HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMME MANAGER (EU), SIERRA LEONE

General Description of GOAL’s Work in Freetown
GOAL Sierra Leone’s Disadvantaged Children and Youths Programme (DCYP) began in 1999 to respond to the needs and rights of street children and young commercial sex workers in Freetown. The aim was to meet their basic needs of shelter, food and non-formal education, as well as providing alternative life choices.

Since 2003, the programme increasingly focused on the whole community to prevent children in difficult circumstances from ending up on the street. The programme works very closely with surrounding communities in partnership with Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) to provide Non-Formal Education as a means of getting children back into school.

In 2008/2009, the programme was re-launched as the Integrated Child and Youth Welfare Programme (ICYWP), which includes DCYP activities but also integrates health promotion and curative care, HIV/AIDS awareness, a nutrition component and capacity building support to CBO partners. It is closely linked to GOAL’s large Urban WASH project in the city, where GOAL is part of the Urban WASH NGO Consortium, funded by DFID. GOAL continues to expand integrated programme activities into more slum and marginal communities across the city.

In Kenema, GOAL implements a WASH project, funded by UNICEF, using the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach to promote sustainable sanitation solutions for rural communities and also delivers School Sanitation and Hygiene Education through local partners.



Background to the Programme
This is a two-year EU-funded programme that seeks to reduce the negative health impacts of substance abuse (tobacco, alcohol, drugs) among children and youths in slum and disadvantaged communities in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and build the capacity of key stakeholders in the public health sector to apply best practices to the prevention of substance abuse. The first year of the programme is reaching completion, and focused on conducting research in order to determine the extent, drivers and impact of substance use among the vulnerable, street children and youths aged between 8 to 24 years. The research consisted of one main quantitative survey, two sub-surveys, and various qualitative participatory research methods such as focus group discussions and individual case studies.

The results of this research are to be discussed at a series of consultative workshops and used as a basis for designing and pilot innovative substance abuse prevention activities. These interventions will be designed in collaboration with all stakeholders (including the beneficiaries, District Health Management Team, Non-Communicable Diseases Directorate of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, and WHO) on the basis of the research findings. In order to ensure quality implementation of the plans, there will be a strong training component to build the behaviour change communication skills of health workers and community members involved in the project.

The second year of this programme will involve piloting innovative interventions to reduce the negative health impacts of substance use, through behaviour change communication and capacity building within the local community and local government.

Once the pilot implementation phase is complete, attention will focus on evaluating the impact of each intervention and their combined effects, in order to shape the direction of future programming. Findings are to be compiled and published in conjunction with relevant research institutions (e.g. the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences) with whom there has been collaboration, both in Sierra Leone and the UK.



Job Purpose
To oversee the piloting of behaviour change communication and harm reduction activities to reduce the negative impacts of substance abuse among disadvantaged and street children and youths in Freetown, and build the capacity of key stakeholders in the public health sector to apply best practices to the prevention of substance abuse. The interventions will be based on research findings from Year One of the programme, with the future direction of this work will based on findings from Year Two.

With completion of research under the programme, the purpose of this position is to oversee management of training and behaviour change communication, including harm reduction, activities in the area of substance abuse reduction among the target population, in line with objectives set out for the second year of this EU funded programme. The position has a strong focus on innovation, and monitoring of activities to capture lessons learned for future programming, and would therefore be a great opportunity for someone looking for a dynamic and diverse position.



Main duties and responsibilities
1. Project, budget and team management

• Shape and manage quality health and livelihoods activities that encourage behaviour change, based on programme research findings
• Line manage a team of 5 staff, who will implement and facilitate the pilot interventions; this will also involve supervising their work through frequent field visits
• Manage programme budget including monitoring spending, preparing monthly forecasts and ensuring full accountability for funds
• Manage the involvement of consultants or UK research students who will contribute to the programme
• Keep a live schedule of all planned activities and tracks progress against plans, issuing quarterly and monthly activity planning schedules;
• Oversee all technical, logistical and financial aspects of the NCD health program in Freetown

2. Technical support

• Provide technical assistance to ensure quality behaviour change communication programming is undertaken.
• Take a community development approach to health programming, ensuring beneficiary and community participation at all stages of the programme cycle.
• To build the capacity of key stakeholders in the Sierra Leone public health sector to apply best practices to the prevention of substance abuse
• Regularly liaise with GOAL’s global Health Advisor on programme technical design and implementation.
• Design and produce IEC materials to be used in relevant trainings on substance use reduction

3. Relationship Management

• Regularly update the DCYP Manager regarding interactions between the substance use harm reduction programme and DCYP, including training of DCYP staff, requirements upon DCYP staff time, contributions of the programmes towards the goals of DCYP, and the progress of the interventions
• Organize regular feedback meetings with government and local stakeholders, soliciting input for the agenda from each partner; maintain positive relationships with government and other relevant stakeholders
• Host and assist in donor, GOAL Headquarter visits

4. Monitoring, evaluation and learning

• Oversee monitoring and evaluation of pilot interventions to reduce the negative impacts of substance use among the target population, and alter interventions according to findings
• Develop and manage all health data under the program, defining required information and assisting staff in development of reporting forms
• Contribute to Midterm Evaluation and Final Evaluation

5. Strategy development

• Review programme findings to set the strategic direction of the programme and subsequent activities when it comes to an end

6. Reporting

• Coordinate submission of monthly reports to the CD/ACD
• Coordinate annual reports for donor
• Coordinate pulling together case studies and lessons learned papers for items of interest when new developments occur, utilizing information from programme participants
• Coordinate pulling together of relevant research papers for publication

7. Other

• Other tasks as required by the Assistant Country Director

Requirements:
• Master Degree or equivalent experience managing community health, behaviour change communication, or continuing education programs.
• 4 or more years work experience in a related behaviour change communication and or community health programming role. Experience in substance use reduction programming desirable.
• 2 years of experience running health or behaviour change communication programmes in developing countries
• Strong organizational and human resource management skills
• Able to develop and manage a budget of over €200,000 per year
• Proficient in Word, Excel, and Power Point and data analysis packages (Epi Info / SPSS)
• Proven experience in motivating, organising, and training large teams
• Technical knowledge about substance abuse reduction programming, and behaviour change communication knowledge and skills
• Good inter personal skills and ability to work with expatriate and national staff, managers, government, donors and non-government organisations
• Experience of working with Southern Ministry of Health and local health management teams, and community volunteers
• Experience of implementing EU projects is desirable
• Fluency in English - Written and Spoken


The hiring of any candidate may be subject to the approval of the EU contracting authority




This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document. This is an unaccompanied position. Interviews will be held in Dublin or London. Unfortunately GOAL cannot contribute to financial costs incurred when attending interview.
Note: GOAL is an equal opportunities employer.


GOAL has a Staff Code of Conduct and a Child Protection Policy which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants and children from exploitation. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to these policies any job offer made is also subject to police clearance.


If you would like to apply for the above position, please send your CV and covering letter to applications@goal.ie, ensuring that the job title and location of the role are clearly stated in the subject line of your email.
Thank you.