Save the Children recruits a Senior Project Officer – (200003DB) in Sri Lanka

Role purpose:

Save the Children is already established in tackling key nutritional issues for vulnerable populations within the Sri Lankan tea plantations. The project will engage the MoH in Pasgoda, Pitabeddara DS divisions in Matara district to explore how current policies and practices regarding the delivery of effective maternal and child health provision to resident worker communities in tea producing smallholdings & midscale estates can be improved.

The role of the post holder is to support the delivery of the strategic plan, developed by SCI, RDHS, and MoH and community representatives, in his / her respective DS Division. The Officer will also ensure that project activities follow Save the Children programming principles and approaches, improve the wellbeing of the target estate communities.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

Key areas of accountability:

  • Responsible for supporting senior project manager in ensuring programme quality of Save the Children’s nutrition programming in the tea smallholdings & Midscale tea estates
  • Ensure effective implementation of assessment activities, research activities, baseline activities and other related activities following the action plan.
  • Ensure monitoring templates are updated regularly with information from project working locations and key stakeholders
  • Ensure coordination between divisional level authorities and community on community behavioural change in health and nutrition
  • Lead, facilitate and monitor the community supportive groups (CSGs) to promote community behavioural change in health and nutrition, specially, nutrition throughout the first 1000 days.
  • Mobilize the communities and collaboratively working with relevant stakeholders to suggest necessary steps forward in the project planning and the advocacy initiatives
  • Monitor the progress of the renovation/ upgrading work of selected MOH and PHM clinics, and ensure defined quality benchmarks are met
  • Ensure that the community and relevant divisional stakeholders are aware of the accountability feedback mechanism put in place jointly by SCI and MOH

Qualifications 

  • Degree in Medicine, Public Health, Health and Nutrition, with a good understanding of community medicine.
  • Minimum 2 years field experience in community medicine, health and nutrition.

Experience and skills

  • Ability to build community networks and to deliver desired/ high quality results and changes for target communities
  • Strong project implementation experience
  • Experience in community mobilization and facilitation
  • Experience working with Government and other stakeholders.
  • Good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate and negotiate clearly and effectively at all levels, taking into account cultural and language difficulties.
  • Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
  • Excellent written and verbal communications skills in English and Sinhala/ Tamil
  • Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mind-sets.
  • Commitment to Save the Children values, including willingness to abide by and enforce the Child Safeguarding policy.

Desirable

  • Experience as Medical Officer, Maternal and Health
  • Trilingual language capacity is desirable

Location: Matara

Employee Status: Fixed Term

Closing Date: Jul 7, 2020

Apply here