Job at Embassy of Ireland, Health Programme Officer

1. Introduction
Irish Aid is the Irish Government’s programme for overseas development and is an integral part of Ireland’s foreign policy. In Tanzania, Irish Aid is managed by the Embassy of Ireland. The Embassy works with the Government of Tanzania, UN agencies, international and national research and civil society organisations to deliver on our overall goal of “a more equitable and prosperous society for all through a particular focus on women and girls realising their rights”.

The programme is guided by a five year Mission Strategy 2017- 2021 which is aligned with the Tanzania Five Year Development Plan II. A key outcome area in our new strategy is that poor and vulnerable women, adolescents and children have improved health and nutrition status. Our health programme takes a health systems strengthening approach with a focus on primary and community health services.

Across all of our work we take account of women’s agency, women’s economic empowerment, improved health and well-being outcomes for women and girls and reducing gender based violence. A commitment to research, monitoring and learning underpins our approach to programme implementation and delivery.


2. The Position
The Embassy wishes to recruit a Health Programme Officer to join the Health and Nutrition Team and support the health adviser and senior management in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of a range of health programmes supported by Irish Aid. The primary duties and responsibilities of this post are:

Programme Planning

• Contribute to the Embassy’s annual planning and specifically health plans
• Contribute to monitoring, assessing and reporting progress on Irish Aid’s health programme and on overall health sector performance
• Track developments in HIV and AIDS in Tanzania, in particular the use of global funds.
• Prepare technical and programme briefings as required and contribute to annual and six monthly reports on the Irish Aid health programme and on developments in the health sector.
• Work closely with the Economic/Trade team to strengthen and develop IrishTanzania institutional partnerships in the health sector.

Grant Management

• Support the health and nutrition team in grant management in accordance with Ireland’s grant management guidelines including taking responsibility for project development, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation.
• Ensure adherence to grant financing agreements and Irish Aid’s accountability mechanisms and that progress, impacts and risks are highlighted to management and relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain all documentation (hard copy and electronically) of programme grants and specifically maintain all files relating to the Health Basket Fund.

Policy Engagement

• Build strong and effective working relationships with Government of Tanzania, civil society, and other Development Partners.
• Represent Ireland’s agreed positions at health sector working groups and other dialogue mechanisms.
• Support coordination and harmonisation of support to the Health Basket Fund.
• Review, analyse and summarise key discussions, reports and policy papers and contribute to key discussions, sector reviews, evaluations and audits prepared by Government and other development partners, representing Irish Aid’s positions.
• Prepare briefing note, speaking points and speeches as required. Knowledge Management and Communications
• Support the identification and development of relevant research and analysis to inform Ireland’s approach to health systems strengthening.
• Support documentation and dissemination of partner knowledge products and the production of case studies.
• Coordinate the health and nutrition inputs to the Embassy’s annual and six-month reports.
• Contribute to the Embassy’s public communication plan

As a member of the Embassy Development Team, the Health Programme Officer will be expected to contribute to the delivery of the Irish Aid programme and collaborate effectively with other team members. The Health Programme Officer may be asked to support other aspects of the Embassy’s work when relevant.

The Health Programme Officer may also engage with Irish Aid headquarters, in particular the Essential Services Policy Team on issues of global health and HIV/AIDS, to ensure consistency with Irish Aid policies and strategies.

Requirements
Specifically the following qualifications and competencies are required:

• BA/BSc in health, social sciences, development studies, international relations or economics
• Fluency in spoken and written English language essential, proficiency in spoken and written Kiswahili as advantage;
• Minimum of three years project management experience
• Good knowledge and understanding of the Tanzanian public health systems and national health sector strategy.
• Understanding of the global health context and the implications for Tanzania desirable.
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think and plan strategically
• Strong skills and experience in all aspects of programme cycle management
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills and experience with developing working relations with government, civil society and other development partners.
• Ability to network effectively, work in teams and influence decisions.
• Ability to plan, manage and deliver results.

To apply for the position applicants must submit (i) a completed application form; (ii) a cover letter stating the position they are applying for, outlining their suitability and their interest in working for the Embassy of Ireland; and (iii) their current Curriculum Vitae with a list of referees including current manager, to embassydarjobs@dfa.ie by 12;00pm on Friday 7th July 2017.

Please note any personal information submitted will only be used for its intended purposes and will be destroyed when no longer needed. Any other processing or disclosure of personal data is not allowed other than in the exceptional circumstances provided for under the Data Protection Acts.

The Irish Embassy in Tanzania is an equal opportunities employer. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The Embassy expects to call shortlisted candidates for interview in August.