Job Description
Job Title
Technical Advisor
Department
Technical Team
Reporting to
TSU Technical Lead
Responsible for
N/A
Liaison with
Fixed term contract, 35 hours a week
Hours
Organisation
Options Consultancy Services Limited (Options) was established in 1992 and is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Marie Stopes International. Options is a leading provider of technical and management
expertise in the health and social sectors. We work in partnership with national and state
governments, international development agencies, the private sector and civil society to strengthen
programmes and policies to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in health
and poverty reduction.
Our work focuses on providing expertise in health systems strengthening, sexual and reproductive
health, maternal newborn and child health, HIV and AIDS, citizen voice and accountability, gender,
social inclusion and equity to enhance institutional effectiveness to support strengthening of health
service delivery.
Options is the consortium lead of the Evidence for Action programme, which supports efforts to save
the lives of mothers and newborns in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.
Main Purpose of Job
The Technical Advisor will provide support to Options programmes in Africa and Asia, with a focus on
the Africa regional Evidence for Action (E4A) programme. E4A aims to enable decision makers to act
on evidence to drive advocacy, strengthen accountability, inform decision-making and influence
political will to improve the quality of maternal and newborn health services. .
The global burden of maternal and newborn deaths and lack of progress in tackling this problem is
borne disproportionately by sub-Saharan Africa. There is unprecedented international agreement
around reasons for high MMR and NMR, but there is a gap in implementation at Regional and
National Levels. Galvanising the links between evidence, advocacy and accountability is now the
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most compelling opportunity for catalysing change. The preconditions for change include the use of
effective advocacy, deploying sound evidence and information to inform and influence public opinion,
and hold policy-makers publicly accountable. E4A works to forge effective collaborations with
traditional and non-traditional actors, to achieve “more health for the money”, through maximising the
effectiveness of existing resources.
As Technical Advisor you will provide general support to the regional programme and targeted
support to E4A country teams, with a focus on Malawi and Nigeria. You will work closely with the
Malawi and Nigeria Technical Support Unit (TSU) Leads who will direct your technical inputs to those
programmes.
You will be part of the Options Technical Team and as such may also be asked to support broader
technical support to Options broader portfolio of programmes. You will also have the opportunity to
generate other consultancy work in your area of expertise through supporting the development of new
business. You will contribute actively to the growth and development of Options and to enhancing the
profile and reputation of Options internationally. The post will include overseas travel as agreed with
the Technical Director.
You will report to the TSU Technical Lead, based in Options’ offices in central London.
You will have an MSc or PhD in a relevant field. You will be confident working with complex data sets
and translating evidence into simple to understand formats that are easily understood by technical
and non-technical audiences and catalyse action for MNH. You will be experienced in providing
remote support to donor funded programmes in Africa and/or Asia.
Main Duties
The major responsibilities of the post holder include:
1.
Technical Assistance to Programmes
Evidence for Action
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As part of the core E4A Technical Team provide leadership, technical expertise and quality
assurance across the E4A programme, as required.
Using your knowledge of MNH, identify and seek out upcoming national, regional and
international evidence that can contribute to the E4A programme
Translate evidence into easy to understand summaries, scorecards and other formats
targeting a range of technical and non-technical audiences;
Develop materials that contribute to the wider MNH evidence base
Write articles, blogs and summaries of evidence for E4A websites; provide basic editing
support and quality assurance to country programmes
Support the development of evidence based advocacy messages to a range of audiences
Undertake literature reviews and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data
Support the collection and analysis of data about service readiness and quality of care
Support activities related to strengthening of accountability structures, including tracking of
sub-national, national, regional and international commitments to resourcing MNH services
and improving MNH outcomes
Liaise with E4A consortium partners including Advocacy international
Participate in and contribute to TSU discussions
Support the monitoring and implementation of E4A activities/workplans
Support M&E activities including tracking progress against logframe indicators and meeting
donor reporting requirements
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2.
Other Options programmes
Undertake consultancy and technical assistance assignments related to your areas of
technical expertise. This will be both through on-going inputs to long term programmes and
one off assignments.
Work effectively with government and national programme counterparts as required
Contribute to reporting and effective communication with donors and partners.
Management
Recruit and manage project consultants on short-term assignments or long-term programmes
as required
Recruit and manage interns as required.
3.
Technical Advice and training (in relation to area of expertise)
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Increase and maintain your own area of expertise through continuous self-development.
Participate in any relevant external training and capacity building undertaken by Options.
Provide general support to Options’ London team, overseas teams and consultants on an as
needs basis in relation to your area of expertise.
Assist with identifying and ‘vetting’ new consultants, if required.
Proposal Development, communication and dissemination
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Provide technical support to the development of proposals for new programmes and
consultancy opportunities
Utilise existing networks to support new business development for Options
Utilise opportunities to represent Options effectively and develop networks to help further
Options mission.
Contribute to the publication and dissemination of research and learning from Country
Programmes
Note: This job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities
change and develop the job description will be reviewed and be subject to amendment in consultation
with the job holder.
Signed by:
Date:
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Person Specification
Criteria
Essential
Desirable
Qualifications
An MSc or PhD in a relevant subject
Essential
Experience
Experience in supporting and co-ordinating technical work
Essential
Desirable
Experience building the technical capacity of overseas partners
Experience of working across Africa and/or Asia in a relevant
capacity and with governments; international agencies and local
NGOs
Essential
Experience in Malawi or Nigeria
Desirable
Knowledge and Skills
Excellent skills in communication, written and verbal
Essential
Proven ability to network and manage relationships with clients,
consultants and technical resource persons
Essential
Self-starter as well as good team-worker
Essential
Other Requirements
Commitment to Equal Opportunities
Essential
First-hand experience of DFID policies and programming.
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Desirable