United States of America: Senior Technical Advisor for HIV

Pathfinder International Overview

Pathfinder International is a global leader in sexual and reproductive health and rights. We place sexual and reproductive health care at the center of all that we do—believing that it is not only a fundamental human right, but is critical for expanding life opportunities for women, youth, families, communities, and nations, and paving the way for transformations in environmental stewardship and innovations to contribute to poverty reduction. Pathfinder provides women, men, and adolescents with a range of quality health services—from contraception and maternal care to HIV prevention and AIDS care and treatment. Pathfinder strives to strengthen access to contraception, ensure availability of safe abortion services and post-abortion care, consolidate access to HIV care and treatment, advocate for sound sexual and reproductive health policies, and, through all of our work, improve the rights and lives of the people we serve.

Program Overview

This position sits within the Technical Services Unit, which is part of the Technical and Program Strengthening Department (TAPS) department. The Technical and Program Strengthening Department (TAPS) coordinates, manages and increases visibility and funding for Pathfinder International programs. TAPS provides support to determine the strategic direction of Pathfinder programs and to ensure the alignment of programmatic and technical realities in the field with organizational strategies. TAPS also provides strategic leadership of all technical aspects of Pathfinder International’s programs. In close collaboration with Pathfinder’s field and Headquarters staff, TAPS conceptualizes and plans program development activities and builds on country and international best practices.

The Technical Services unit is comprised by three teams – the Integrated System Strengthening Team, the Implementation Learning Team, and the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Team. This position sits within the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Team.

Position Purpose

The STA for HIV and AIDS will provide technical leadership and direction to Pathfinder in the areas of HIV prevention; HIV care and treatment; prevention and treatment of related infectious diseases, with special focus on Tuberculosis (TB); and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STI), all within a rights-based framework.

Working with the Sr. Advisor for Sexual Health and Rights, the TSU Director, Program Directors, Country Representatives, and/or Project Directors, the Advisor will provide technical input for the development of proposals and implementation of projects that address and/or include elements of HIV prevention, care, and treatment, as well as its integration with other sexual and reproductive health services. The Advisor will also provide technical advice and mentorship, both virtually and through in-person visits, to support staff capacity and skills and ensure projects are implemented according to Pathfinder’s program quality standards and rights-based approach. In addition, s/he will support Pathfinder’s visibility as a technical leader in HIV and AIDS through cultivating and supporting cross-country learning, participation in technical consultations and meetings, development of presentations and publications, and contributions to technical dialogues in the US and internationally.

Key Responsibilities

• Provides global technical leadership and technical assistance to Pathfinder country offices and projects in the following areas:
  • Design and implementation of strategies related to HIV and AIDS, STIs, and integration of HIV with other health and rights services, including the design of service delivery models/systems to accelerate service expansion and ensure quality of care;
  • Biomedical HIV prevention approaches, including PrEP, PEP, HIV couseling and testing, PMTCT, and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision;
  • HIV care and treatment, including adherence to treatment and treatment literacy, monitoring of disease and treatment progression, viral load suppression;
  • Clinical and community HIV service delivery approaches, including differentiated service delivery models for HIV care and treatment in poor resource settings;
  • Complex referral and linkages systems between community and facility services, ensuring PLHIV are retained in care and continuing to receive support to manage their condition;
  • Treatment and care tailored to the needs of adolescents and young people living with HIV;
  • HIV-related laboratory services in poor resource settings in order to ensure quality and capacity to appropriately manage HIV infection;
  • Prevention and treatment of related infectious diseases, with special focus on Tuberculosis (TB);
• Supports cross fertilization, cross-country cooperation, and other efforts for technical capacity building within the organization (both field and HQ) related to HIV and AIDS, in alignment with sexual rights and reproductive rights;
• Serves as a technical lead, inputter, and/or reviewer in the development of project proposals to a range of donors, including USAID and CDC;
• Contributes to the development, adaptation, and implementation of quality standards related to HIV and AIDS;
• Develops training standards and materials, provides training in HIV prevention and HIV care and treatment strategies;
• Works with Pathfinder staff to identify new opportunities for Pathfinder to develop innovative approaches to the delivery of quality HIV and AIDS programs;
• Provides assistance to public-sector ministries and agencies engaged in policy or health sector reform on HIV prevention, care, and treatment, in coordination with Country Offices’ teams;
• Develops, reviews, adapts and disseminates guidelines, standards of practice, protocols and other tools related to HIV and AIDS to improve quality in clinical and non-clinical settings;
• Participates in development, preparation, and dissemination/publication of technical papers, peer reviewed journal articles, and other technical documents.
• Represent Pathfinder at professional meetings and events;
• Collaborates with World Health Organization (WHO), USAID, UNAIDS, international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and networks, and other service delivery projects/organizations to advance HIV and AIDS guidelines and related efforts;
• Collaborates with Sr. Advisor for Sexual Health and Rights to provide staff (HQ and country) with updates on HIV and AIDS, e.g. technical bulletins and maintenance of Technical Assistance Library (TAL), facilitate VCATs and other collaborative learning mechanisms;
• Assists country teams in producing and reviewing project reports, presentations (e.g. posters, oral), and documentation of country work and programs;
• Increase Pathfinder’s technical visibility at country level and globally through contributing to social media, including participating in technical listserv discussions, writing blog posts, and contributing to other social media platforms;
• Presents on behalf of Pathfinder and facilitates Pathfinder’s participation in external technical events, including conferences, webinars and other technical events hosted by Pathfinder or partner organizations;
• Writes at least one peer reviewed article every three years;
• Attends unit and department meetings;
• Conducts other tasks assigned by the TSU director/deputy director.

Basic Requirements

• Medical Doctor degree, with Masters (or other advanced) Degree or Ph.D. in Public Health or other related field.
• Minimum of ten years of experience in clinical HIV and related work, preferably including several years with PEPFAR-funded projects.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in biomedical HIV prevention and HIV care and treatment
• Demonstrated technical expertise and interest in clinical and community HIV service delivery approaches, including differentiated service delivery models
• Demonstrated leadership in working and collaborating with other technical advisors, experts and host country staff from the public, private, NGO and commercial sectors.
• Experience in prevention and treatment of related infectious diseases, particularly Tuberculosis (TB)
• Experience with HIV prevention, care, and treatment tailored to adolescents and youth
• Comprehensive knowledge of current trends and evidence-based practices in HIV, STIs, and related infectious disease (i.e., TB) in developing countries.
• Commitment to the mission, vision and values of Pathfinder International.
• Experience supervising complex teams across multiple locations
• Strong written and interpersonal communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills with an emphasis on being thorough, detail-oriented, with ability to multi-task and work under tight time-lines.
• Ability to work effectively as a senior individual contributor or in a highly collaborative team.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.
• Excellent computer skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office products.
• Previous overseas living and/or work experience in one or more developing countries
• Ability to travel internationally up to 30%.

• Willingness to lead and provide technical inputs to USG and foundation proposals a minimum of 15-20% time

• Minimum of 2 years previous working in a developing country or countries;

• Familiarity with the latest international guidelines on HIV prevention, care and treatment;

• Speaking and reading skills in Spanish, Portuguese, French or other language.

Pathfinder International is proud to be an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer.

http://www.pathfinder.org/