Health managers

Although remarkable progress has been made in rebuilding Sierra Leone since the end of the conflict in 2002, the decade-long civil war has caused extensive damage. VSO re-opened its health programme in 2008 and volunteers are working with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to improve the availability of essential health care in rural areas. The country currently has some of the worst health indicators in the world, with 1,800 women per 100,000 live births dying in childbirth.

Your management expertise could play a vital role in helping reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in Bo. Working with the Directorate for Reproductive and Child health, you’ll support staff to better coordinate and develop their programmes and projects in the district. You’ll provide programme management support to the district team, to ensure that all the work that is being done to improve maternal and child health is effectively and efficiently managed. This role forms part of work funded by the UK Department for International Development.

What does the role involve?

• Identifying management and technical support needs within the Reproductive and Child Health team

• Developing an on-the-job training programme on management best practise within the Directorate

• Introducing programme management tools, working with the Department of Planning and Information

• Coaching and mentoring staff to build their skills in monitoring and evaluation

• Developing a communications plan to improve information sharing within the Directorate

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll need to have solid experience of programme management, within a health or public health context. This role needs someone who can lead strategic planning, establish good communication and information sharing, and monitor and evaluate progress. You’ll need to be flexible, resourceful and adaptable and have a proven ability to coach others through mentoring and training. There will be some travel required, so you must be comfortable living in rural locations and working irregular hours. You’ll need to be happy using a motorbike to get around Bo (VSO will provide training and the bike).

And the rest...

You’ll be based in Bo, which is in the Southern region of Sierra Leone. Bo is the second largest city in the country, about 4 hours’ drive from the capital Freetown. You’ll have modest but comfortable accommodation, perhaps with living space shared with other VSO volunteers. VSO volunteers live and work as part of their home communities, so you’ll need to adapt to intermittent electricity and filtering your drinking water. Football is big in Bo, either playing for local teams, or watching European league and championship games at video centres and cinemas.

We’ll ask you to commit to up to 12 months to make a sustainable contribution to strengthening programme management at Bo. In return, we'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance, training, and ongoing support in-country. NHS employees can volunteer with continued membership of the NHS pensions scheme.

Sierra Leone’s ten-year rebel war destroyed the infrastructures and functions of the health sector in the Tonkolili district of Sierra Leone. Despite the face that Tonkolili has more volunteers than workers on the payroll, the quantities of human resources in the district are contributing to improved health care delivery to the local community, working to treat the top causes of morbidity – malaria, malnutrition, pneumonia, diarrhoea and dysentery.

The District Health Management Team is responsible for the planning, coordination monitoring and supervision of all health care services in the district. Your role as health management adviser will be to support the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in producing a comprehensive district health plan to ensure the maximum use of resources to deliver affordable and accessible health care to the people of Tonkolili.

What does the role involve?

• Reviewing and developing the planning, monitoring and evaluation guidelines and supervision checklist
• Training staff on planning, monitoring and evaluation to enhance capacity in these areas
• Visiting staff regularly to monitor and extend on the job training
• Working with the Planning unit to develop tools for health facilities and communities for reproductive and child health 
• Working with the Planning unit of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to develop the three-year rolling health plan for the Tonkolili district.
  

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll have a Masters in public health or health information and training/development and professional experience in social research and data collection, analysis and storage. You’ll have more than five year’s experience in a related discipline.

It is essential that you have an understanding of the development context of Africa, especially the Sub-Sahara. You’ll have experience in public speaking, training, facilitation and monitoring and evaluation. You’ll be adaptable, have excellent communication skills and be able to work without supervision and with limited resources.

And the rest...

Tonkolili, comprises 11 chiefdoms and is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The main economic activities include gold mining and agriculture. The district is mainly Muslim.

We ask you to commit to 18 months to make a sustainable contribution to VSO’s development goals.
In return, we will give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. You will have extensive training before your placement and the financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation and insurance. When you return to your home country, we will help you resettle and encourage you to stay involved in our work.