ALIMA recrute un responsable communication et plaidoyer – Projets AIRE et Oxygène, Dakar, Sénégal

AIRE Project

Today, in low/middle income countries, 80% of the reasons for paediatric consultations at the health centre level is fever – the lack of diagnostic tools in health centres means that too often health workers are unable to identify danger signs, which gives rise to 3 major problems :

●       35-50% of children (depending on the country) presenting with fever and danger signs that warrant hospitalization are not referred to hospital and die.

●       A strong increase in antibiotic resistance due to over-prescription of antibiotics (excluding malaria, 90% of children are prescribed antibiotics at the time of consultation)

●       A waste of resources (anti-malaria, antibiotics)

The AIRE project aims to introduce the use of pulse oximeters at the level of pediatric primary health consultations in order to reduce mortality linked to the misidentification of respiratory distress in children under 5 years old in 4 West African countries (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea). While pulse oximeters are widely used in high-income countries to identify hypoxemia, their use is not yet widespread in low-resource countries and is not integrated into IMCI Integrated Management of Childhood Illness at this stage. The AIRE project is built around 3 specific objectives aiming at :

      (1) Ensuring the implementation of this tool in about 200 primary health centres selected in 8 districts of 4 West African countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea) ;

      (2) Assessing the feasibility and impact of the intervention (qualitative and quantitative studies) ;

      (3) Ensuring the scaling up and transition of the project (dissemination and advocacy).

The 39-month project ending in late 2022 is being financed by UNITAID to the tune of $14.9 million.

The project is carried out in consortium with the NGOs Solthis (implementation in Niger), Terre des hommes (implementation in Burkina Faso and 1 district in Mali). The scientific evaluation is carried out by teams from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm). ALIMA which is responsible for the implementation of the general activities of the project, the proper conduct of operations, financial management and field implementation in Guinea and Mali.

Oxygen project

In the framework of the fight against the COVID epidemic, a new objective has been added to the AIRE project: Improving access to oxygen.

This project runs from December 2021 to December 2022 in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Sudan.

The objective is to improve access to oxygen by providing appropriate solutions at all levels of the health pyramid:

-Rehabilitation of PSA plants at the primary level

-O2 system with concentrator at secondary level

-Ensure access to O2 for patient transfer at the primary level 

POSITION LOCATION : Dakar, Operational Headquarters of ALIMA with 20% travel (Mali, Niger, Burkina, Guinea, Sudan)

FUNCTIONAL AND HIERARCHICAL LINKS

∙       He/She reports to the AIRE Project managers  and to  the Head of Communication.

              ∙     He/She collaborates with communication departments  at ALIMA

PROTECTION OF BENEFICIARIES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS

Niveau 1 : Level 1: The post holder will not have contact with children and/or vulnerable adults or access to their personal data in the course of his/her work; therefore, criminal record checks will not be mandatory for this post, unless the content of the post changes, in which case the level of protection of vulnerable populations will need to be reviewed.

MAJOR OBJECTIVES

1. Communication and advocacy

• Further develop and implement overall communication plans for the AIRE and Oxygen projects

• Improve and maintain a dedicated AIRE project webpage on ALIMA’s website, including resources and tools related to pulse oximetry and project results.

• Develop/implement press relations regarding the AIRE and Oxygen projects in order to ensure its visibility in the medias

• Develop written and multimedia contents (photo, video, audio) to enhance project  impact : promotional videos, case studies, social media posts, newsletters, promotional brochures, etc.

• Organize events (conferences, symposia, workshops…) around the AIRE and Oxygen projects.

• Ensure communication on regional and international events in which the projects are involved.

• Coordinate communication activities with  AIRE consortium partners as well as external collaboration partner PATH.

• Supervise and support the two AIRE and Oxygen communication and advocacy officers in communication activities, including the organization of national communication events and dissemination of project results (assistance in the development of the communication plan in each country, selection of providers…).

• Supervise the image bank relating to the AIRE and Oxygen project for ALIMA and its partners (contractualisation and accompaniment of photographers, cameramen in the field) in collaboration with the Communication team

2. Transition and advocacy

• Further develop and implement an overall advocacy plan for the AIRE and Oxygen projects on the international and national levels.

• Produce key advocacy messages based on project results.

• Develop, in collaboration with the project knowledge broker, a portfolio of case studies to inform external project communications, advocacy for transition funding, and the introduction of pulse oximeters in the sub-region. .

• Identify and map relevant advocacy stakeholders at the sub-regional levels,  such as IMCI (Integrated Management of Childhood Illness) networks, civil society organisations, etc. and ensure contact with them.

• Coordinate the organization of  events for the dissemination of project results and promotion of the introduction of pulse oximetry in national IMCI protocols in the sub-region (coordinating programmes, speakers, participants, guests, logistics, relations with event agencies and suppliers, local media/ press, etc.).

All the activities related to communication and advocacy of the AIRE and Oxygen  projects must be carried out to the maximum in an eco-responsible and environmentally friendly way.

The list of tasks is not exhaustive. Communication and Advocacy Manager may be required to perform other duties as required.

REQUESTED SKILLS

Experience and knowledge

• Higher education in project development/management, political science, school of communication or equivalent;

• Previous experience in the field of institutional and scientific communication of at least 5 years;

• Previous advocacy/communication experience on humanitarian or public health medical projects in West Africa.

Technical skills

• Excellent command of computer tools, Google Suite is mandatory,

• Excellent communication and  writing skills

Language skills

• Fluency (written and oral) in French and English is mandatory.

Qualifications/skills

• Ability to work in a team ;

• Ability to work in unstable and versatile security environments

• Ability to implement global strategies

• Rigor and respect of deadlines.

Type of contract: fixed-term contract under Senegalese law

Duration of the project: 9 month

Net salary : Level 8 of the ALIMA grid
Starting date : As soon as possible

Ancillary travel expenses & Return ticket from place of recruitment to place of assumption of post paid by ALIMA

  Other charges covered

• Single airline ticket : For the employee’s return to the employee’s normal place of residence within the applicable ceilings.

• Tuition Fees: Coverage of tuition fees for each child up to the age of 18 years, according to the current ceilings.

• Medical & Repatriation Insurance for the employee and his dependents.