The Belgian development agency, BTC, mobilises its resources and its expertise to eliminate
poverty in the world. BTC contributes to the efforts of the international community and works
towards a society that provides present and future generations with sufficient resources to
build a sustainable and fair world.
Its staff members in Brussels and overseas embody the commitment of the Belgian State
and other development partners to international solidarity. They support more than 300
cooperation projects and programs in some 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
America.
In view of the the further development of its activities the BTC is currently looking for a (m/f):
International Technical Assistant in health system management - Mozambique
Ref.: MOZ/17/057-1
Location: Tete Province, Mozambique at the provincial medical director’s office
Duration of the contract: 24 months
Probable starting date: November 1st 2017
Monthly salary package: between 5 854,79 euro and 8 239,03 euro (this includes the gross monthly salary and the expat benefits: hardship allowance and expat allowance). The salary is calculated, depending on the composition of the family and the number of years of relevant experience.
Project Background:
The project aims at providing technical support to the Provincial Health Care Directorate level in various areas and support and strengthen policy implementation. This does concern the promotion of quality in health care, quality of personnel and the creation of a stimulating work environment.
Regardless of the efforts of the authorities, the health system in Mozambique faces several structural challenges. The sector is under-financed, but the problems are more complex than that. Remote areas remain unattractive for skilled staff, who look for intellectual and cultural stimulus, education opportunities for their children and favourable working conditions. This situation makes it hard to retain experienced, competent and motivated health workers in relatively disadvantaged areas.
Like other remote provinces in Mozambique, Tete does indeed have such structural shortcomings. The Flemish Development Cooperation in Mozambique addresses some of these. For instance, housing was built for health workers in view of boosting workforce motivation with improved family and working conditions. The evaluation of this support showed that the initiative was experienced as a very valuable one.
Many issues remain though and at the demand of the Provincial Health Care Directorate the Flemish Development Cooperation wants to support the Province of Tete with further strengthening local health systems. This includes International Technical Assistance (ITA) for the Province which can support the local health authorities in a range of health policy and implementation areas. This ITA is – to a certain extent – a continuation of the support to the Province provided by Danida in the past.
Besides the Provincial Health Care Directorate, also the Swiss Development Cooperation, the current health donor coordinator in Mozambique, asked Flanders to take up this role. Collaboration of Flanders and the Provincial Health Care Directorate via BTC is not targeting specific problems and sub-areas of the health system, but adopts a broader, more comprehensive approach. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for health care will provide guidance in making strategic choices and choosing points of attention for the intervention, whilst also using available local analyses which recently resulted in a strategic action plan for the Province. So, it concerns a structural approach which is to strengthen all components and procedures of the system rather than (temporarily) remedying specific problems.
Function:
The international technical advisor will be working in Tete Province, Mozambique at the provincial medical director’s office. He will join the local health authorities’ team as an advisor and a change manager to support the DPS team to transform itself into a learning organisation.
She/He will be responsible for a technical support in the domains of public health and institutional and organisational capacity development for the Provincial health authorities.
Specific tasks
- Support the change process in the health sector at provincial level. This entails proper monitoring of innovations and other initiatives and supporting DPS to become a learning organisation.
- Directly linked to the previous task : Reinforce the M&E functions of the provincial health authorities and initiate and develop the capacity for action research in the region
- Support the information flow between the different organisational levels, contributing as well to the DPS as a learning organisation
- Support the team work at the provincial health team level with improved exchanges between the different units
- Promote and accompany innovations at the operational level (health districts) and support the process of learning from experiences
- Promote specifically themes like gender, environmental issues, sexual and reproductive health and rights and rights of children and adolescents in the frame of the SDG movement.
- Promote the fight against maternal and under-fives’ mortality in the districts
- Promote the fight against AIDS in the region
- Support the DPS to coordinate donor agencies in health in the province and stimulate the exchanges between DPS and other Agencies
Profile
Training level :
Experience:
- A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in health system management
- Experience in planning, management of projects and monitoring
- Experience in working in health districts
- Experience in action-research is an advantage
Other competences :
- Strong interpersonal competences : empathy, negotiation capacities, flexibility, teamwork
- Strong conceptual and strategic thinking
- At least basic speaking, reading and current understanding of Portuguese language. Prepared to invest further in mastering the language
- Excellent in handling basic e-tools like MS WORD, EXCEL and PPT
Interested?
Please apply no later than October 9th 2017, through our website www.btcctb.org/en/content/jobs.
If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at +32 (0)2/505 18 65.
