Public Health Specialist at the U.S. Embassy

The U.S. Mission to Nigeria comprises of the Embassy in Abuja, FCT, and the Consulate General in Lagos. U.S. Consulate General Lagos is the Mission’s representative to the Nigerian people in the southern region.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Public Health Specialist (PMTCT – All Interested Candidates (Prog. Spec. – PMTCT)

Announcement Number: Abuja-2021-125
Location: Lagos
Series/Grade: LE – 0550 11
Promotion Potential: LE-11
Hiring Agency: Embassy Abuja
Work Schedule: Full-time – 40 hours per week

Overview

• Hiring Path: Open to the public
• Who May Apply/Clarification From the Agency:
  • For USEFM – FP is 04.  Actual FP salary determined by Washington D.C.
  • All Interested Applicants / All Sources
• Security Clearance Required: Public Trust – Background Investigation
• Appointment Type: Permanent
• Appointment Type Details: Indefinite subject to successful completion of probationary period.

Summary

• Work Schedure for this position: Full Time (40 hours per week)
• Start date: Candidate must be able to begin working within a reasonable period of time (6 weeks) of receipt of agency authorization and/or clearances / certifications or their candidacy may end.
• Supervisory Position: No
• Relocation Expenses Reimbursed: No
• Travel Required: Not Required
• 50% or less – 30% of the time will be spent on  regular site visits and meetings with representatives of each organization to review progress (these site visits may include routine, one week-long trips to conduct a standardized assessment of partners’ sites and facilities as part of PEPFAR’s site improvement and monitoring system)

Duties

• Basic Function: The incumbent, under the supervision of the Clinical Services Team Lead, serves as advisor on HIV Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission programs strategies and activities, provides project support to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), contributing to the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of PMTCT program.
• The job holder’s responsibilities include day-to-day program and administrative management, and coordination and collaboration with other PEPFAR agencies to ensure that project implementation addresses program strategic objectives and internationally recognized public health standards and best practices.
• The incumbent ensures collaboration among PEPFAR partners involved in HIV Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission and provides leadership in promoting use of internationally recognized best practices in PMTCT services provision among PEPFAR sponsored programs in Nigeria.

Qualifications and Evaluations
Experience:

• Minimum of three (3) years of mid-to-senior level public health experience in Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV and/or other HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment programs, including program planning, implementation, and evaluation that involve coordination with an international agency or implementing partner is required.
• This experience must include PMTCT experience that demonstrates the ability to consult and collaborate effectively with different levels of the health care field including clinic-based ANC personnel, health care setting Directors, and non-care setting personnel, for example government officials or donors.

Job Knowledge:

• The incumbent must have a thorough understanding of the structure and functions of the agency, including knowledge of the agency’s role and function in support of PEPFAR, other participating agencies and USG policies, guidelines and procedures for administration of contracts and cooperative agreements, and intra-agency procedures for coordination with agency headquarters and embassy management.
• The job holder must have a detailed and up-to-date knowledge of the Nigeria public health operational environment, including knowledge of the structure and operations of the MOH and Nigeria government ministries and offices, the environment for health care delivery at the national, regional, district and community level; must stay current on the work and current projects of other collaborating and donor agencies with PMTCT and related programs.

Knowledge of Latest Technology in:

• Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV, HIV/AIDS health care; in-depth specialist knowledge of public health programs, strategies, methods, processes and techniques used to develop, implement and evaluate results of PMTCT programs is required.
• The incumbent works with partners in setting criteria for site selection for specific interventions, budget considerations, cost analysis including cost-benefit ratio, etc.
• This requires specialized knowledge of the subject.
• Good working knowledge of team management techniques to plan, organize and direct multi-disciplinary project teams and activities and overall administrative requirements, budgeting and fiscal management in support of contracts/cooperative agreements/grants/purchase requisitions.
• Good working knowledge of epidemiology, statistics and data analysis.

Education Required:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Public Health, Epidemiology, Clinical Psychology, Nursing and/or Midwifery is required.

Evaluations:

• This may be tested. Please specify your level of proficiency in the language listed.

Language:

• Fluent in speaking/reading/writing of English is required.

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong oral and written communications skills are required.  Ability to analyze, understand and discuss new program design, management and implementation approaches is required. This includes the development of evaluation designs, use of reliable and valid instruments, and methods for data collection, analysis and reports. Ability to lead project teams and workgroups and to develop effective working relationships with national and international working partners is required.
• The incumbent will be expected to exercise considerable ingenuity and tact in applying guidelines to unique and different settings, as the work is highly complex and can be threatening to stakeholders.  Considerable innovation will be required to influence other collaborative organizations engaged in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs to adopt appropriate strategies for their program activities.
• Intermediate user level of word processing, spreadsheets and databases is required. Computer keyboard skills with good speed and accuracy is required. Position will not work with propriety software; however, job holder is required to analyze program performance data from National web-based databases e.g., National Data Repository (NDR), PEPFAR Panorama, and Data for Accountability, Transparency, and Impact Monitoring (DATIM). In addition, Job holder will need to be familiar with the Nigeria Medical records System (NMRS) and PEPFAR Surge Dashboards.
• Strong skills in interpretation of program monitoring and evaluation data are required. This would include the ability to understand and synthesize numerical data.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO):

• The U.S. Mission provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation.

Qualifications:

• All applicants under consideration will be required to pass medical and security certifications.

Benefits and Other Info
Benefits:

Agency Benefits:

• Locally Employed Staff, including Members of Household (MOHs), and Third-Country Nationals (TCNs), working at the U.S. Mission in Abuja, Nigeria may receive a compensation package that may include health, separation, and other benefits.
• For EFMs, benefits should be discussed with the Human Resources Office.
• The pay plan is assigned at the time of the conditional offer letter by the HR Office.

Other Information:

• Hiring Preference Selection Process:
• Applicants in the following hiring preference categories are extended a hiring preference in the order listed below.  Therefore, it is essential that these applicants accurately describe their status on the application. Failure to do so may result in a determination that the applicant is not eligible for a hiring preference.

Hiring Preference Order:

• AEFM / USEFM who is a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran*
• AEFM / USEFM
•  FS on LWOP and CS with reemployment rights **

 * Important

• Applicants who claim status as a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran must submit a copy of their most recent DD-214 (“Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty”), equivalent documentation, or certification.  A “certification” is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days after the certification is submitted by the applicant. The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service.  Acceptable documentation must be submitted in order for the preference to be given.
• This level of preference applies to all Foreign Service employees on LWOP and CS with re-employment rights back to their agency or bureau.
• For more information (i.e., what is an EFM, USEFM, AEFM, MOH, etc.?) and for additional employment considerations, please visit the following link.

Marketing Statement:

• We encourage you to read and understand the Eight (8) Qualities of Overseas Employees before you apply.

Salary
NGN15,890,203 (USD53,767) Annually.

Application Closing Date
15th December, 2021.