DREAMS Technical Assistance Consultant

Job Information Project/Activity USAID/South Africa TSS Industry USAID Remote Job HIghest Level of Education Master's Degree Work Experience 5-7 years Job Description This is a remote position.
Panagora Group is a social enterprise dedicated to providing high-quality, high-impact international health, development, and learning consulting.
We are a dynamic woman- and employee-owned small business partner focused on market-based and integrated local solutions that strengthen country capacity and independence; and on learning, communications, and technology solutions to accelerate and heighten impact.
As a small business, we are able to implement novel and innovative approaches using highly participatory approaches to mobilize community, civil society, and government energy in defining and owning solutions, and to promote inclusive development that benefits all groups.
Background: The Technical Support Services (TSS) Activity helps USAID/Southern Africa and Regional Health Office (RHO) to address technical priorities and develop creative, innovative solutions to strategically allocate resources, strengthen connections with partners, and replicate best practices and effective program models.
Through the TSS contract, Panagora Group augments capacity by providing technical, operational, and administrative support to USAID’s largest health portfolio.
TSS deploys advisors in response to USAID requests for priority work with government stakeholders, implementing partners, and/or other entities.
TSS supports Health Office staff and teams to integrate creative solutions into routine work.
TSS also provides international and local expertise for surge support, as needed, for USAID Program Cycle requirements, planning, development, outreach, communications, and Health Office human resource functions.
Purpose of the position: The main objective of this consultancy is to support the USAID-Regional Health Office (RHO) and in particular 4 country operating units (OUs), Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia M&E teams in developing and managing a Community of Practice (COOP) for USAID implementers of child and youth programs.
The aim of the COOP is to analyze and improve program reporting, strengthen the data capacity of implementers, and engage in effective data use to tell the DREAMS story of USAID’s child and youth programs.
Program context PEPFAR programming for vulnerable children and adolescent girls and young women The DREAMS program (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe) provides layered HIV and violence prevention services to AGYW aged 10-24, consisting of age-appropriate ‘primary packages’ that all beneficiaries should receive and ‘secondary packages’ that should be delivered based on individual needs and vulnerabilities.
DREAMS also engages boys and male sexual partners of AGYW as well as community leaders to promote gender norms change for prevention of gender-based violence (GBV) and protection of children, adolescent girls and young women from sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy.
Program completion is the standard metric for success, defined as individual beneficiaries completing the primary package and all relevant services from the secondary package.
The OVC comprehensive programming track ensures the delivery of comprehensive services that mitigate the impact of HIV on children by reducing vulnerability, contributing to prevention goals, and increasing access to and retention in treatment.
The implementation of core activities should ensure that children are healthy (improving access to health/HIV services); safe (improving child protection and prevention of GBV); stable (improving household economic security and linkage to social protection); and schooled (improving school retention and progression and early care childhood development).
This program component strengthens the HIV care continuum among children, adolescents, and caregivers.
The recipient should describe a plan for systematic assessment of HIV risk and linkage to care and treatment.
OVC comprehensive programming leads to household graduation, which is defined and assessed using outcome-oriented graduation benchmarks across all four domains (healthy, safe, stable, and schooled).
Prevention and response to Violence against Children (VAC) and Gender Based Violence (GBV) are prominent integrated components of the OVC and DREAMS programs.
Position Responsibilities: The main objective of this consultancy is to support the USAID-Regional Health Office (RHO) and in particular four country operating units (OUs), Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia M&E teams in developing and running a Community of Practice (COOP) for child and youth programming.
The aim of the COOP is to analyze and improve program reporting and engage in effective data use to tell the story of USAID’s child and youth programs.
The consultant will be responsible for developing and facilitating core DREAMS topics that offer teams the opportunity to share, discuss and strengthen best practices; fine-tuning reporting skills and utilizing their data to improve programming and to effectively communicate program successes.
The consultant will also be responsible for developing the objectives, expected outputs and priorities for each topic, engaging USAID country teams in building out a series of sessions on key topics (identified during the co-creation workshop in September 2023).
Reporting and effective data use in telling the story may include a focus on the following: Community Based and HIV prevention and violence prevention activities Protective Assets Building Intensive Economic Strengthening HIV Counseling and Testing Services Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), HIV prevention new technologies, long term injectables Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) Post Violence Care services Adolescent Youth Friendly Services Family Strengthening Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Deliverables: Develop a child/youth programming COOP based on findings/outcomes from the initial co-creation workshop.
Facilitate the COOP leveraging USAID teams to engage, share, contribute and participate in the COOP, sharing experiences, best practices, lessons learned for group learning and improvement.
Provide recommendations/ suggestions for continued strengthening in reporting and data utilization to tell the story based on findings and learnings from the COOP.
Requirements Master’s degree in sociology, public health, international relations, community development, or related discipline.
Minimum five years’ experience working with adolescent and youth child focused or community-based programs with a strong preference for experience in programs to mitigate the effects of HIV on adolescent and youth.
Specifically experience related to design, management, and performance monitoring is required in HIV prevention programs.
Comprehensive understanding of HIV/AIDS prevention with adolescents and youth including program design, implementation, and evaluation.
Demonstrated ability to interpret epidemiological data, PEPFAR and USAID strategic directions on youth development programming, review and analysis of data on gender-based violence, data sources to monitor and evaluate program implementation and inform design.
Knowledge of South African HIV/AIDS context as highly generalized HIV epidemics and its impact on adolescent and youth.
Demonstrated ability in maintaining close counterpart relationships, both governmental and in the partner community.
Relevant academic and/or professional training of HIV, community-based HIV programming, working with faith-based behavioral, structural, and other HIV prevention interventions.
Strong sustained experience working with PEPFAR and USAID funded programs, specifically OVC, DREAMS and GBV in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Strong knowledge and understanding of how USAID Missions work with regard to program designs.
Excellent knowledge of USAID policies on health, prevention youth, gender-based violence, other operating procedures, and reporting requirements especially.
Experience in building local capacity development to create sustainable HIV programs.
Excellent analytical, written and oral communication skills.
Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with individuals from diverse professional backgrounds.
Ability to travel regionally if required.
No telephone inquiries, please.
Finalists will be contacted.
Please include a cover letter and resume.
Only applicants who include the required application components will be considered.
Panagora Group is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
*Note: Panagora does not offer visa sponsorship.
Panagora Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran disability or genetic information or any other reason prohibited by law in employment.