Background and Justification:

With funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, JSI is supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH), RHBs and selected ZHDs on routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination-related activities in Ethiopia. This CDS3 project will provide critical technical assistance to national, regional and zonal levels of the health sector on COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunization delivery efforts with a particular focus on provision of technical assistance (TA) on the integration of COVID-19 vaccination into routine immunization and reaching priority population for COVID-19 vaccination, support in liquidation of financial resources allocated to regions by MoH and supporting catch-up vaccination on RI. The regional level TA will be provided in five regions: SNNPR, South West Ethiopia, Gambella, Amhara and Oromia region – with one immunization advisor per region.

Purpose and objectives of the TA provision:

The TA will serve as JSI’s focal person to provide technical assistance to the assigned RHB. He/she will have close communication and collaboration with RHB counterparts, the project backstopping team based in Addis Ababa and the USA, and other partners working on RI and COVID-19 vaccination efforts at the regional and zonal level. Additionally, he/she is expected to provide inputs to project/donor reports as requested.

 Key responsibilities

• Provide strategic and day-to-day technical support to RHB on COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunization (RI) including:

• Engagement and coordination support for regional TWG, strategic planning, and coordination of COVID-19 activities

• Support regions and zones/woredas with COVID-19 vaccine and RI data analysis and use of data for programmatic decision-making

• Support RHB to coordinate for zones and woredas to develop microplan for RI and COVID-19 vaccination

• Support for coordination and linkage between supply chain, program data and communication

• Actively participate in supportive supervision and review meetings and support the region to use data for decision-making

• Capacity building opportunities and needs for zones, woredas, and health facilities

• Provide strong technical support on COVID-19 vaccination integration into RI/PHC and ensure plans are in place to reach the priority population for COVID-19 vaccination:

• Support the RHB in overall preparation for integrating C-19 vaccination into RI/PHC. Ensure there is a clear plan for identifying and reaching the priority population with C-19 vaccination including a demand creation plan

• Participate in the provision of training and technical support for integration, as needed

• Work with zonal and regional teams in identifying woredas and areas that need support and provide timely technical assistance to address the challenge

• Support RHB and ZHDs in monitoring progress based on target and allocated vaccines

• Support RHB in preparation of reports and updates to RHBs

• Provide technical assistance to the RHB on grant management, timely liquidation, and overall coordination of resources allocated for rolling out of COVID-19 vaccination and RI with funding from GAVI and other donors including:

• Closely work with RHB/ZHDs EPI team, and finance department at the RHB to facilitate timely and efficient utilization of resources allocated to the region

• In collaboration with the finance department within RHB, develop regular updates/reports on the status of activities completed and budgets liquidated by each of ZHDs and present it to decision-makers within the ZHD

• Regularly, identify challenges, and supports needed for timely and efficient utilization and accountability of resources allocated to the region and present it to decision-making body within the zone/region

• Provide technical support to RHB and ZHDs in the region to ensure the continuation of RI activities with particular focus on identifying and reaching zero-dose and under-immunized children

• Closely work and collaborate with the zonal immunization TA assigned in the region by JSI to ensure coordinated support of JSI to the region

• Provide regular update and reports to JSI immunization team based in Addis Ababa

• Other similar tasks assigned by supervisor

Job Requirements

• Master of public health (MPH) or other equivalent qualifications

• Minimum of eight years working experience in immunization and public health, preferably with  routine immunization experience

• Minimum of three years supervisory/team leader experience

• Current experience supporting the planning or implementation of COVID-19 vaccination efforts

• Demonstrated experience working with the Regional Health Bureau and involvement in technical working groups (must understand local government structures)

• Strong organizational, management and communication skills to influence partners and decision-makers at the regional, zonal, and woreda level

• Demonstrated ability to be a team player, to lead teams, and to organize multiple activities simultaneously

• Demonstrated understanding of public health issues and challenges in resource-poor settings

• Computer skills that include Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

How to Apply

• This position is a full time employment for the period,  tentatively: from Nov 2023 to March 2024, with the possibility of an extension

• Qualified individuals interested in this position can send their documents to the following email: dupjobs@et.jsi.com   

• Applications should be sent via email with the subject line: "Regional immunization advisor-Oromia" (Name of Applicant)"

• All application documents should be combined into one PDF file, the cover letter being the first page followed by the CV (resume) and other documents if any.

• Please provide us three names with their contact addresses as references.

• Send only one attachment with the file name format: “your full names-Regional immunization advisor-Oromia.pdf”

• Applications not conforming to the above directions will NOT be considered

• No phone calls please and only short listed applicants will be contacted.

• Female applicants are highly encouraged to apply as JSI is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.

This vacancy is only open to Ethiopian Nationals, who must be eligible to live and work in Ethiopia

N.B JSI is a child-safe organization, and the safety and well-being of children is a priority of our organization. We have robust recruitment procedures to ensure that all staff are suited to work with the children served by our programs.