Sr. Women’s Health Advisor

Job Title:                                                Sr. Women’s Health Advisor  

Department:                                        Program Department

Location:                                               Vientiane, Lao PDR

Position reports to:                           Senior Program Quality Advisor / WRCA

Position Type:                                     Fixed-Term (1 year with potential extension), Full-time

Job Summary / About the Role

The Sr. Women’s Health Advisor will work across all programs and target groups of CARE Laos to strengthen design, development and technical impacts of RMNCH interventions. The Sr. Women’s Health Advisor will work closely with the Health Team and Program Teams in build capacity and improve CARE’s Women’s Health interventions to ensure maximum impact. The Sr.  Women’s Health Advisor will play a leading role in representing CARE Laos in relevant networks and events, particularly those that contribute to the achievement of CARE’s long term goals.

This position is based in Vientiane Capital with regular travel required to program sites (particularly Sekong, Luang Namtha and Phongsaly).

Reporting Relationships

The Sr. Women’s Health Advisor reports to the Senior Program Quality Advisor / WRCA and work closely with relevant Sector Technical Advisors.

This Sr. Women’s Health Advisor works closely with the Partnership and Awards Coordinator (PAC) and provide capacity building for partner organisations.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategy and Leadership:

• Work with the Senior Program Quality Advisor / WRCA to support the development, implementation and review of the long- term program;
• Ensure CARE Lao’s long term has a strong focus on addressing the needs and rights of remote ethnic women and achieves gender equality and women’s empowerment through actively contributing to strategy development as a member of the CARE Lao’s Leadership Team;
• Deliver key strategic contribution to CARE Laos’s future Women’s Health programming direction;
• Lead the Women’s Health Program unit including line management of any relevant staff, guiding APPA process, guiding PDP process, and leading the recruitment of key staff members
• Actively influence and drive the development and implementation of the AOP (Annual Operating Plan);
• Contribute to the development in-country strategy in line with CARE International long-term strategic goals particularly ensuring the links to the Agenda 2030;
• Contribute to the development in-country policies, where necessary, in consultation with CARE International policies;

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT:

• Collaborate closely with the Senior Program Quality Advisor / WRCA and Business Development Unit and consultants in project designs;
• Contribute to the program development of CIL, particularly relevant to health program including coordinating new project designs and proposals, in alignment with CIL’s program priorities and donor guidelines;
• Strengthen donor relationships; both in-country and externally where required;
• Establish and maintain networking and positioning of CIL with existing and potential partners (including GoL, NPAs, INGOs, and the UN); and
• Work closely with relevant partners and CARE Member Partners (CMPs) in order to follow up existing and new collaboration opportunities
• Oversee program management of all projects and activities within the Women’s Health portfolio;

• Work with relevant health specialist and program teams in planning and rolling out program strategies and activities as well as maintaining effective synergies with program teams. /project management;

TECHNICAL ADVICE AND CAPACITY BUILDING

• Support relevant health specialist and project managers in developing technical capacity plans for relevant projects, staff and partners;
• Provide Sr. level health advice and support to project teams, partners and Sr. management to ensure a strong and transformative approach to gender sensitive women’s health programming across all of CARE Laos;
• Technically lead the health specialist/team to support effective ongoing capacity development of staff and partners in gender sensitive women’s health program approaches and activities;
• Ensure regular Technical Team meetings are organised, reflected and shared with program and relevant teams
• Provide technical quality oversight of Women’s Health strategies, tools and materials both organisational and in programming;

RESEARCH, MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING

• Lead research and supervision of consultants related to RMNCH and ensure results and lessons learned are incorporated in practice and future programming;
• Foster and organise collaboration within RMNCH to gather and analyse evidence and learning from CARE Laos work in RMNCH in order to influence policy and practice;
• Work with heath team, relevant staff and partner to stimulate on-going learning and exchange on Women’s Health;
• Lead the reporting process to donors, working close with Project Managers and partners in the North and South

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum Masters’ Degree or University degree relevant to public health, nursing, community development or related fields (or equivalent professional experience);
• Minimum 8 years relevant experience on project management in development including program design, proposal development and donor relations;
• Relevant work experience with an International Non-Government Organisation (INGO) or similar organisation;
• Strong interest and knowledge on issues  that  ethnic communities face  within Laos and more globally;
• Strong interest and knowledge in addressing women and girls issues within health or Women Health sector;
• Good communication skills in both Lao and English; knowledge of an ethnic language in current  work location  and advantage;
• Proven ability to write proposals and reports in fluent English and to donor standard;
• Fully conversant in Microsoft Office with knowledge in Microsoft Word, Power Point and Excel;
• Proven ability to manage multiple and complex budgets under various donor rules and regulations; including knowledge of  EU, DFAT and other  donors;