Global Health Fellows Program
Technical Advisor III: Senior Technical Advisor for Monitoring and Evaluation of Assistance for Vulnerable Children
Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development

Location: Washington, DC
Assignment: Two year fellowship
GHFP-09-131

The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute (PHI) in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health, Management Systems International and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. GHFP is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The goal of GHFP is to improve the effectiveness of USAID Population, Health and Nutrition programs by developing and increasing capacity of health professionals in Washington, DC and overseas. This is accomplished through the recruitment, placement and support of junior, mid and senior level health professionals; a diversity initiative focused on providing internship and mentoring opportunities in international public health to underrepresented communities; and professional and organizational development activities to bolster USAID’s ability to maximize results and strengthen its leadership role in global health.

INTRODUCTION:

PL 109-95, the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act, was signed into law on November 8, 2005. The Vulnerable Children’s Act calls for the US Government (USG) response to the global orphans and vulnerable children crisis to be comprehensive, coordinated and effective. USAID is the lead USG agency under the Act. Within USAID, The Bureau for Global Health (GH) is the locus of PL 109-95 leadership and the home of the Special Advisor for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, a position mandated by the Act.

Over the past three years there has been progress implementing the Act resulting from the collective efforts of six USG agencies and their partners to help children in need of assistance due to natural disasters, conflict, orphan hood, disease, abandonment, exploitation, abuse, or just simply poverty. But progress has been constrained by global economic developments which are making more children more vulnerable, the fragmented structure of US foreign aid which makes interagency coordination more challenging, and PL 109-95 itself, which is an unfunded mandate.

With increasing numbers of children in need and continued budget constraints it’s more important than ever to improve the coherence, efficiency and impact of the USG response to highly vulnerable children with the resources we have. Therefore, USAID is in the process of increasing attention to PL 109-95: a full-time Special Advisor was appointed and began work in mid-July 2008; a four-person PL 109-95 secretariat is being established; interagency coordination has been reactivated; links with key partners – old and new – are being strengthened; and a FY 2009 PL 109-95 strategy and work plan has been completed. The strategy acknowledges the vital importance of coordinating across USG programs which:

• provide humanitarian assistance to children in need of immediate help;
• ensure children survive the initial phase of their lives;
• prevent children from becoming orphans by keeping their parents alive,
• prevent children from abandonment by keeping their families intact;
• enable children to lessen their vulnerability through education; and
• build local capacity to provide sustainable services to children.

The work plan focuses on two interagency initiatives in FY 2009:

1. ensuring limited USG resources are targeted on the most vulnerable children; and
2. building child and family welfare capacity of partner countries.

For more information on the Vulnerable Children’s Act please see the first and second annual reports.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Senior Technical Advisor for Monitoring and Evaluation of Assistance for Vulnerable Children is a senior level position within the PL 109-95 secretariat. S/he will provide key leadership in developing and implementing an M&E system across all the USG agencies involved in PL 109-95 programming. The Senior Technical Advisor position is an excellent opportunity for an experienced M&E specialist, skilled in working across multiple constituencies, to lead an M&E approach on a critical issue that cuts across many development areas (health, economic growth, child welfare, democracy and governance, etc.).

The Senior Technical Advisor will:

• Provide technical leadership under PL 109-95 with respect to Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and ensure that USAID, as the lead USG agency under PL 109-95, is in compliance with statutory PL 109-95 M&E requirements. The Act calls for USAID to “…develop methods to adequately track the overall number of orphans and other vulnerable children receiving assistance, the kinds of programs for such children by sector and location, and any other such related data and analysis.” In order to maximize the sustainable development impact of assistance authorized, the Act requires an M&E system that establishes performance goals for the assistance; establishes performance indicators to be used in measuring or assessing the achievement of the performance goals; and provides a basis for recommendations for adjustments to the assistance to enhance its impact.
• Under the oversight of the PL 109-95 interagency working group and in close collaboration with M&E/Strategic Information (SI) teams in partner USG agencies and departments, especially the M&E team of USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS (OHA) and the SI team at the State Department’s Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, refine and upgrade the existing PL 109-95 M&E system, maintain the system, and, most importantly, assist the interagency team to use the system to better address the needs of orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries.
• Assist the USG agencies working collaboratively under PL 109-95 to target resources on children most in need. PL 109-95 calls for USAID “…to improve targeting and programming of resources” and establish “…priorities that promote the delivery of assistance to the most vulnerable populations of orphans and children ..." Assist the interagency group to target collective resources judiciously and to continuously improve its ability to identify and respond to the most vulnerable children.
• In collaboration with the USAID/GH communication and knowledge management teams and similar teams at partner USG agencies, maintain a readily accessible, one-stop shop website/clearinghouse with information on highly vulnerable children, USG assistance to such children (who’s doing what, where); lessons learned and best practices; M&E information, volunteer opportunities, etc. The website must entail minimal incremental costs; be integrated with and linked to existing sites and information systems and use data currently collected and reported by USG agencies. Using this clearinghouse, respond to internal and external ad hoc requests for information; provide data for the annual report to Congress, briefing documents, sites visits and other documents.
• Assist USG agencies working collaboratively under PL 109-95 to continuously improve the evaluationof OVC programs. Coordinate periodic USG efforts to update evaluation and research agenda to address priority questions of common concern to the USG and partners; coordinate or provide support in the development and implementation of USG-supported surveys and studies related to orphans and vulnerable children.
  Support the interagency working group and OHA communication staff to prepare annual PL 109-95 reports. Ensure annual reports incorporate information generated by the PL 109-95 M&E system and ensure annual reports are used effectively and efficiently as the main means to disseminate best practice and lessons learned, and the main means to track progress against targets, analyze data sets and make recommendations for enhanced program planning, coordination and management of orphans and vulnerable children programs.
• Present the PL 109-95 USG interagency group’s work to development partners regarding various M&E task forces, technical working groups and committees to ensure PL 109-95 M&E activities are well coordinated with ongoing partner and country-level M&E efforts; are consistent with internationally-accepted definitions and best practices (e.g., UNICEF); use SI currently collected and reported by USG agencies; and are integrated/compatible with local M&E systems.
  Perform other duties as required that support the overall goal of monitoring and evaluating USG assistance for highly vulnerable children to improve the impact and effectiveness of such assistance.

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s or doctorate level degree in program evaluation, public health, public policy, epidemiology, demography, social or behavior science or related field required. Post graduate training in monitoring and evaluation highly preferred
• Minimum ten years’ experience implementing public health, child welfare or other social sector programs, of which at least three years should be in a developing country directly related to monitoring and evaluation of programs for orphans and other vulnerable children or public health programs.
  Sound knowledge of monitoring and evaluation methodology including frameworks, data quality assurance, analysis reporting and best practices in data dissemination and data use required
• Demonstrated knowledge of data management processes and tools including web-based database systems required
• Sound knowledge and experience in information management systems preferred
  Experience managing data, information and evaluations on large scale health, child/social welfare, education and or HIV/AIDS activities required
• Demonstrated ability to develop positive working relationships with donors, other partners and host country officials in a cross-cultural environment
• Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships across teams and organizations and with external partners in a complex international and multi-cultural environment
• Strong managerial skills with the ability to plan, organize, coordinate and implement work inputs from several sources and partners, and manage the simultaneous delivery of multiple outputs required
  Ability to work independently with little supervision
  Demonstrated ability to analyze data and make presentations to an audience; either written or oral in a clear and concise manner
• Strong computer and writing skills with proven ability to produce concise well written reports and high quality presentations in word, Excel and Power Point with graphics
• US Citizenship or Permanent Residency required

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

Salary will be based on commensurate experience and earnings history. The Public Health Institute offers a comprehensive benefits package including professional development programs. More information is available here.

TO APPLY:

All applicants are required to apply for this position through GHFP’s online recruitment system at https://www.ghfp.net/recruitment/, which allows you to store your CV, profile and bio data form in our database. A separate cover letter describing your qualifications and experience, interest and familiarity with issues relating to this position, and how this position relates to your career goals is required for each application. All online applications must be submitted by September 8, 2009.

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