EpiC Kyrgyzstan Technical Advisor

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Common information

FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Our staff includes experts in Health, Education, Nutrition, Environment, Economic Development, Civil Society, Gender, Youth, Research and Technology; creating a unique mix of capabilities to address today's interrelated development challenges. FHI 360 serves more than 60 countries, all 50 U.S. states, and all U.S. territories.

We are currently seeking qualified candidates for the position of EpiC Kyrgyzstan Technical Advisor for the EpiC project in the Kyrgyz Republic. The position will be based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

EpiC Central Asia Region Project Description:

Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) is a five-year global project funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). EpiC is dedicated to achieving and maintaining HIV epidemic control and the project provides strategic technical assistance (TA) and direct service delivery (DSD) to break through barriers to 95-95-95 and promote self-reliant management of national HIV programs by improving HIV case-finding, prevention, and treatment programming. FHI 360 through EpiC is launching a new multi-year project in Central Asia which will be implemented in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Building on the successes to date in the three countries, EpiC will focus on expanding HIV case finding in the community, and treatment initiation, adherence, and retention support for people living with HIV (PLHIV), with a focus on select key population groups. While EpiC will take a regional approach in the overarching management of the Central Asia project, each country will have its own respective targets, priority focus areas, and expected deliverables.

 Job description:

The EpiC Kyrgyzstan Technical Advisor will be the country-level technical lead for the EpiC Kyrgyzstan project. Reporting to the EpiC Kyrgyzstan Project Director and working closely with EpiC global technical team, the Technical Advisor will provide technical assistance (TA), monitoring and capacity building for project staff, community-based civil society organization (CSO) partners and key stakeholders. With a focus on the most at-risk key populations (KP), the Technical Advisor will support the program team to build demand for, and ensure delivery of, high-quality community-based HIV prevention, care, and treatment services to people living with HIV (PLHIV) and KP under a differentiated service delivery (DSD) approach. This will include design, implementation and active monitoring of targeted recruitment strategies (including index testing) to improve HIV testing uptake and case-finding rates among highest-risk KP subpopulations, development of community-based ART models to improve rapid treatment uptake and viral load suppression, and demand generation for the rollout of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) services. S/he will be responsible for the technical inputs to the annual work planning at the country level will take the lead in developing guidelines/policies for the institutionalization of community-based and KP-led service delivery models, will participate in technical thought leadership both at the regional and country-levels, and will undertake communication and relationship management with key partners/stakeholders, and facilitation of knowledge sharing on key aspects of PLHIV and KP group program service delivery for one or more of the target most at-risk KP. S/he will liaise closely with program leadership in Kyrgyzstan, across the EpiC CAR countries and at the global level to assess and adapt best practices to increase case finding, ensure linkage and adherence to HIV treatment.

Suitably qualified candidates openly living with HIV and/or who are representative of key populations affected by HIV are actively encouraged to apply.

Qualification requirements

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree or its international equivalent in public health or related field;
• A minimum of 5 – 8 years of relevant experience in providing technical assistance and capacity building in HIV prevention, care and treatment programs directly working with one or more of the most at-risk KP groups in Central Asia;
• Experience working on international donor-funded KP and/or HIV programs; experience working in a technical capacity on KP programs preferred;
• Experience in designing and implementing KP focused HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment projects, including ART and PrEP;
• Sensitivity to cultural differences and understanding of the political and ethical issues surrounding PLHIV and KP;
• Ability to manage projects, consultants, set realistic priorities, and plan for the successful implementation of programs;
• Ability to work well with others and to develop and maintain compatibility among project partners, staff, subcontractors, consultants, and recipients of assistance;
• Knowledge of PEPFAR programming and reporting preferred;
• English and Russian language fluency required; Kyrgyz fluency preferred.

Travel Requirements:

• 10-15%, mostly within the Kyrgyz Republic 
• The position is open to Kyrgyz residents and will be based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. 

Duties

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Provides TA and capacity building including support for the overall design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of PLHIV and KP group HIV prevention, care, and treatment activities in Kyrgyzstan under a DSD model;
• Coordinates with the Regional Communications Manager to develop/adapt, test and deliver targeted social and behavior change communications messaging, products and activities to increase demand for services across the HIV cascade;
• Works with implementing partners to actively monitor and proactively adjust face-to-face and virtual recruitment strategies to increase coverage, HIV testing uptake, and case-finding among KPs populations and especially highest-risk, underserved subpopulation;
• Develops models for introduction and scale-up of community-based assisted and unassisted HIV self-testing among key populations;
• Supports community-level introduction of HIV PrEP services for individuals at high-risk of infection in accordance with WHO guidance;
• Provides HIV care- and treatment-related technical and management support for CSO partners to strengthen case management services, ensure ART initiation and strengthen viral load suppression through innovative, evidence-based programming, including introduction of community-based ART models;
• Works with CSO partners and other stakeholders to build strong linkages between PEPFAR-supported services and a comprehensive service package including diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis services and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for people who inject drugs;
• Development of approaches to address the positive health dignity and prevention of KP living with HIV;
• Works with the Strategic Information team to monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of HIV interventions to track programmatic performance by KP cascade and to design and implement corrective actions where interventions and strategies do not deliver the anticipated outcomes;
• Supports the EpiC Kyrgyzstan Project Director to ensure collaboration and coordination with the Ministry of Health, Republican AIDS Center, USAID and other key country stakeholders by regularly meeting and consulting with all relevant agencies to share information and to stimulate joint design, evaluation and implementation of interventions;
• Remains informed on current state-of-the-art programs in the HIV/AIDS care and treatment field with focus on KP, through the review of literature and articles, and maintains links with other international bodies which specialize in KP-focused HIV treatment and care;
• Represents FHI 360 and the project in professional and public settings, and makes presentations at professional meetings and fora;
• Collaborates with the Regional Communications Manager, EpiC leadership and FHI 360 Corporate Communications teams on preparation and dissemination of project documentation materials, including academic articles, success stories, blog posts, video documentaries etc. Coordinates on behalf of EpiC in instances of project documentation by external parties;
• Coordinate preparation, review/approvals process, and submission of materials on behalf of EpiC implementing partners for presentation at academic conferences and/or publication in peer-reviewed journals
• Develops scopes of work, project deliverables and monitoring and evaluation indicators and targets together with the Strategic Information team for grant and contract resource and service delivery partners as required;
• Develops guidance, tools, and materials related to KP programming;
• Provides technical supervision for select program staff;
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Conditions

How to apply:

Interested candidate, please apply online at https://fhi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FHI_360_External_Career_Portal/job/Bishkek-Kyrgyzstan/EpiC-Kyrgyzstan-Technical-Advisor_Requisition-2020200577    Requisition # 2020200577

This job description summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.