Senior Health Specialist

Compassion International · TZ

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**This fixed term role is supported by grant funding that is approved for a one-year period**

Location: Arusha, Tanzania

Position Summary

Provides national technical leadership for integrated health programming within FCI, covering HIV and tuberculosis (TB), maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), and nutrition. The position translates approved activities, targets, timelines, and resources into practical implementation plans and packages; strengthens service-delivery standards and workforce capacity; supports mentorship, supportive supervision, referral systems and continuous quality improvement; and promotes effective community–facility linkages and measurable results across hubs, spokes, facilities, and community platforms. The role also supports integration with malaria and other community health activities where planned.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintains a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Is a consistent witness for Jesus Christ, maintains a courteous, Christ-like attitude in dealing with people within and outside of Compassion, and faithfully upholds Compassion’s ministry in prayer.
• Acts as an advocate to raise the awareness of the needs of children. Understands Christ’s mandate to protect children. Commits to and prioritizes child protection considerations in all decision-making, tasks and activities across the ministry. Abides by all behavioral expectations in Compassion’s Statement of Commitment to Child Protection and Code of Conduct. Reports any concerns of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children through Compassion’s internal reporting process and appropriately supports responses to incidents if they occur.

1. Integrated Health Technical Leadership and Activity Planning

• Lead national technical planning for integrated HIV/TB, MNCH, and nutrition services across FCI hubs, spokes, facilities, and community platforms.
• Translate approved activities, timelines, targets, and budget inputs into practical detailed implementation plans (DIPs).
• Guide HIV testing, linkage to treatment, ART continuity, viral-load follow-up, TB screening, diagnosis and referral, treatment support, TB preventive treatment (TPT), and adherence approaches in line with applicable guidance.
• Guide antenatal and postnatal care, newborn and child health, immunization linkages, nutrition screening and counselling, and referral activities in line with applicable guidance.
• Promote integration of HIV/TB, MNCH, nutrition, malaria, and community health activities where planned, while supporting coherent service delivery and continuity of care.

2. Capacity Strengthening, Mentorship, and Quality Improvement

• Develop or adapt training, coaching, and mentorship approaches for health workers and community teams across relevant technical areas.
• Provide technical support to Regional Health Specialists and facility, hub, and spoke teams to address identified service-delivery and quality gaps.
• Promote low-dose, high-frequency (LDHF) learning where appropriate, alongside regular coaching, supportive supervision, and continuous quality improvement.
• Use performance data and supervision findings to identify service gaps, agree corrective actions, and monitor follow-up.

3. Implementation and Budget Performance

• Monitor delivery of assigned health activities against approved milestones, outputs, targets, timelines, and budgets.
• Coordinate with relevant health specialists and Finance, Sourcing, and MEAL colleagues on training, supervision, supplies, community activities, and other approved implementation inputs.
• Review implementation progress against resource utilization and flag delays, variances, risks, or forecast changes to the Grant Program Manager / FCI Project Manager.
• Ensure technical activity plans and documentation support program reporting, resource tracking, and financial accountability.

4. Community, Facility, Referral, and Continuity-of-Care Linkages

• Strengthen bidirectional referral and feedback pathways among communities, facilities, spokes, and hubs.
• Support community case finding, HIV/TB contact tracing, adherence and treatment follow-up, and community follow-up for maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition services.
• Identify barriers to access, linkage, retention, and continuity of care, and coordinate corrective action with field and hub-and-spoke teams.
• Promote identification and referral of priority and vulnerable clients and support effective linkages between community and facility services.

5. Stakeholder Coordination, Reporting, and Learning

• Coordinate with the Ministry of Health (MoH), regional health authorities, hubs, faith-based organization (FBO) partners, and consortium technical teams.
• Contribute to national and regional technical reviews and donor and consortium reporting.
• Document lessons, implementation adaptations, and good practices relevant to quality, sustainability, scale-up, and transition.
• Promote collaboration across technical areas to support integrated planning, implementation, and problem-solving.

Qualifications and Experience

• Has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

• Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, maternal and child health, nutrition, nursing, or another related health field.
• With a minimum of six years of experience
• Strong relevant experience in one or more of the following areas: HIV/TB programming, MNCH, and nutrition, preferably within integrated and/or USG-funded health programs.
• Experience in training, mentorship, supportive supervision, and quality improvement.
• Experience working with government health structures and FBO or community platforms is desirable.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams and translating approved plans and budgets into implementation activities is an advantage.

Required Knowledge and Key Competencies

• Accountable for supporting, upholding, and engaging in Compassion's core "Cultural Behaviors" in all internal and external communication and relationships.

• Strong technical knowledge of HIV and TB prevention, testing, treatment, retention, adherence, and referral systems.
• Strong technical knowledge of maternal, newborn, and child health; nutrition screening, counselling, and referral; and integrated primary and community health service delivery.
• Knowledge of integrated service delivery and practical approaches to strengthening community–facility linkages and continuity of care.
• Ability to interpret program data, identify performance gaps, and translate findings into practical technical actions.
• Strong facilitation, mentoring, coordination, writing, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Understanding of safeguarding, inclusion, confidentiality, ethical health-service practice, and equitable access.

Required Travel

Approximately 20–30% travel to regions, districts, hubs, spokes, facilities, and stakeholder sites to provide technical support, mentorship, supportive supervision, monitoring, coordination, and implementation oversight.

The organization reserves the right to close this recruitment process early if a suitable pool of candidates is identified before the advertised closing date. Early applications are strongly encouraged.

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