Technical Program Advisor [Free State]

Panagora Group LLC | Short Term Technical (consultant)
Technical Program Advisor [Free State]Bloemfontein, South Africa | Posted on 12/02/2024
Job Type Short Term Technical (consultant)State/Province Free StateCountry South AfricaHIghest Level of Education Degree in public administration, education or social sciences is preferredWork Experience 10-15 yearsJob DescriptionBackground on Technical Support Services (TSS) Activity The Technical Support Services (TSS) Activity helpsUSAID/Southern Africa's Regional Health Office (RHO) address technicalpriorities, develop creative, innovative solutions to strategically allocateresources, strengthen connections with partners, and replicate best practicesand effective program models. Through the TSS contract, Panagora Group augmentscapacity by providing technical, operational, and administrative support toUSAID's health portfolio. TSS deploys advisors in response to USAID requests forpriority work with government stakeholders, implementing partners, and/or otherentities. TSS supports Health Office staff and teams in integrating creativesolutions into routine work. TSS also provides international and localexpertise for surge support, as needed, for USAID Program Cycle requirements,planning, development, outreach, communications, and Health Office humanresource functions.

General Summary or Background South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world withan estimated 7.8 million people living with HIV (PLHIV), of which 310,000 arechildren aged 0-14 years and 5.2 million are on treatment. The current HIVprevalence is 13.2%; adult HIV prevalence is 18.5%. Approximately 230,000 newHIV infections occur each year of which 50,000 are among children andadolescents 0-19 years. New HIV infections are disproportionately higher amongadolescent girls and young women. Given the rate of new infection, South Africahas yet to achieve "95-95-95" targets and the goal of HIV epidemiccontrol.

Annually, nearly one-third of all new HIV infections inSouth Africa occur in youth ages 15-24 years, with adolescent girls being up toeight times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts.Although HIV prevention interventions ranging from structural to biomedical(e.g., Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) have been scaled nationally throughinitiatives such as the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Aids-free, Mentoredand Safe (DREAMS) Initiative and She Conquers, HIV incidence among this prioritypopulation remains high due to a myriad of factors - early sexual debut,age-disparate relationships to mitigate the impact of high youth unemployment,high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and sexual andgender-based violence (GBV). While HIV prevention interventions have beenconcentrated in districts and provinces with the highest burden of disease andunmet needs, to achieve epidemic control, South Africa will need to scale upand intensify targeted HIV prevention interventions nationally.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities The TSS activity is looking for a consultant to serve as aTechnical Program Advisor to support the Free State Provincial Department ofBasic Education (FSDBE) to institutionalize and harmonize the work of theUSAID/Department of Basic Education (DBE) G2G into all program areas in theFSDBE working with relevant structures at the national, provincial and districtlevels.The Technical Program Advisorwill be critical to help the DBE achieve the milestones set in the year 6 workplan of the agreement for FSDBE.TheTechnical Program Advisor will support the provincial multi-stakeholder projectteam in ensuring alignment and integration of the G2G work with the FSDBEfunctions in HR, finance, curriculum, HIV life skills program management,including monitoring, reporting and evaluations.

The Technical Program Advisor will: Support the FSDBE to institutionalize and harmonize the workof the G2G into all program areas in the Department working with the nationalDBE, provincial and education districts, and target schools' structures.
Help facilitate all training activities, ensure availabilityof training resources, and availability of all related materials at the focusschools.The Advisor will oversee theroll out activities by engaging substantially in the training, implementation,data collection and reporting.
The Technical Program Advisor supports the FSDBE and servesas a key staff member responsible for collaborating and engaging with the DBEnational office and provincial offices and other technical assistance providersto integrate their expertise, services, and available support.
Lead the technical development and implementation includingComprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) teacher training, integration ofmonitoring and evaluation activities.
Facilitate regular technical meetings with national,provincial and districts education structures review program implementation,and identify measures to overcome implementation bottlenecks and enhancequality of deliverables.
Help ensure that daily operations of overall programimplementation activities are on schedule and that reports, new plans areprepared with enough lead time to get the necessary approvals.
Support the FSDBE and ensure high quality and timelysubmission of activity communications and reporting to DBE, Department ofHealth (DOH), USAID, and other stakeholders as required.
The Technical Program Advisor is responsible forcontributing significantly to the achievement of all the deliverables andmilestones under the G2G support.
Support schools in creating strong linkages to healthservices, by working closely with community health services, the integratedschool health program teams, and PEPFAR implementing partners providing HIVprevention, care, and treatment services in support of learners.
Demonstrates diplomacy and leadership to foster anatmosphere of teamwork, productivity, creativity, fairness, equity, andinnovation, in support of national and provincial education departments'commitment to diversity.
Travels to the target districts and to the national level(Pretoria) to support and conduct implementation oversight and assessment atdistrict level and school sites.
RequirementsA degree in public administration, education or socialsciences is preferred
At least 10 years' experience in education andadministration of care and support programs within the education sector,including supporting teacher development and leading the development of studentsupport programs to access health and social protection services.
Familiarity with key policy stakeholders at national,provincial and district levels, including policy development processes in theSouth African education and health sectors
Familiarity and working closely with provincial AIDS councilstructures and donor supported HIV programs in schools
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and abilityto think on your feet
Analytical thinking and attention to detail; ability toreconcile competing viewpoints and triangulate many data points
Strong report writing and presentation skills in English
Proficiency in Word (Microsoft Office and Google Suiteadvantageous)
Strong work ethic and the ability to work well independentlyto advance deliverables and work products with limited supervision
This position will require travel within South Africa,mostly in the Free State and to the national Department of Basic Education inGauteng, Pretoria.

The position will report to USAID and Department of BasicEducation representatives.

To Apply: Fill out the online application. Please include acover letter and resume. Applications without a cover letter will not beconsidered.

No telephone inquiries, please. Finalists will be contacted.Only applicants who include the required application components will beconsidered.

Panagora Group is an equal opportunity employer andprohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race,color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics,protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, orany other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

*Note: Panagora does not offer visa sponsorship at thistime.

Panagora Group LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran disability or genetic information or any other reason prohibited by law in employment.

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