Medical Coordinator – Ethiopia – M/F

The ALIMA SPIRIT: ALIMA’s raison d’être is to save lives and care for the most vulnerable populations, without any discrimination based on identity, religion or politics, through actions based on proximity, innovation and the alliance of organizations and individuals. We act with humanism, impartiality and respect for universal medical ethics. In order to access patients, we are committed to intervening in a neutral and independent manner.

THE VALUES and PRINCIPLES of our action, inscribed in our CHARTER :

1. The patient first
2. Revolutionizing humanitarian medicine
3. Responsibility and freedom
4. Improve the quality of our actions
5. To trust
6. Collective intelligence
7. Environmental responsibility

ALIMA promotes and defends the principles of fundamental human rights. ALIMA has a zero-tolerance approach to perpetrators of gender-based and sexual violence and to inaction in the face of suspected or actual violence. The protection of those who benefit and are impacted by our intervention is our top priority in everything we do. Everyone who collaborates with ALIMA is committed to :

• Respect the charter, the code of conduct, the institutional policies including the policy of protection against abuse of power and gender and sexual violence, the policy of prevention of corruption and fraud;
• Report any violations of policies, framework documents and procedures to a supervisor, manager, or referral agent or to the address provided for that purpose

CARING – INNOVATING – TOGETHER:

Since its inception in 2009, ALIMA has treated more than 10 million patients and is now operating in 12 countries in Africa. In 2021, we have developed 67 humanitarian medical response projects to meet the needs of populations affected by conflict, epidemics and extreme poverty. All of these projects support national health authorities through 357 health facilities (including 45 hospitals and 312 health centers). We work in partnership, particularly with local NGOs, whenever possible to ensure that our patients benefit from expertise wherever it is available, whether in their country or in the rest of the world. In addition, to improve the humanitarian response, we conduct operational and clinical research projects, particularly in the areas of malnutrition and viral hemorrhagic fevers. ALIMA also conducts operations in response to the covid-19 pandemic in all our missions.

OUR PROJECT THEMES: Malnutrition, Sexual and Reproductive Health including Gender Based Violence, Primary and Secondary Health, Surgery, Pediatric Care, Killer Diseases such as Malaria, ARI, Diarrhea, Epidemics (Hemorrhagic Fevers, Meningitis, Cholera, Measles, Dengue, Covid-19)

OUR COUNTRIES OF INTERVENTION: Mali, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Guinea, South Sudan, Mauritania, Senegal and Sudan.

ALIMA IN ETHIOPIA

At the end of March 2022, ALIMA visited Ethiopia for the first time to develop official contacts and gather enough information to set up an ALIMA mission in the country.

At the end of May 2022, ALIMA conducted an exploratory mission in the Afder zone in order to better understand the context, and to assess the health and nutrition needs, to identify the need for a humanitarian intervention. Three woredas were targeted: Hargele, Barey and Elkare. The selection was based on; the latest national hotspot classification (all three are priority one), several health indicators shared by the Regional Health Bureau (RHB), recent data from the regional nutrition cluster showing rising acute malnutrition levels, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network forecasts on food security (all three would be IPC level 4 – Emergency phase), displacement data (IOM), and last but not least the low presence of other actors and partners.

The main activities to come will consist of :

In the short term :

November 2022 : obtain registration / immigration process / bank account and HR…

December 2022 : open and implement a take-off project for the mission.

In response to the drought and nutrition crisis -> Somali region (needs + access)

Assessment done in May-June. Nutritional screening in August if agreement can be obtained from PPN and the Ministry of Health.

Reduce mortality and morbidity associated with AM and pediatric diseases and maternal

In the mid-to-long term

Start an anchor project in the Northern Region (Ahmara / Afar or Tigray) including conducting new assessments.

Mission Location: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa with frequent travels to the project areas.

For the MEDCO, the priorities during the opening phase of the mission will be:

• Recruitment and support of the medical team
• Setting up the project (medical order, data…)
• Assessments of other areas for project extension

PROTECTION OF BENEFICIARIES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS

Level 3: As part of his/her duties, the incumbent will visit programs and come into contact with children and/or vulnerable adults. Therefore, a criminal record check or a certificate of good character will be required. In situations where a criminal record check or character reference is not possible, a declaration of honor will be requested.

FUNCTIONAL AND HIERARCHICAL LINKS

• Reports to the Head of Mission
• Technical referent is the Medical Desk referent
• Is the referent of the referring physician(s) of the project(s)
• Collaborates with the Field Project Coordinators, Coordination Team

MISSION AND MAIN ACTIVITIES

The medical coordinator must define the objectives and technical orientations of the mission, propose strategies consistent with the medical and humanitarian needs of the areas of intervention and provide technical support to all the medical teams of the mission.

Analyzes, defines and adjusts the medical objectives of ALIMA projects in the country of mission

• Data collection
• Ensures that ALIMA data collection tools are properly used on the mission
• Monitors the mortality rate and suggests solutions for the improvement of quality indicators
• Contributes to the quantitative evaluation of local health resources (HR, structures, equipment, etc.) and qualitative evaluation (maintenance, actors’ skills, protocols, and organization)
• Contributes to the collection of indicators for monitoring the health status of the population with partner organizations and authorities depending on the context
• Analyzes, interprets and defines the medical-operational strategy of the mission
• Coordinates the development of goal-oriented reports and medical indicators
• Analyzes and interprets the data to redirect the project(s) after validation by the med desk and/or the HOM
• Contributes to the development of project proposals and budgets with the coordination team by identifying the medical resources needed to implement the projects
• Follows and analyses the qualities indicators et find solution with the medical team to perform that are bad

Implementation of ALIMA programs

• Medical project opening
• Assesses the need and gap of healthcare facilities and proposes strategic interventions to the Head of mission and the desk
• Supports the Project coordinators and medical team leader in the implementation of operation
• Developpes the necessary network to include ALIMA in the humanitarian and social context in collaboration with the Emergency coordinator
• Participates in the medical assessment needed in the mission and in the opening of the new project
• Contributes to the organization of medical projects
• Provides technical support, expertise and protection to all health programs, calling on the medical desk officer as needed
• Controls the implementation, proper use and maintenance of diagnostic, clinical and therapeutic tools necessary for patient management
• Identifies with the project the different possible emergencies and participates in the preparedness of rapid response mechanisms
• Participates in the pharma management of projects
• Supports the monitoring of consumption and management of the project pharmacy
• Validates the drug distribution circuit
• Initiates the revision and updating of the country standard drug list
• Analyzes and validates consumption reports and makes recommendations
• Ensures that sourcing is respected during local purchases
• Participates in the validation and quality control of local purchases
• Ensures the regularity of quarterly inventories and co-signs central pharmacy inventories
• Ensures compliance with good storage practices for drugs and narcotics
• Monitoring and evaluation of projects
• Evaluates the quality of the services offered in the referral structures
• Ensures that medical ethics are respected and remains open to any questions about restrictions and limits of care in the project environment (including medical abuses and errors)
• Assesses risks to staff, patients and caregivers
• Ensures compliance with staff and patient protection measures

Representation and communication

• Participates in coordination meetings and core meetings as requested by project coordinators
• Represents the association to third parties on medical issues, ensuring the organization’s good public image and respecting the interests of the mission. In this capacity, describes the projects and argues the choices
• Maintains regular contact with local institutions and authorities, other NGOs in the country, for a better coordination of the deployment of health projects (and programs) – participates in clusters and technical meetings

Capacity building and team facilitation

• Offers training courses
• Ensures that the skills of the medical staff are updated according to the evolution of the technical platform and the protocols made available to the mission
• Sets up a medical department for coordination if necessary with the recruitment, training and reinforcement of a national team
• Defines and update job profiles and performance objective plans for team members and participates in the same documents for medical and nursing referents
• Carries out the assessments of its team in an approach of professional course
• Makes training and job changes possible for all medical staff in the mission
• Identifies the skills that team members need to acquire to master their positions and organize training to reinforce them

Team health

• Develops the staff health policy for the country
• Develops the medical evacuation SOP with support of logistic coordinator and Head of mission
• Participates in the analysis of psychosocial risks including
• Validates with the Head of mission and support of the Human resources Coordinator the application modalities of the staff health policy (organization, necessary means, protocols, SOP …)
• Ensures the quality of care provided in the staff health setting (in-house or outsourced)
• Ensures that the medical confidentiality of the care provided is respected
• Ensures that policies for the prevention of occupational diseases are effective (vaccination, medical certificates, medical monitoring of specific projects, contraindications to certain activities, etc.)
• Ensures that preventive measures for PSEA’s are implemented and that personnel are properly cared for in the event of an accident.
• Identifies and evaluates available referral health structures (including mental health)
• Informs the Medical desk in case of medical or psychological emergency and in case of need for health assessment
• Defines and ensures the availability of emergency kits and other inputs related to staff health
• Organizes the health follow-up of the referred staff in the field
• Ensures coordination in case of medical evacuation

Implementation of prevention measures against abuse of power, gender-based and sexual violence:

• Participates in training and awareness sessions
• Participate in the Implementation abuse prevention standards
• Ensures that team members complete training and awareness sessions and follow abuse prevention rules
• Helps create and maintain a nurturing and protective environment

EXPERIENCES AND SKILLS

Training

• Physician or nurse with a Master’s degree in public health, project management, epidemiology…

Experiences

• 3 years experience in a similar position with a medical INGO
• Experience on project openings and/or missions
• Good practical knowledge of nutrition, pediatrics, SRH
• Experience in preparing proposals and donor reports

Skills

• Monitoring and evaluation
• Database management in Excel
• Strategic vision
• Management
• Surveys (SMART, CAP…)
• Computer science (Word, PowerPoint, advanced Excel)

Languages

• Fluency in English is essential
• Knowledge of local languages (Somali and others) is a major asset

CONDITIONS

• Contract term: Contract under French law; contract length: 7 months, renewable.
• Position to be filled: December 2022
• Salary: Depending on experience

ALIMA pays for:

• Travel costs between the expatriate’s country of origin and the mission location
• Accommodation costs
• Medical cover from the first day of the contract to a month after the date of departure from the mission country for the employee and his/her family
• Evacuation of the employee