Maternal and Child Health Program Officer

PATH is an international, nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health. PATH's mission is to improve the health of people around the world by advancing technologies, strengthening systems, and encouraging healthy behaviors.

The goal of PATH's Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Strategic Program is to apply effective, innovative approaches to broadening access to and use of key Maternal and Child Health & Nutrition interventions that address the most pressing causes of maternal and child deaths, poor health, and poor nutritional status.

 Although the technical areas in which Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition works are diverse, the approach includes common elements: an emphasis on community-level action; a focus on improving the quality of existing health services, as well as improving preventive and curative care provided at home; conducting research to understand and remove existing barriers to high-quality care; and mobilization of social and political support at all levels to create and sustain an enabling environment for the delivery of key interventions.

 The Program Officer will have clinical, program implementation and ideally some research expertise and will provide technical and programmatic support to existing projects in the Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition program, and will also support new program development, research development and implementation.  Specific responsibilities include: 

• Provide TA and training support for maternal health components for the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP).
• Provide TA and training support for a newly funded maternal and child health program in Sub-Saharan Africa. 
• Participate in and provide input to regular project/program meetings and teleconferences.
• Provide technical support to country and project offices on maternal, newborn, and child health activities as required.
• Promote effective coordination, collaboration, communication and synergy across other PATH strategic programs through cross program assignments.
• Support program development through project conceptualization, proposal development, identification of partners, identification and recruitment of key staff, and oversight/engagement in project implementation.  

• Maternal Health clinical expertise and experience in developing countries (MD or midwife preferred.)
• Proven ability to design, and provide TA to maternal health and integrated MCHN projects, particularly community level projects
• Demonstrated ability to engage in and manage teams and establish and maintain effective relationships with team members and host country counterparts.
• Experience with maternal health policy/strategy/guideline development and training, particularly in developing countries
• Demonstrated expertise in operations research preferred
• Demonstrated ability to write concept notes, technical proposals and manage responses to tenders preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to work with projects, organizations, and external stakeholders, including development partners, in-country government organizations, private foundations, in particular the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and USAID missions,regional bureaus, USAID Washington Office of Health, Infectious Diseases and Nutrition (USAID/W/HIDN).
• Fluency in written and oral English; proficiency in French or Spanish preferred
• Travel required approximately 30 percent of time.

• Doctor or Midwife; MPH preferred; and a minimum of 5 years experience or equivalent combination of education and experience
• At least 3 years of experience developing, providing TA to and managing Maternal Health programs in developing countries
• At least 2 years work experience in a low resource setting; Africa preferred
• Experience identifying and securing funds for international MCHN projects