Medical Coordinator at INTERSOS

INTERSOS is an independent humanitarian organization that assists the victims of natural disasters, armed conflicts and exclusion. Its activities are based on the principles of solidarity, justice, human dignity, equality of rights and opportunities, respect for diversity and coexistence, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Medical Coordinator

Code: SR - 49 - 1528
Location: Maiduguri, Borno with frequent missions in the field sites in other states of Nigeria
Starting Date: 01/09/2020
Contract Duration: 12 months
Reporting to: Head of Mission (hierarchically), Head of Medical Unit (technically)
Supervision of: Deputy Medical Coordinator, Pharmacy Manager and Nutrition Supervisor.
Dependents: No

General Context of the Project

• Since 2009, the Boko Haram insurgency has crippled northeastern Nigeria. Borno State continues to be most affected, with over 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Recent advances by the Nigerian Army and the Multinational Joint Task Force have improved humanitarian access in 22 of the 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Borno, but have also revealed the extent of the crisis. In newly accessible areas, basic infrastructure has been destroyed, essential services are non-existent, and most local governance systems are not functional.
• INTERSOS has been active in Borno State since 2017, in particular:- Bama, Dikwa, Ngala, Magumeri and Monguno Local Government Areas (LGAs), to address the unmet needs of the most vulnerable in these locations because the situation is continuing to worsen.
• INTERSOS’ health, nutrition, WaSH, and protection integrated programmes are continuing to grow steadily as the organization takes bold frontline role of saving lives of most vulnerable disaster-affected people in Northeast Nigeria.
• For this reason, INTERSOS is seeking to hire a medical coordinator, to provide technical oversight and medical quality assurance of the programmes.

General Purpose of the Position

• In close collaboration with the HoM, the Country Programmes Coordinator and the Medical Department, the medical coordinator will lead the defining and implementing the medical strategy of the mission.
• Being responsible for the planning and coordination of all medical activities and resources in the mission, according to INTERSOS charter, policies, and ethical principles with consideration of international and national protocols, in order to ensure the delivery of quality medical care for patients and their communities as well as to improve the health condition and humanitarian living conditions of the target population.
• Take a leading role in guiding the design of new health and nutrition programmes, and ensuring quality assurance of on-going health and nutrition programmes, including medical and non-medical commodities.

Main Responsibilities and Tasks

• Responsible for leading the Mission’s health emergency preparedness, capacity, and response strategy, including the COVID-19 response strategy to ensure safety of staff and beneficiaries, and continuity of the Mission’s programmes amidst the pandemic.
• Responsible for representing INTERSOS externally in the Health and Nutrition sectors coordination meetings, and with UN agencies, INGOs, MOH and other government directorates.
• In liaison with the H/Q based Health Advisor, the Medical Coordinator is responsible for defining and guiding the Mission’ on health and nutrition strategy, including monitoring and updating the medical and nutrition content of the Mission’s policies, guidelines, standards and SOPs for medical and nutrition programming.  
• In liaison with Program/Project Managers and other coordinators, lead in translating the identified health and nutrition needs into a strategic vision and objectives, priorities and resources needed in order to cover the humanitarian needs of the population at risk, and ensuring that the objectives and goals set in the Mission’s annual plan and project plans are achieved.
• Coordinate with the H/Q for the validation of the project proposals he/her designs to be submitted to international donors and private foundation.
• Responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the medical and nutrition technical aspects, humanitarian needs, and in coordination with the program/project managers - to identify the material aspects of the programmes through regular field visits, analyzing difficulties during the implementation and reporting deviations as they appear, in order to proactively provide the necessary solutions and achieve operational results
• In close collaboration with the HR Coordinator, participate in the planning, definition and sizing of the health-workforce in the mission and supervise the associated processes (recruitment, validation of medical staff, training/induction, evaluation, potential detection, development and internal / external communication)
• Coach and directly support the medical and nutrition teams in the quality implementation of the medical and nutrition activities making sure that internal protocols are respected as well as the ones of Ministry of Health, Health Sector and the Nutrition Sector.
• Responsible for defining and sizing other resources (pharmacy and medical equipment management in collaboration with logistics) and timelines, procedures and protocols.
• Represent INTERSOS before local medical authorities and guarantee constant presence and active participation to the health and nutrition coordination fora (clusters meetings, other technical coordination meetings) and keep regular contact with other counterparts in the mission (NGOs, local organizations, donors, authorities) in order to broaden the medical-humanitarian situation analysis, strengthening the impact of the medical intervention and supporting advocacy actions
• Responsible for medical data collection, analysis and reporting to HQ Medical Referent to ensure a proper monitoring of the program and, where needed, to adapt them to existing programs.
• Responsible for enforcing best practices in Medical Supply Chain Management, including that there is adequate stock of medical and non-medical supplies.
• Responsible for supervising the pharmacy inventories by supporting the Pharmacy manager in a way that wastages such as due to expiry dates is well controlled.
• Ensuring preparation of all medical orders in collaboration with the Logistics Department and the submission of all medical purchase requests. Being accountable for the proper management of the pharmacy in the Mission, including projects.
• The Medical Coordinator has the overall responsibility for the appropriateness and quality of medical and nutrition interventions conducted by INTERSOS projects and being expected to identify and work on removing barriers to better patient safety, effective medical care, and better patient-centered activities
• Continuously monitor the medical, nutrition and humanitarian needs in the Mission country in new areas of intervention or in areas where INTERSOS is already present through exploratory missions, monitor and review project proposals, determining necessary resources in order to define health and nutrition priorities and potential new programs to cover medical and humanitarian needs of the population at risk
• Provide reports on the mission’s evolution from the medical perspective, as required

Three Key Deliverables:

• Good external relations outcome is a key performance indicator for the position.
• Number of successful proposals/projects is a critical success indicator for this mission.
• The Mission’s public health emergency preparedness and response capacity.

Qualifications
Education:

• Advanced University Degree in Medicine or other Paramedical Studies
• Desirable specialization in Tropical Medicine or a Degree in Public Health

Professional experience:

• Minimum of 5 years relevant work experience in a similar role in the humanitarian sector especially in fragile and unstable environments
• Previous experience in Nigeria and/or Western and Central Africa is an asset

Professional Requirements:

• Sound personal organizational skills, including time management, ability to meet deadlines, multi-tasking, prioritization of tasks, and working under pressure
• Ability to deliver high-quality work in short periods of time
• Ability to work under pressure
• Flexibility to respond to changing nature of humanitarian context and operational difficulties in the field
• Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international multiethnic and multicultural environment
• Proven management and leadership skills.

Languages:

• Proficiency in English (conversation, reading and writing) required
• Multi-language knowledge desirable

Personal Requirements:

• Willingness to accept basic living standard and frequent field missions
• Strong attitude to take initiative, work autonomously and achieve effectively results
• Respect of INTERSOS mission and values
• Ability to establish collaborative relationships with staff, beneficiaries and other stakeholders