United States of America: Orphans and Vulnerable Children Integrated Child Health and Social Services Intern

Organization: Global Health Fellows Program
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 29 Oct 2014

In cooperation with the US Department of State's Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), other US Government (USG) partners, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations, USAID provides global technical leadership on the full range of issues related to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment; manages numerous research and field support programs; and monitors the impact of the Agency's HIV/AIDS programs. In this endeavor, USAID works very closely with a range of USG agencies involved in the fight against AIDS, such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense, and Peace Corps. More information about the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) may be found at http://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/global-health/hiv-and-aids. Information on USAID’s work in HIV testing and counseling can be found at http://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/global-health/hiv-and-aids/technical-are....

The Orphans and Vulnerable Children(OVC) Special Initiative is a three year, four-country effort to generate rigorous evidence and practical program learning that informs efforts to better coordinate community-based social efforts and clinical services, and in so doing, improve the survival, growth, and development of at-risk children. A key contribution of this initiative will include generating evidence on effective and efficient strategies to reach children with integrated interventions during their earliest years.

INTRODUCTION

The Orphans and Vulnerable Children Integrated Child Health and Social Services (OVC-ICHSS) Intern will be assigned to the Implementation Support (IS) Division within the Bureau for Global Health’s Office of HIV/AIDS (OHA). Placed within the IS Division, the OVC Team works in close coordination with OGAC, other USG partners, multilateral organizations, and non-governmental organizations, to ensure that the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS remain central to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic response. The Intern will support efforts to build a regional learning platform for coordinated learning and joint analysis around the findings of intervention-linked research supported by the key USG partners. S/he will also work closely with USAID staff, consultants, and other stakeholders to roll out a series of country-adapted implementation packages that will prepare USAID Missions and their implementing partners to integrate early childhood development into existing household, community, and social support for HIV affected children and their families. S/he will also review and document state-of-the-art programming in the field of early childhood development for the most vulnerable children. This will include reviewing existing national policies, national resources, implementing partner programs, generating information on gaps and strengths, synthesizing information on the key opportunities, and distilling this learning as a seminal piece of literature. S/he will receive day to day guidance from the Senior Technical Advisor for Integrated Child Health and Social Services as his/her onsite manager.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

· Gaining greater understanding of USAID’s work in integrating Early Childhood Development (ECD) into HIV, health and social services.

· Deepening skills in collaboration and coordination within a complex organizational and implementation structure.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

· Contributing to and supporting the technical review and finalization of training materials for skills-building and capacity transfer to implementing partners.

· Contributing to and supporting the development of a framework and tools for processing evaluations during piloting and scale up of the integrated interventions of the Special Initiative.

· Reviewing the national ECD policies and early learning standards in place across PEPFAR countries, and documenting gaps and strengths in responding to the needs of most-at-risk children, their caregivers, and families.

· Working with staff, implementing partners, and other key resource individuals to highlight and document state-of-the-art programmatic experiences in responding to ECD across PEPFAR-supported programs.

· Assisting staff and partners to carry out other key organizational tasks as needed.

· Other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned based on organizational and programming need and/or the intern’s own interests.

QUALIFICATIONS

· Currently enrolled master’s or other post -bachelor’s degree candidate in a program related to public health, medicine, international development, or a related field; or completion of such within the past 12 months.

· Strong writing and analytical skills.

· Experience in research and analysis.

· US citizenship or US permanent residency required.

How to apply:

Detailed information, including an online application and instructions, is available on our website at www.ghfp.net. All applications must be submitted by October 29, 2014 at 5:00 pm eastern time.

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