Public Health Specialist (Health Systems Strengthening) at US Embassy, Mbabane, Eswatini

The job holder serves as a senior Public Health Specialist supporting the implementation, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) activities conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other funding sources in the Kingdom of Eswatini. As the HSS subject matter expert within the team, job holder plays an essential role in developing annual program strategies and budgets related to HSS activities with the Ministry of Health including leadership and governance, human resources for health, quality improvement, and financial management. Job holder engages with mid to high level internal and external stakeholders to facilitate alignment of strategic priorities, organizational goals, and programmatic approaches for sustaining the HIV response. Job holder’s duties include technical support, advice and guidance, day-to-day program and administrative management, drafting regular progress reports, and coordination and collaboration with colleagues of other agencies and public health entities. As an Activity Manager, job holder is responsible for providing programmatic oversight and monitoring the budgets allocated to implementing/cooperative agreement partners within the job holder’s portfolio. This includes coordinating funding, report compliance, and administrative recordkeeping with assigned implementing partners to assure projects are conducted in accordance with the implementing agreement and that US Government funds are appropriately utilized. The position requires public health technical knowledge, results-oriented analytical skills, advocacy, and constant and clear communication with implementing partners, non-governmental organizations, and host country ministries responsible for HIV, TB, and related public health programs.

Qualifications and Evaluations

Requirements:

All selected candidates will be subject to a background investigation and pre-employment medical exam.

Education Requirements:

Doctoral level (terminal) degree, Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Doctor of Medicine (MD) or host country equivalent degree in medicine, public health, health policy, epidemiology, or behavioral science is required.

Evaluations:

You will be evaluated against the qualifications and requirements in this vacancy announcement.
You may be asked to complete a pre-employment language or skills test.
You must complete the application form and provide the required documents. Your application must address all the position qualifications and requirements including education, experience, language, and any knowledge/skills/abilities listed. If you fail to submit a complete application, then your application may be disqualified for this position.

Qualifications:

Experience: Five years of mid to senior level public health experience in developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs or development assistance programs that involve coordination with an international agency or implementing partner is required.

Language: English Level 4 – Fluent; speaking/reading/writing, may include the ability to translate.

Job Knowledge: Detailed knowledge of current host country public health issues. Knowledge of general program design, implementation, and evaluation is also required. In-depth knowledge of various public health services including prevention, emergency response, care and treatment services, counseling and testing, interventions, behavior change, and treatment is required. Detailed knowledge of the host government health care system and structures, including familiarity with MOH policies, program priorities, and regulations is required. Good working knowledge of team management techniques to plan, organize and direct multi-disciplinary activities is required. Good working knowledge of overall administrative requirements, such as timelines and utilizing systems and databases, and processing requirements; budgeting and fiscal management in support of implementing grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts is required.

Skills And Abilities: Strong oral and written communication skills are required to develop and maintain effective, sustainable working relationships with national and international partners. Ability to analyze, understand and discuss new program design, management and implementation approaches is required. Intermediate user level of word processing, advanced spreadsheets features is required. Numerical skills for data analysis are required.

Benefits and Other Info

Benefits:

Agency Benefits:

The U.S. Mission offers a competitive compensation and benefits package for local employees.

For Eligible Family Member (EFM) applicants, the pay plan is assigned by the HR Office and confirmed by Washington, D.C.

Other Information:

HIRING PREFERENCE SELECTION PROCESS: 

A hiring preference is extended to eligible and qualified applicants in the order listed below. It is essential you accurately describe your status in your application, failure to do so may result in a determination that you are not eligible for a hiring preference.

* IMPORTANT:  US citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM) applicants who claim status as a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran must submit a copy of their most recent DD-214 (“Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty”) preferably Member Copy 4, Letter from Veterans’ Affairs which indicates the present existence of a service-connected disability, equivalent documentation, or certification.  A “certification” is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days after the certification is submitted by the applicant. The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service.  Acceptable documentation must be submitted in order for the preference to be given.

ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

The following apply to EFMs, USEFMs, and AEFMs only:

- Current employees who used a hiring preference to gain employment who are within their first 90 calendar days of employment are not eligible. This does not apply when the hiring mechanism is TEMP or the work schedule is intermittent or irregular.

- Candidates with a hiring preference who have already accepted a conditional offer of employment may NOT be extended a second conditional offer of employment unless and until they withdraw their candidacy for the first position in writing.

The following apply to Locally Employed (LE) staff only:

- Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible.

Current employees with an Overall Summary Rating of Needs Improvement, Unsatisfactory, on their most recent Employee Performance Report are not eligible.