Technical Director – Faith and Community Initiative Project (FCI) Full Time NEW

Job Description Summary

• The Technical Director – FCI Ethiopia will provide overall technical leadership and strategic direction for the program, ensuring the design and implementation of high-quality, evidence-based, integrated interventions across HIV, TB, MNCH, nutrition, community health, primary health care, and health systems strengthening. The position will translate the FCI strategy, U.S. Government/PEPFAR requirements, and Government of Ethiopia priorities into coherent technical approaches, service-delivery models, standards, guidelines, tools, and implementation frameworks.
  • The Technical Director will ensure technical integration across facility, community, faith-based, and
  government platforms and will lead technical quality assurance, quality improvement, mentorship, supportive supervision, capacity strengthening, innovation, learning, and adaptive programming. The position will work closely with the Project Director, MEL Manager, technical leads, government counterparts, FBOs, and implementing partners to monitor technical performance, identify and address implementation gaps, strengthen partner and government capacity, and ensure that program decisions are informed by data, evidence, learning, and community needs.
  • The position will also provide technical leadership for localization, government ownership, sustainability, and transition, ensuring that successful approaches are institutionalized within government systems and that local partners progressively acquire the technical capacity required to sustain program results. The Technical Director will ensure technical alignment with national policies, guidelines, and standards and contribute to policy dialogue, technical coordination, documentation of best practices, knowledge management, and dissemination of lessons. Ultimately, the position will ensure that FCI Ethiopia delivers technically excellent, integrated, equitable, scalable, and sustainable health interventions that achieve measurable improvements in service quality, coverage, and health outcomes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Strategy, Integration & Program Leadership:

Provide overall technical leadership for the design, planning, implementation, and adaptation of FCI Ethiopia’s integrated health program. Translate the approved strategy, award requirements, Government of Ethiopia priorities, and U.S. Government/PEPFAR expectations into technically sound implementation approaches. Lead integration of HIV, TB, MNCH, nutrition, community health, PHC, and health systems strengthening across facility, community, FBO, and government platforms. Ensure technical strategies, work plans, budgets, staffing, partner agreements, implementation models, and service-delivery approaches are technically aligned. Guide technical leads and ensure cross-component coordination and resolution of technical of technical bottlenecks.

Technical Quality, Service Delivery & Performance Improvement:

Establish and maintain technical standards and quality-assurance mechanisms across all program components and implementation levels. Lead development and application of technical guidelines, SOPs, tools, service-delivery models, mentorship approaches, supportive supervision, and continuous quality-improvement mechanisms. Monitor technical performance across regions, facilities, partners, and community platforms; identify gaps in service quality, coverage, referral, retention, integration, and adherence to national standards; and lead timely corrective actions. Promote client-centered, equitable, safe, and high quality services, particularly for vulnerable, underserved, and hard-to-reach populations.

Government, Partner & Technical Capacity Strengthening:

Provide senior technical engagement with the Federal Ministry of Health, Regional Health Bureaus, Zonal Health Departments, Woreda Health Offices/DHMTs, health facilities, FBOs, local implementing partners, and other technical stakeholders. Ensure alignment with national policies, strategies, guidelines, protocols, and health-system priorities. Lead technical capacity assessments and strengthening plans for government institutions and partners. Oversee technical assistance, coaching, mentorship, training, supportive supervision, peer learning, and knowledge transfer. Ensure partners have the technical capacity, systems, tools, and competencies required to deliver quality services and meet program expectations.

Evidence, MEL, Learning, Innovation & Adaptive Programming:

Work closely with the MEL Manager and technical teams to establish a strong culture of data use and evidence-based decision-making. Ensure technical indicators, performance standards, learning questions, assessments, operational research, quality-improvement data, and community feedback are routinely used to guide implementation. Review technical performance data and identify trends, bottlenecks, equities, and emerging needs. Lead technical learning agendas, documentation of best practices, innovation, dissemination, and adaptation of interventions based on evidence and changing context. Support development of technical briefs, success stories, lessons learned, and evidence for policy and program dialogue.

Localization, Sustainability, Institutionalization & Technical Transition:

Lead the technical dimension of localization, government ownership, sustainability, and transition. Ensure technical assistance is designed to progressively transfer knowledge, skills, systems, tools, leadership, and responsibility to government and local institutions. Identify critical functions that require institutionalization and develop technical transition pathways from project-supported mechanisms to government and partner systems. Promote scalable, cost-effective, context appropriate service-delivery models and ensure successful approaches are incorporated into routine government planning, supervision, training, quality improvement, and service-delivery systems.

Required Education, training, license, registration, and/or Certification Academic Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in Public Health, Medicine, Nursing, Epidemiology, Health Systems Management, Nutrition, Global Health, International
• Development, or another closely related health discipline.
• A clinical qualification combined with advanced postgraduate training in public health, health systems, health management, or program leadership is highly desirable.
• Additional postgraduate qualifications in Health Systems Strengthening, Global Health, Epidemiology, HIV/AIDS, Monitoring and Evaluation, or Program Management will be an advantage.
• Relevant professional registration or licensure, where applicable to the candidate’s primary clinical or professional qualification, is desirable.

Relevant Professional Experience

• Minimum 10–12 years of progressively responsible experience in public health, health systems strengthening, international development, or a closely related field, including at least 5 years in senior technical leadership positions.
• Demonstrated experience as a Technical Director, Senior Technical Advisor, Technical Lead, Deputy Technical Director, or equivalent senior technical leadership role in a complex donor-funded health program.
• At least 5 years of technical leadership experience in U.S. Government funded health programs, with PEPFAR experience strongly preferred.
• Proven experience providing technical leadership across large, multi-partner, multi-regional, and multidisciplinary programs, preferably at national scale.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in one or more core FCI areas HIV, TB, MNCH, nutrition, community health, PHC, or health systems strengthening combined with experience integrating multiple health components.
• Strong experience in technical quality assurance, quality improvement, integrated service delivery, supportive supervision, mentorship, capacity strengthening, and evidence-based programming.
• Demonstrated experience working with the Federal Ministry of Health, Regional Health Bureaus, government technical structures, technical working groups, donors, implementing partners, FBOs, and local organizations.
• Proven experience providing technical oversight and capacity strengthening to multiple implementing partners, sub-awardees, local organizations, and FBOs across geographically dispersed areas.
• Demonstrated experience using MEL data, evidence, research, assessments, and learning to improve technical performance and guide adaptive programming.
• Proven experience in health systems strengthening, localization, government ownership, sustainability, institutionalization, and transition.
• Experience working in complex, fragile, humanitarian, conflict-affected, or resource-constrained environments is highly desirable. Additional Desirable Skills
• Strong strategic technical leadership and ability to translate program strategy into practical implementation models and technical guidance.
• Excellent understanding of integrated health programming, including linkages among HIV, TB, MNCH, nutrition, community health, PHC, and health systems strengthening.
• Strong U.S. Government/PEPFAR technical and program management knowledge, including performance frameworks, technical reporting, quality standards, and accountability requirements.
• Advanced skills in quality improvement, performance management, data use, adaptive management, and evidence-to-action approaches.
• Strong government engagement, donor engagement, negotiation, facilitation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and coordinate multidisciplinary technical teams and build consensus across diverse technical and organizational stakeholders.
• Strong partner technical management and organizational capacity strengthening skills.
• Ability to identify technical underperformance, analyze root causes, develop corrective strategies, and deliver measurable improvements.
• Strong understanding of Ethiopia’s health system, national health policies, strategies, guidelines, and decentralized health structures.
• Knowledge of DHIS2 and other digital health and routine health information systems is desirable. • Strong skills in technical writing, presentation, knowledge management, documentation, and dissemination of evidence and learning.
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal; Amharic fluency is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure and make sound technical decisions in complex and rapidly changing environments. Preferred Specialized Training / Certifications
• Preference will be given to candidates with specialized training or certification in:
• PEPFAR Program Management and Technical Programming
• U.S. Government/USAID Award and Program Management
• HIV/AIDS and PEPFAR Technical Programming
• TB/HIV Collaborative Programming
• MNCH and Integrated Primary Health Care
• Nutrition Programming and Nutrition-Sensitive Health Systems
• Health Systems Strengthening • Quality Improvement / Continuous Quality Improvement (QI/CQI)
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL)
• Data Use, DHIS2, Digital Health, and Health Information Systems
• Results-Based Management and Adaptive Management
• Project/Program Management: PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent
• Leadership and Senior Management • Localization, Partnership Management, and Organizational Capacity Strengthening • Safeguarding, PSEA, Gender, Disability Inclusion, and Protection
• Humanitarian Health, Emergency Preparedness, and Outbreak Response, particularly relevant to the Ethiopian context.