Technical Advisor, Newborn Care , Department of Paediatrics

Technical Advisor, Newborn Care 

Duration of employment: 1 year (renewable) 

About NEST360

The Newborn Essential Solutions and Technologies (NEST360) is an alliance of international organizations working together to support national governments to end preventable newborn deaths in five African countries, including Kenya. In Kenya, the program is being implemented in 13 public hospitals across 10 counties in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, County Departments of Health, KEMRI-Welcome Trust Research Program, and the Aga Khan University. The program has installed newborn technologies in newborn units, trained and mentored clinical and biomedical teams, and set up data systems to support improvement of quality of care for newborns. The second phase of the program will be consolidating phase 1 gains in existing sites and expanding to include additional health facilities between January 2024 to December 2028.

About the position

The Technical Advisor will work closely with the MoH’s Division of Neonatal and Child Health under the Directorate of Family Health to support the development and implementation of newborn care policies, strategies and guidelines. He/she will also support the institutionalization of NEST360 newborn care packages into routine government systems. 

Reporting, roles and responsibilities

The Technical Advisor will have dual reporting to NEST360 Country Lead and Country Director who will be the immediate supervisors. He/she will have indirect reporting to the Head MOH Division of Newborn and Child Health.   

Specific roles and responsibilities will be as follows:

• Support the MoH newborn section in developing newborn care policies, strategies and guidelines.
• Assist in implementation of small and sick newborns and pediatric quality of care standards through mentorship to county and facility teams.
• Provide technical support to county governments to facilitate implementation of newborn care packages and interventions.
• Participate in the development and implementation of small and sick newborn care quality improvement training materials.
• Support advocacy for newborn and child health at national and county levels to increase visibility and facilitate scale up to new counties.
• Provide a link between NEST360 and the Division of Newborn and Child Health
• Work with consortium members wherever applicable to further MOH mission for small and sick newborns.
• Support strengthening of monitoring and evaluation for newborn and child health indicators.
• Provide linkage between MOH, KPA and other implementing partners to strengthen collaboration.
• Maintain detailed and up to date records of NEST360 program implementation activities in the country and share learnings to inform programming and scaling.
• Engage with county and hospital health management teams to promote their buy in of the project and document learnings from engagements.
• Maintain effective communication with implementing hospitals and skills labs at all times.
• Support the integration of neonatal inpatient data (NID), newborn essential equipment list, quality improvement, and education materials into routine government systems.

Academic Qualifications

The following are required for pre-qualification:

• Degree in Medicine (MBChB) or Registered Pediatric Clinical Medicine with a postgraduate degree in public health/global health/health care management; OR Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing with postgraduate training in neonatal nursing or other related MCH disciplines.
• Valid KMPC, Clinical Officers or Nursing Council registration
• Certification in the Newborn ETAT+ provider course and/or EmONC an added advantage
• Computer literacy with proficiency in Microsoft applications

Competencies

• A minimum of seven years’ continuous work experience in a pediatric or newborn ward   
• Previous work experience in a national or international position involving collaborative programs and multi-disciplinary teams
• Experience working with government agencies, government officials at sub-national and national levels, and development partners or civil society
• Demonstrated knowledge of contemporary issues around newborn and child health in Kenya and beyond
• Experience working within the devolved Kenyan health system. 
• Good understanding of health system building blocks and Kenya’s health system
• Team leader with excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Good planning, coordination and coordination skills
• Ability to produce high quality reports and policy briefs
• Ability to travel frequently within the country