Maternal Health Advisor

Job Location: Washington, DC     

Telework Eligible: Yes, at least 3 days per week in-person reporting at Washington, DC office.

Remote Eligible: No.

Summary Statement

The Global Health Training, Advisory and Support Contract (GHTASC) delivers effective global health programming to advance the mission of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Global Health (GH) through institutional support and workforce development services from junior, mid-level, senior and expert advisory and administrative professionals.

Credence and its partner, the Public Health Institute (PHI), are both employers for GHTASC, and are seeking a Maternal Health Advisor under GHTASC. This position will be hired under Public Health Institute (PHI).

The world has witnessed an extraordinary 70 percent decline in child mortality over the last 50 years, and a reduction in child deaths from over 12 million in 1990 to 5.9 million in 2015. Over the same timeframe, maternal deaths declined by 43%, from an estimated 532,000 in 1990 to 302,000 in 2015. New WHO global and national estimates and trends in maternal mortality are forthcoming. Despite this progress, significant work remains to increase coverage of high-impact interventions, strengthen the health systems that support these interventions, improve quality, and address equity gaps that are bottlenecks to ending preventable child and maternal deaths.

In 2014, with technical input from USAID, a 2030 global target of fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births was adopted by WHO.  In June of that year, USAID outlined its support for this goal in the report Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality: USAID Maternal Health Vision for Action. The Vision emphasizes equity, sustainability, country ownership, capacity building, innovation, and collaboration across disciplines and sectors to end preventable maternal mortality. An update of a Maternal Newborn Health Vision for 2020-2015 is underway that will emphasize the USAID Journey to Self-Reliance.

The Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) Division of the Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) within USAID’s Bureau for Global Health (GH) provides technical leadership and supports strategic planning, innovative program design, and monitoring and evaluation in maternal, newborn, child and environmental health programs globally and in USAID field Missions. The MNH Division plays a central role in technical leadership and management of USAID’s efforts to prevent maternal and newborn deaths and other similar global commitments and initiatives.

Position Summary

The Maternal Health Advisor will be assigned to the Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) Division within USAID’s Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) in USAID’s Bureau for Global Health (GH) as a PHI Institutional Support Contractor (ISC).  The incumbent will provide program support, and policy and technical guidance for MNH awards, as well as provide technical advice to the maternal and newborn health teams.  The Maternal Health team lead will serve as the USAID point of contact, and the Advisor will work in collaboration with other MCHN Divisions, GH Offices and Centers, and USAID Bureaus and Missions through USAID management and technical teams to promote maternal and newborn survival and health.

Full salary range for this position is $97,500 to $152,620 per year, with the starting salary determined based on candidate’s knowledge, skills, experience, as well as budget availability.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide technical leadership to the Agency on Maternal Health (MH) issues, including enabling and mobilizing individual and communities, advancing quality respectful maternity care, strengthening related health systems, and continuous learning (40%)

• Provide leadership and guidance regarding MH issues, priorities and strategies, with attention to care across the maternity cycle and relevance to perinatal health and survival, and the major causes of maternal death and morbidity.
• Provide technical advice for antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum quality care based on current evidence.
• Provides progressive expertise to analyze complex situations in order to assist in the development of USAID strategic plans and assess the impact of host-country policies and practices on USG or USAID programs in the health sector.
• Collaborate with U.S. Government (USG) partners, bilateral donors, multilateral organizations, foundations, universities, and nongovernmental/private voluntary organizations in policy and programming related to maternal health.
• Provides technical support as a member of management teams for projects and programs managed out of the MCHN Office or relating to maternal and newborn health.
• Participate in global efforts to advance Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE), including participation in global technical working groups.
• Support the policy oversight and management of maternal health and related projects and activities.
• Bring new findings from technical literature to the attention of USAID Health Officers and Mission staff through webinars, presentations, participation on country teams and the USAID website.
• Contribute to education and communication, including e-learning courses, social media and reports to Congress.
• Work at least 3 days per week in-person at Washington, DC office.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Provide technical assistance to field Missions, GH offices, regional bureaus, and implementing partners (60%)

• Serve as a maternal health resource for GH offices, regional bureaus, and USAID Missions to advance maternal survival and health, including healthy behaviors, care seeking, provision of quality care, monitoring and evaluation.
• Provide short-term maternal health expertise to designated priority countries in design and evaluation of maternal health programs and long-term support as a team member or GH country coordinator for a selected country(ies).
• Provide expert maternal health technical assistance as needed to USAID’s implementing partners.
• Provide expert maternal health technical assistance and support coordination with other USG partners.
• Respond to internal and external requests for information, prepare background and briefing documents, and serve as a technical mentor and member of working groups and technical committees, as necessary.
• Provide guidance on strengthening health systems as it relates to MNH.
• Provide technical input and advice to guide maternal health research, with emphasis on qualitative and implementation research.
• Bring new findings from technical literature to the attention of USAID and implementing partners.
• Work at least 3 days per week in-person at Washington, DC office.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Qualification Requirements:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree with 6 years of relevant experience, bachelor’s degree with 8 years of relevant experience, Associate’s degree and 10 years of relevant experience, or High School graduate and 12 years of relevant experience.
• US Citizenship or US Permanent Residency with the ability to obtain and maintain a Facility Access clearance is required. For Permanent Residents, this means having resided in the US for at least 3 of the past 5 years.

Other Qualifications:

• A minimum of five years’ experience in design, implementation and evaluation of public health or related programs, of which two-three years focused on international or resource-poor settings.
• An understanding of health systems issues related to maternal care in low and middle income (LMIC) countries.
• Demonstrated skill in conducting critical analysis and evaluation of technical and programmatic aspects of programs.
• Ability to think and operate strategically and programmatically.
• Excellent understanding of current issues in international maternal and neonatal health programs.
• Demonstrated experience in working directly with host-country governments, developing country program clinicians, managers and/or policy makers.
• Basic understanding of programs and organizational aspects of major international donors, multilateral agencies, and nongovernmental/private voluntary organizations supporting the social sector, with a focus that includes maternal health.
• Excellent interpersonal and diplomacy skills and experience in working effectively in an independent capacity and as a member of a team.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills, including ability to write technical documents and give presentations on the technical and public health advances on maternal health to colleagues in and outside of USAID.
• Good computer skills.
• Willingness to travel internationally up to 50% of time.
• Ability to work at least 3 days per week in-person at Washington, DC office.

Competencies:

• Innovation: Takes initiative to propose new ideas/approaches and demonstrates ability to find new and better ways to accomplish work. 
• Client Service: Communicates with clients, handling any issues politely and efficiently; understands and is available to clients; maintains pleasant and professional image. 
• Accountability: Takes ownership of work responsibilities and holds high standards. Keeps commitments and takes appropriate actions to ensure obligations are met.  Pursues efficiency and effectiveness and adheres to organization policies and procedures. 
• Interpersonal Skills: Works in cooperation with others and communicates effectively with co-workers, supervisors, subordinates, clients, and other outside contacts. 
• Continual Learning: Assesses and recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; pursues professional development that is aligned with organizational role, contribution, and goals; proactively shares knowledge with others to foster learning across the organization. 

Prior to submitting your application, your resume must include relevant paid and non-paid experience showing dates held with month, year and hours worked per week for each position. Please ensure that all relevant experience and education is documented on your resume. There is no limitation to resume length; updates to resumes will not be accepted during the interview and selection process.