Lesotho: Social Welfare & Linkages Advisor, Lesotho

The Bantwana Initiative of World Education (www.bantwana.org) seeks a dynamic, innovative candidate for the role of Social Welfare & Linkages Advisor for an anticipated USAID-funded program to prevent new HIV infections and reduce vulnerability among orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Lesotho. The position will be based in Maseru, Lesotho. Reporting to the Chief of Party, the Social Welfare & Linkages Advisor will serve as the lead technical expert in social welfare service delivery to OVC and AGYW and advise program strategies around the integration of community and clinical service delivery with a focus on improving results towards “90-90-90.”

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategize and lead programming efforts around child protection, HIV-inclusive case management systems strengthening, and strengthening linkages and coordination between social service and health workforces to improve both health/HIV and social service delivery for OVC and AGYW and their families;
• Collaborate closely with government stakeholders to develop, harmonize, and/or roll out relevant policies, strategies, and plans for HIV-inclusive case management at local and national levels;
• Build capacity of local government to plan, budget, implement and evaluate child protection and case management related policies, frameworks and programming and ensure alignment with HIV and GBV targets;
• Assess status and build on existing mechanisms to ensure processes are in place to link community-level health and social welfare structures with formal systems, with a focus on improving pediatric and adolescent HIV case identification and support to children and adolescents living with HIV;
• Lead development and implementation of technical trainings for local government, civil society, and other stakeholder on specific social welfare skills, case management, and linkages and referrals;
• Oversee activities to evaluate and strengthen child protection management information system.

QUALIFICATIONS

· Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Social Work, Public Health, or a closely related field is required;

· 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in designing, implementing and managing community-based child welfare and protection initiatives in/for developing countries;

· 3+ years of experience in a technical advisory role, with ability to work with and mobilize stakeholders – from civil society to government – to improve the wellbeing of vulnerable children and adolescents and advance HIV prevention goals among adolescent girls and young women;

· Demonstrated role in strengthening coordination and linkages between clinical and community stakeholders, health and social service workforces and operationalizing integrated service delivery models;

· Familiarity with national policies and programs related to social welfare, child protection, HIV, health, OVC, AGYW, and other vulnerable populations in Lesotho;

· Demonstrated working knowledge of PEPFAR Technical Guidance for OVC and Prevention; and

· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with fluency in English (speaking and writing) required.

To apply for this position, please visit: https://www.worlded.org/WEIInternet/workforus/jobdescription.cfm?id=114825&intern=0

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