Early Childhood Development (ECD) Technical Officer

JOB PURPOSE

The Early Childhood Development Technical Officer will be responsible for the delivery and monitoring of quality Nurturing Care for ECD interventions, and provide Technical Assistance to MoH and County Departments of Health of Nairobi, Nyamira and Isiolo in developing and strengthening the implementation of comprehensive, sustainable and scalable Nurturing Care for ECD services.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical support to program implementation

• Support growth and development of the Education and Early Childhood Development programme
• Support delivery of the Leadership, Management, and Governance (LMG) training to County Health Management Teams and health executives
• Work with the MoH and county departments of health to support capacity building of primary health care workers and community health promoters on integration of the Nurturing Care, Care for Child Development and Caring for Caregiver packages
• Work with the MoH to deploy the RMNCAH modules through the MoH Virtual Academy
• Provide Technical Assistance to review and enhance Nurturing Care for ECD in pre-service curricula for critical health workforce cadres
• Support Isiolo County to develop a Nurturing Care for ECD in PHC Action Plan
• Provide targeted technical assistance to MoH and County department of health Nurturing Care for ECD and MNCH Technical Working Groups (TWGs) to disseminate and adapt the NCfECD in PHC strategic framework, community health strategy and county Nurturing Care for ECD action plan
• Provide Technical Assistance to county departments of health to co-opt child developmental specialists within Primary Care Networks’ Multi-disciplinary Teams
• Support the enhancement of Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiatives (BFHI) and Baby Friendly Community Initiatives (BFCI)
• Support the costing and integration of Nurturing Care for ECD in PHC into County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) and sector-specific plans
• Support scale-up of evidence based Nurturing Care ECD interventions within counties of implementation

Partnership and networking

• Collaborate with local grassroot civil society organizations (CSOs) to promote integration of Nurturing Care for ECD in Primary Health Care
• Support Nurturing Care for ECD and Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Technical Working Groups (TWGs) to integrate all Nurturing Care for ECD components
• Provide Technical Assistance to County Departments of Health on functionality and coordination of Children Advisory Committees (CACs) to integrate Nurturing Care for ECD
• Collaborate with Nurturing Care for ECD ecosystem players and the Community Health Units for Universal Coverage (CHU4UHC) platform members to develop an Nurturing Care for ECD integration into Primary Healthcare
• Participate in multi-sectoral stakeholder forums on ECD
• Actively participate in the planning, implementation and supervision of Nurturing Care for ECD initiatives with other partners

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Facilitate supportive supervision and data quality audits, ensuring continuous learning and improvement in Nurturing Care for ECD service delivery
• Contribute to the development of a learning agenda and conduct operations research
• Support tracking and reporting of key nurturing care for ECD indicators within Primary Healthcare at county and national ECD workstreams and forums
• Document successes, lesson learnt and challenges in implementation.
• Prepare project activity reports as required, including monthly, quarterly and annual reports
• Conduct regular field visits to project beneficiaries in collaboration with key stakeholders to monitor progress.

Knowledge Management

• Support nurturing care for Early Childhood knowledge and evidence generation and packaging to inform Primary Healthcare initiatives for Early Childhood Development
• Support development and dissemination of Nurturing Care for ECD resource materials including the MCH Handbook to Primary Health Care workers and Community Health Promoters
• Participate in learning forums to share knowledge and best practices on Nurturing Care for ECD in Primary Health Care
• Support MoH to amplify Nurturing Care for ECD insights and evidence generated at knowledge sharing forums
• Participate in development of case studies and human-interest stories for the project

Advocacy

• Conduct advocacy for implementation of Nurturing Care Framework components in Primary healthcare
• Support advocacy for Nurturing Care for ECD in relevant policies and legislations including the PHC strategic framework and regulations
• Advocate for inclusion of Nurturing Care for ECD intervention in the national reporting systems

Admin and Financial management

• Support in day-to-day management of activity budgets including processing field imprests and other financial transactions.
• Ensure timely accounting for the use of project resources by stakeholders and communities in liaison with finance teams.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in education- Early Childhood Development, Public Health, or a related technical field.
• At least five (05) years of experience in implementing Early Childhood Development, Public Health, and Community Health Programs.
• Experience in Early Childhood Development with a focus on public health programming is a preferred advantage.
• Proven experience working with government agencies and stakeholders at the national, county, and community levels in Early Childhood Development and Primary Healthcare.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with government representatives, for-profit private sector entities, local community organizations, donors, and other stakeholders.

Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies

• Excellent organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills
• Proficient in ICT (Information and Communication Technology)
• Effective communication skills, both oral and written
• Solid negotiation abilities
• Competent presentation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to work independently and autonomously
• Capable of performing under pressure and meeting strict deadlines
• Target-oriented
• Demonstrate self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Embraces innovation and change
• Driven to achieve impactful results
• Manages ambiguity and complexity effectively
• Collaborates well with others
• Builds and maintains professional relationships