letter explaining why you are interested in and suited for this position and your CV (no more than 2 pages) in English.