State Technical Manager - John Snow India Private Limited (Apply by: October 26, 2015)

State Technical Manager

Application Deadline: October 26^th, 2015

Position Type: Full-time

Company/Division: JSI

Location: Bhubaneswar/ Shimla/Panchkula/ Hyderabad

Salary: Commensurate with experience

John Snow Inc. (JSI) is seeking a full-time State-level Immunization Technical Manager. The candidate must be willing and available to work in state HQs in one of the following States: Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, or Andhra Pradesh.

Overview

Rotavirus diarrhoea has been consistently found to be the leading cause of hospitalizations in India. In order to address the high burden of childhood disease and deaths from Rotavirus Diarrhoea (RD), introducing the Rotavirus vaccine (RVV) is a critical step to avert this problem in India. RVVs have already been introduced in over 50 countries, and the Indian government intends to introduce the vaccine on a rolling scale in up to four states.

JSI will be providing technical support to the introduction of RVV into the routine immunization systems of these identified states, including providing technical support and capacity building at state and district level to improve the planning, management, coordination, training, monitoring, and evaluation of RVV introduction. With a goal of achieving sustainable improvements, JSI will support these states in linking these efforts with RI strengthening as an integral part of the overall health system, so that it will be invaluable for scaling up RVV in other states of India.

Responsibilities

The State Technical Manager is a full-time position based at state level. In addition to serving as the technical manager for state-level activities, s/he will be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities related to state-level project implementation. The overall responsibility of the Technical Manager is to lead the state team and develop an operational plan for roll-out of Rotavirus vaccine in the state. S/he will be the nodal point for discussion with the state government and state partners and will act as the member secretary for RIWG. The Technical Manager will also support the RIWG in developing and implementing an approach for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the RVV vaccine introduction. S/he will develop and implement a framework and comprehensive plan for M&E, plan and implement RI data collection, management, and analysis; and build the capacity of both project and government staff to improve data quality, analysis and use for decision making. The State Technical Manager will be responsible for taking initiative in establishing an effective learning and documentation system within the program.

Under the leadership of Country Technical Director based in New Delhi, the State Technical Manager will perform the following duties and responsibilities:

• Facilitate capacity building and liaise with government counterparts and developmental partners at State/District level
• Support state government in planning and implementation of all activities related to introduction of Rotavirus Vaccine (RVV) and its smooth integration in Routine Immunization Programme (RI)
• Support state government in creation of a Rotavirus vaccine Introduction Working Group (RIWG) consisting of state officials and developmental partners to guide and oversee introduction of RVV
• Act as a technical-managerial secretariat for RIWG for arranging monthly meeting and discussing progress of RVV introduction
• Support state government in designing an introduction plan and develop systems to monitor the progress
• Coordinate and facilitate regular involvement of developmental partners and stakeholders in RVV introduction and building upon their areas of expertise to introduce and streamline RVV
• Support state government in developing an action plan for reporting and managing and AEFI following introduction of RVV
• Oversee the support being provided by Rota Cell to state government in developing an action plan for vaccine logistics management, cold chain assessment and gap filling, updating reporting formats and immunization cards
• Support state in designing and implementation of a communication, awareness creation and demand generation strategy for RVV
• Support state in upgradation of existing monitoring and supportive supervisory mechanism to include RVV
• Support state in organizing State level ToTs and district/block level training
• Coordinate with and maintain active communication and collaboration with district officials and update the state government on district wise progress
• Regularly report district-wide progress, challenges and anticipated bottlenecks to the Country Technical Director
• Review financial allocation, expenditure and settlement as per procedures laid down by JSI
• Perform additional tasks as assigned by supervisor

Qualifications and Skills

JSI seeks a results-oriented individual with the ability to produce and lead teams in producing high quality deliverables, managing multiple concurrent tasks, and meet tight deadlines with attention to detail. The successful candidate is required to have:

• A Medical University degree, preferably with Post Graduate qualification in Public Health/Community Medicine/PSM (M.D or MPH). 
• Minimum 10 years of experience of working in the field of Public Health with at least 5 years of work experience in immunization field at National/State/Division level.
• Knowledge of public health issues, immunization program, and M&E. Knowledge and experience in supply chain management a plus
• Excellent interpersonal relations; ability to network, work in multi-cultural team environment, and work harmoniously with multiple partners
• Capable of introducing innovative strategies
• Strong written and oral English and Hindi communication, with good presentation skills
• Good working knowledge of computer applications, especially MS office
• Strong and proven documentation and organizational skills
• Willingness to undertake field travel within allotted districts

Interested candidates should send their CV and cover letter to the following email address no later than 26 October, 2015: IndiaRota.Recruitment@jsi.com, mentioning the name of post and State of choice in the subject line ATTN: Hiring Manager.