Deputy Medical Coordinator

Médecins du Monde - France (MdM-F) is an international humanitarian organization whose mission is to provide medical care for the most vulnerable populations, the world over, including Afghanistan. It seeks to stimulate voluntary commitment from doctors, other health care providers, and from those whose expertise in other fields is needed for its activities, to enlist all competent support required for the achievement of its projects, and to seek at all times to encourage close working relationships with populations in its care.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

In the context of the Afghanistan mission, the Deputy Medical Coordinator will be specifically in charge of:

·         Providing technical support to the medical teams in order for them to implement the activities in accordance with MDM’s positioning, national policies, and international norms and standards.

·         Ensuring good relationships with local and national authorities.

·         Supporting Medical Coordinator in ensuring the quality, relevance and effectiveness of activities, practices, and data.

·         Leading, under Medical Coordinator’s guidance, the design of new projects/programs and contribute to the development of new proposals to donors.

·         Supporting Medical Coordinator in the definition and implementation of the country strategy led by the head of mission/General Coordinator.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

·         Hierarchical link: Medical Coordinator

·         Technical/functional link: HQ Medical Advisor

·         Functional links with Project Managers of Farah and Wardak projects and the Medical Supervisor of Nimroz project. 

ROLES:

Program development and implementation:

·         Contribute to monitoring the progress of health program activities according to work/project plans by providing technical inputs, identifying root causes/problems and proposing solutions.

·         Contribute to revising and updating MdM health protocols and SoPs accordingly, and assist in the collection of information on national health policies (meetings, reports, articles, etc.).

·         Provide technical support for the development of health programme Monitoring and Evaluation, Accountability and Learning systems (i.e. data collection and analysis, regular programme reviews, and inputs into evaluations).

·         Contribute technically all IEC (Information Education Communication) materials to be produced in the framework of MdM intervention in Afghanistan.

·         Work together with the medical team, contribute reviewing and updating health related tools and procedures in accordance with MdM guidelines/national and WHO recommendations.

·         Support compliance of medical team as per MdM procedures and tools.

·         Ensure technical quality assurance through regular supportive supervision visits to health facilities, compliance monitoring against MdM and national protocols, and the development and follow-up of quality improvement plans.

·         Lead technical assessments and contribute to project design, development of proposals, logframes and indicators, and donor reporting, in coordination with the Medical Coordinator, MEAL and grants teams.

·         Propose innovative approaches in health programming based on best practices and lessons learnt experiences.

·         Provide technical support to medical teams at health facility level as required.

·         Assist with the recruitment of medical staff as needed.

·         Participate in the assessment of the technical skills of MdM partners.

·         Support health and epidemiological surveillance and health policy monitoring at the national and regional levels.

·         Act as Medical Coordinator ad interim during the Medical Coordinator’s absence, with delegated authority for day-to-day technical decision-making, validation of medical activities and representation in coordination forums, within the limits defined by the Medical Coordinator and the General Coordinator. Administrative and financial authority remains in accordance with the approved Delegation of Authority (DoA).

·         Promote and ensure adherence to MdM safeguarding policies (PSEA, Code of Conduct, Child Protection), accountability to affected populations (AAP) mechanisms and humanitarian standards (Sphere, CHS) across all medical activities. 

Capacity building:

·         Mentor field staff on program management, assessments, data management, indicator monitoring, and context analysis.

·         Provide technical supervision, coaching and performance management support to medical programme staff, in coordination with their line managers, including objective-setting, appraisals and follow-up of individual development plans.

·         Participate in the recruitment, onboarding and succession planning of medical programme staff.

·         Conduct training on medical protocols for the staff.

·         Assess the capacity of medical programmatic staff and propose required training.

Reporting

·         Work closely with Medical Coordinator, MEAL Coordinator, grants officer and other managers as relevant to prepare donor reports.

·         Assist Medical Coordinator in preparation of all reports concerning programme sent to external stakeholders and other technical partners.

·         Participate in the preparation of monthly SitRep for the mission.

Representation and communication

·         Collaborate with local NGOs, community leaders, community-based organizations, and government focal points to facilitate community participation and feedback.

·        Support Medical Coordinator in ensuring effective coordination and close collaboration with partners and community representatives.

·         Participate in country and programme level meetings upon MedCo request.

·         Represent MdM, under the guidance or delegation of the Medical Coordinator, with MoPH, PPHDs and De Facto health authorities, UN agencies, Health and Nutrition Clusters, donors and implementing partners.

·         Participate, at the request of the medical coordinator, in meetings with partners (health authorities, NGOs, and CSOs working in the field of health and nutrition).

This list of activities is not exhaustive and may change depending on the identified needs of the program and upon the request of line manager.

CANDIDATE’S BACKGROUND:

·        Education and experience:

-          Medical Doctor (MD) from a recognized Afghan or international institution is preferred, with valid registration with the Afghanistan Medical Council (or equivalent professional regulatory authority); a Registered Nurse or Midwife may be considered if they possess substantial public health, SRHR and humanitarian coordination experience.

-          Master’s degree in Public Health, Global Health, Epidemiology, Health Management or a related field is strongly preferred.

-          Minimum 5–7 years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian health programming, including at least 2–3 years in technical coordination, supervision or management roles.

-          Proven experience in public health and community-based health programming; previous experience in Afghanistan or similar complex humanitarian settings is highly desirable, together with sound knowledge of the BPHS/EPHS framework, MoPH policies, protocols and reporting systems (HMIS/DHIS2).

-          Prior experience with MdM is an asset, together with experience managing donor-funded humanitarian health projects (e.g. ECHO, GFFO, CDCS) throughout the project cycle, including design, implementation, monitoring and reporting. 

·         Skills

                Technical:

-          In-depth understanding of the Afghan healthcare system (including MoPH organization, BPHS/EPHS structure, curriculum of medical profiles and national healthcare programmes) and can summarize key components.

-          Demonstrated experience in PHC, SRHR, Nutrition, MHPSS and community health programming, including project design, proposal development, donor reporting, health information systems and epidemiological surveillance.

-          Analyses the Afghan health context, health problems and related data, including HMIS/DHIS2 and epidemiological surveillance data.

-          In-depth knowledge of global humanitarian standards such as Sphere, Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), and WHO standards.

-          Contributes to project design (including funding formulation).

-          Identifies training needs, designs, and facilitates medical training modules.

-          Discusses, presents arguments and negotiates with health authorities (MoPH, PPHDs and De Facto Authorities), UN agencies, Health and Nutrition Clusters, donors and implementing partners.

-          Ensures compliance with international medical standards and protocols.

-          Assesses practices and provides technical guidance and recommendations to teams.

                Managerial:

-          Proven experience in supervising multidisciplinary teams, performance management, mentoring and capacity-building.

                Soft:

-          Team spirit and collaborative approach.

-          Ability to take quick decisions according to the context in coordination with the team.

-          Ability to have a global overview of a program (not only on medical plan).

-          Commitment to MdM’s strategy and mandate.

-          Ability to communicate MdM values and positions within the team and with the external partners.

-          Reactivity, anticipation, adaptability, capacity to take initiatives.

-          Strong organizational skills.

-          Strong writing and communication skills.

-          Ability to manage priorities.

-          Capacity to work in tense/challenging conditions and to operate respectfully within the Afghan cultural, religious and gender-related context (including movement restrictions and gender-segregated service delivery).

-          Willingness and ability to travel regularly to field locations (Farah, Nimroz and Wardak) as required by the role and as permitted by the security and access situation.

IT

-          Excellent Microsoft Office skills (especially Word and Excel).

-          Experience using DHIS2/HMIS, Kobo or other health information systems is highly desirable.

LANGUAGE

-     Fluent English (oral and written) is mandatory for reporting and coordination purposes.

-     Fluency in Dari and/or Pashto is required (oral and written); knowledge of both languages is considered a strong asset.

The interested candidates should submit their applications with the updated CV, motivation letter, including references details to the following email – recruitment.afghanistan@medecinsdumonde.net – no later than the closing date.

The reference Deputy MedCo and the district must be stated in the application subject to be valid. If you do not clearly state the position for which you are applying & attach the required diploma & other supporting documents, your application may not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Please note that MDM-F does not reimburse transportation cost if applicants are asked for interview or a test.

MDM-F does not charge fee at any stage of its recruitment process. All applications are free for all candidates, and no one should require any payment or compensation during the recruitment process.