Project Overview and Role:
Palladium was awarded a cooperative agreement to implement the USAID County Measurement, Learning and Accountability Program (CMLAP) in Kenya from 2016. The purpose of this activity is to support ongoing activities by the national and county governments and other development partners to strengthen outcome measurements, learning and accountability (MLA) systems in order to provide quality data and synthesized information for planning, implementation, policy development and decision making. This activity focuses its support in the following HIV, malaria and MNCH focal counties of Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Siaya, Busia, Vihiga, Bungoma, Kisumu, Siaya, Nakuru, Samburu, Baringo and Turkana
The project has two sub- purposes:
Increased leadership and management capacity of county governments for effective outcome MLA systems;
Increased availability, analysis and use of quality data.
A 29-person team currently work in Kisumu and surrounding counties (see above) to achieve the project results. The team is led by a Chief of Party also based in Kisumu. Palladium staff in Nairobi and our international offices will provide routine technical and administrative support and assistance.
Position Summary
Under the leadership of the CMLAP Sr. Malaria Technical specialist; the County Planning and Learning Specialist will be embedded with the county government and will be the primary contact in the county for all CMLAP project activities. S/he will be responsible for managing and supporting all approaches implemented by the project in the county and for documenting key project activities. S/he will also ensure county activities are implemented on-time and within budget.
S/he will bridge the project sub-purposes, namely increasing leadership and management capacity of county governments for effective out come MLA systems and increasing availability, analysis and use of quality data, through working with the County Health Management Team (CHMT) and other MLA stakeholders. S/he will provide SI support to Malaria program, the M&E/HIS unit and the other program areas as may be required.
The position is based in Homa bay, Kenya but may on occasions be required to support any other County where there is need. No expatriate or relocation benefits are associated with the position.
Key Responsibilities
Provide day to day management of and technical assistance to MLA stakeholders in the county (CHMT, M&E technical working group, DCS etc.). Facilitate the coordination and implementation of all project activities in the county ensuring that technical support is provided as needed.
Specifically, s/he will:
Coordinate the development and implementation of county project operational plan and track implementation of MLA strengthening plan;
Provide day to day support to the M&E/HIS unit, HIV, malaria, RMNCAH program officers and DCS children officers to enhance their M&E capacity;
Implement stakeholder engagement plans for MLA strengthening and tracking partner coordination;
Identify and coordinate with existing forums for shared learning and evidence-informed planning among counties and between the county and national levels;
Improve existing data review and learning platforms through direct technical assistance to engender learning by doing
Facilitate the implementation of county leadership development groups in collaboration with sub-contractor Kenyan School of Government;
Inculcate a culture of data quality and data use at the S/CHMT and facility level;
Transition skills relating to synthesis/consolidation of data from disparate sources to the S/CHMT;
Transition skills relating to the dissemination of data, including through the use of dashboards and business intelligence tools for visualization/interactivity of data;
Implement county annual pulse assessments, maturity assessments and all other project learning efforts;
Work with other CMLAP technical staff to provide technical support to the county;
Work with counties and CMLAP staff to establish and/or strengthen stakeholder MLA and M&E TWGs for data collection, management, quality improvement, dissemination and use;
Coordinate MLA strengthening and data use activities with county planning and budgeting activities;
Support the sub county data use and learning champions to implement project technical approaches;
Identify and document project success stories.
Educational background and Experience
Minimum Bachelors Level of Education in related field such as Medicine, Nursing, Clinical Medicine or related field with 3 years’ experience will be considered in lieu of the Bachelor’s degree;
Experience of having worked for a USAID project, a large hospital or other medical facility, or the Kenya Ministry of Health will be an added advantage;
Demonstrated experience working at the county-level, preferably on a C/SHMT;
Experience implementing M&E or health information systems improvement projects, including data quality audits
Experience using data to inform interventions/strategies for improved clinical/public health services;
Demonstrated ability to manage cohesive team and proven record in effectively managing multidisciplinary partnerships.
Demonstrated leadership, ethics, and sound judgement, both independently and as part of a team;
Experience managing work plans and budgets;
Strong written and oral communication skills for high-level policy audiences (writing examples may be required).
Excellent coordination, and information management skills;
The ability to work well under pressure and skilled in change management and problem solving;
Ability and willingness to travel frequently within Kenya and work under field conditions;
Written and oral fluency in English and Swahili is required.
