Health Programme Assistant, Somalia (QUESTS-MIDA)

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Title:    Health Programme Assistant
Duty Station:   Somalia
Duration of Assignment:   9 months with possibility of extension
Date Posted:   4 Apr 2012
Deadline Date:   13 Apr 2012

Summary:
The Programme Assistant will required to offer administrative, logistics and some programe support to the Migration Health Department (MHD) Team in managing the IOM Migration Projects in close collaboration with Government stakeholders, implementing partners (IPs), UN partners, IOM consultants and colleagues, under the overall supervision of the Public Health Officer in Mogadishu, the Senior National Health programme Officers and the Programme Manager in Nairobi.

Background Information:
With the existing health/medical expertise and capacity, and two years of implementation and presence in migration health in Somalia, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Somalia is scaling up its migration health programme in the country, particularly in the areas of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Tuberculosis, Malaria, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)/Environmental Health (EH), Maternal and Child Health (MCH), emergency medical service and psychosocial support to vulnerable migrants and mobile populations (MMPs) and their affected host communities.

In this context, while IOM continues to implement existing HIV prevention and WASH/EH projects, IOM is also starting new projects to provide psychosocial support to and protection of MMPs especially vulnerable women against Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV), and to improve access to basic healthcare services through strengthening the referral systems and setting up a migrant-friendly one-stop health service centre on the existing health facilities

About Somalia:
Somalia is geographically located in Eastern Africa bordering the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia. The capital of Somalia is Mogadishu with an estimated population of 2.5 million. The total population of Somalia is estimated at around 9.8 million.
After years of civil war, administrative structures have been severely eroded and the ability of central government structures to provide public services such as health is limited.
Against this background, AWD and confirmed cholera cases are rapidly on the rise and the most vulnerable populations such as IDPs and children bear the burden of the breakdown in public health services. Alarming data shows that an estimated 7,000 acute watery diarrhoea cases have been reported in Banadir (Mogadishu) region with 3,092 cases in the same period. Therefore, improving environmental health through access to clean water is of high priority for urgent intervention
In addition, a substantial impact of the disasters in Somalia is seen in urban areas such as Mogadishu, Kismayo, Baidoa, Galkayo, Garowe, and Bossaso, where there is a presence of large IDP populations. In Mogadishu, for instance, a significant number of people, who fled from droughts and floods, have been in the IDP camps and communities for more than 15 years. Only very few of the IDPs have stable livelihoods such as casual labour, while many others beg for survival. There has been a lack of consideration for the needs of vulnerable groups during and after the emergency phase, and no disaster management strategy has been developed for the country. There is an urgent need to support the livelihoods of IDPs in Mogadishu and other regions of Somalia through short and long term measures.

The need for the position:
IOM intends to recruit a Programme Assistant provide assistance e to the MHD team in Mogadishu as well as work closely with the rest of the IOM administrative and finance support staff in Mogadishu.

Activities / Key Results Expected:   
• Assist the Programme Manager-Somalia as well as Senior National Health Programme Officers in monitoring of all partners in the field, particularly Mogadishu, including drafting the partnership agreements, coordinating with IOM Hargeisa on funding disbursements, assisting in collection of the narrative and financial reports from the local implementing partners as per IOM and donor guidelines.
• Provide administrative assistance to the overall Somali health programme as follows:
• Assisting the program officers on follow-up with local partners in the field on project activities and reporting as needed
• Follow-up on procurement of equipment and other materials, logistics, travel and other administrative issues through the MHD Programme Support Unit
• Substantial assistance in organizing workshops and conferences
• Ensuring all financial receipts received from the IP’s are correct adding up to the amount funded and are in line with the budgeted amount
• Ensure all attendance sheets of workshops conducted by IOM or though IPs have attendance sheets etc
• Assist in programmatic tasks including preparation of narrative and financial reports, , photography, and other programmatic support as needed
• Represent IOM at meetings and conferences relevant to the project(s) and to Somalia in general, as authorized;
• Undertake literature searches as needed;
• Maintain, update, and compile routine project documentation including payment requests;
• Undertake duty travel related to project implementation;
• Coordinate with the MHD colleagues to ensure the Somalia HIV programme provides updated photos for the MHD photo library, updated 2 pagers, and other publicity information as needed;
• Establish linkages and liaise with partner agencies and ministries, relevant to the project(s) as directed;
• Additional tasks that may be assigned by the Health Programme Officer as well as National Health Programme Officers in the zones and in Nairobi

Target Outputs (Measurable Results):
• Monthly reports

QUESTS-MIDA Requirements:
   
Qualifications:
The successful candidate should have the following skills, experience and qualifications:
• Undergraduate degree  or diploma from an accredited university   
• Area of study: business administration, resource management, and related fields,  plus, Public Health, Environmental Health, an asset
• 3-5 years experience
• Language needed: English and Somali
• General skills / other requirements: Competence, Integrity and Professionalism

Salary:
Salary Based on competency, qualification and experience.
Security and Insurance Modalities   

How to apply:   
All applicants must apply online through the QUESTS-MIDA website. To start the application process, the applicants are required to register an account with the QUESTS-MIDA website. Go to login and register as a user, then fill the form and create a password to enter in the applications section. Fill in the 1-page online application form.

Send your Resume/CV to quests-mida@iom.int. stating the position in the subject line of your email. Only Short-listed candidates will be informed of the status of their application.