Job Description

Title: External Affairs Advisor - Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
Location: Kenya
Start date: July 2024

Organizational Background

Founded by a group of committed Kenyans, Lwala builds the capacity of rural communities to advance their comprehensive well-being. We support communities to design, implement, and evaluate solutions to their most pressing health challenges. Then, we build coalitions of communities, health workers, government, and universities to generate evidence of impact and infuse these insights into the formal health system in Kenya and beyond. This bottom-up change promises holistic solutions that are custom-built for the systems they are meant to reform.

Position Overview

Lwala is growing our external affairs capacities to meet policy, advocacy and partnership goals. In order to implement our ambitious 2028 Strategy, we need to shift policy across primary health care, digital systems, and sexual and reproductive health. In order to see the change we seek we’ll also need to influence institution funders. Further, we expect to raise $90m over this 5-year period. To support the organization in reaching these goals, the External Affairs Advisor Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health will steward relationships with key government, donors and coalition partners, scope new institutional funding opportunities, and direct policy goals. External Affairs Advisor Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health will also work to strengthen health systems, develop advocacy strategies, communicate evidence to target policymakers, tell stories about how our work is changing the health system, and build partnerships with government, peers and funders.

In the short-term this role will report to Lwala’s Co-CEO based in US. As the External Affairs team is built out, this role may report to another Director. This role will work closely with the Co-CEO and Director of External Affairs, Policy, Advocacy and Partnerships based in Nairobi and the Director of External Affairs, Communications and Partnerships, based in Washington DC.

Working hours and travel

This is a global role with responsibilities that span work in the US and Kenya. Thus, the External Affairs Advisor, Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health will be expected to regularly work the hours of 4PM – 7PM EAT, in order to have sufficient overlap with Western time zones. Working day start time is flexible and can be adjusted based on need. The position will be based in Kenya with travel required between Nairobi, Migori County, and other additional counties. Occasional regional and global travel may be required.

Role and Responsibilities

The responsibilities of External Affairs Advisor Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health include, but are not limited to, the following:

Strategy Leadership

• Bring a collaborative mindset and support Lwala’s Co-CEO to build an External Affairs team that is low on hierarchy and high on creativity and accountability.
• Support strategy development to enhance the impact of Lwala mission, staying abreast of best practices, new research, and innovations for integration into our model, with a special focus on community and primary healthcare
• Contribute to the development of Lwala’s policies, guidelines, and strategic plans.

Policy and Advocacy

• Support development and adherence to a Policy and Advocacy Strategy and workplans aligned with Lwala’s 2028 Strategy Plan and Lwala’s Systems Change Prospectus
• Establish and grow relationships with government officials and other stakeholders and document in a central organizational CRM
• Participate in RMNCAH related technical working groups in MoH and liaise with Lwala program staff as they participate in technical working groups, with a specific focus on the division of community health
• Provide capacity building support, develop tools, contribute to curricula, draft policies as appropriate to support division of community health, government partners and achieve the Policy and Advocacy Strategy
• Develop and execute county-level advocacy strategies and support county teams in relationship building at the county level
• Track the development and revision of relevant policies, guidelines, curricula, etc. and identify opportunities for Lwala to contribute to policy analysis as needed.
• Represent Lwala in national and global coalitions and technical working groups, partner with like-minded organizations to advance RMNCAH advocacy and positioning that contribute to coalitions’ goals.
• Conduct comprehensive analysis of existing policies and regulations related to RMNCAH at the local, national, and international levels and make recommendations for programming.
• Identify gaps, inconsistencies, and areas for improvement in current policies and develop evidence-based recommendations for policy reforms.

Partnerships

• Forge and enhance strategic partnerships with organizations driving community and primary health health priorities, ensuring impactful collaborations.
• Identify and target new RMNCAH opportunities to work with Government and other implementing partners supporting in support of Lwala community health primary health care strategy.
• Support the development of proposals; liaise with program and development staff on the design of new or expanded initiatives.
• Support development of coalition/consortium proposals.
• Support quarterly reporting on activities within External Affairs.
• Prepare regular and mandated programme/project reports on RMNHC for donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.
• Support relevant business development opportunities, including participation in project design and proposal development and amplify donor and partner experience in effective and impactful field visits.

Communications

• Partner with communications and partnerships staff to develop and execute a communication strategy that targets key partner organizations, government and funders.
• Lead the conceptualization and implementation of communications strategies and campaigns to advance RMNCAH within Primary health care, community-led health in national and county policy, in close collaboration with the Policy Advocacy and Partnership Director.
• Support content creation of communications materials targeting government and institutional funding partners, with support of the Communications & Partnerships team.
• Support development of policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and consideration.

Programs

• Participate in strategic programme (PHC, CHS) discussions on the planning of health programmes.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues and partners to explore strategies and approaches, as well as national priorities and competences, in order to produce concrete and long-term results.
• Provide technical support in the implementation and rollout of the community health program and Primary care networks nationally and in Lwala implementing counties.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme (PHC, CHS) reviews and annual sectoral reviews with the government and other partners to assess progress and to determine required action/interventions to achieve results.
• Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths and/or weaknesses in programme management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goal.

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in a relevant field such as public health, development studies or related discipline.
• Experience working with Kenya Ministry of Health and other government entities to support systems strengthening and policy development.
• Expertise in reproductive, maternal newborn and child health programs and policies in Kenya.
• Attention to detail, highly methodical and ordered, and high affinity for maintaining standards and consistency in program implementation.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities, with a results-oriented approach.
• Excellent writing, communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to to effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels.
• Demonstrated commitment to community development, the communities that we serve, social justice, and health equity.

How To Apply:

Please apply by following the link here >>> External Affairs Advisor Vacancy

The application deadline is 31st May, 2024

Lwala Community Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and does not ask for fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Successful candidates must abide by Lwala’s Anti-Fraud & Bribery Policy and Safeguarding Policy, including protection of children and vulnerable adults.