Program Summary

Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) is a leading African research organisation with extensive experience in health research, innovation, and systems strengthening. Leveraging this expertise, IHI is planning to implement the Maternal and Newborn Health Program as part of the Beginnings Fund investment in Tanzania, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Prime Minister’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG), and other partners across 12 regions.

The program targets 210 high-volume facilities through a hub-and-spoke model to strengthen maternal and newborn health services by addressing gaps in workforce, commodities, infrastructure, and data systems. With a focus on improving intrapartum care and expanding quality newborn services, the initiative aims to accelerate the reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality and prevent stillbirths, contributing to Tanzania’s 2030 health goals.

Job Summary

Ifakara Health Institute is looking experienced Clinical Advisor who will provide clinical and technical oversight for programming and service delivery of the maternal and newborn health, ensuring high-quality implementation of Level 2 newborn care. This role supports the program leadership by ensuring that clinical quality, evidence-based interventions, and health system strengthening approaches are effectively designed, implemented, and monitored across supported regions and selected facilities. Collaborating with partners implementing maternal and newborn interventions along the continuum of care, the postholder will serve as the clinical lead and trusted advisor for newborn care, with responsibilities spanning policy, service delivery, learning, and scale-up. S/he will serve as a key technical interface between the IHI and the MoH, PMO-RALG, regional and council health management teams, and other implementing partners.

Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership in the design, implementation and monitoring of maternal and newborn care interventions.
• Co-lead updating and harmonisation of tools and training materials in collaboration with MOH, PMO- RALG, professional associations, and other implementing partners.
• Lead technical mentoring strategies on essential newborn care, inpatient neonatal care and continuity of care interventions supported by the program.
• Support national guideline updates and TWG engagement.
• Work closely with MoH, PMO-RALG, other partners and national mentors to ensure fidelity to evidence-based newborn care practices.
• Support the Program leadership in collaborating with MoH, PO-RALG, and other implementing partners in co-design program strategies, workplans, and implementation models.
• Provide hands-on technical input to implementing partners on service delivery models, clinical protocols, referral systems, and quality improvement (QI) approaches.
• Contribute to site selection, facility readiness assessment, and phased scale-up of newborn care interventions.
• Lead efforts to strengthen quality of care, including supportive supervision, mentorship, and clinical audits (e.g. perinatal death reviews, neonatal case reviews).
• Support integration of quality improvement collaboratives and learning platforms across facilities and regions.
• Advice on strengthening clinical governance, accountability and patient safety mechanisms.
• Guide the design and implementation of capacity building strategies for health workers (pre-service, in-service, mentorship, and CPD).
• Work with professional associations and training institutions to support competence-based training for neonatal care.
• Promote task sharing and team-based models where appropriate.
• Provide technical oversight on clinical indicators, dashboards, and learning questions related to maternal and newborn health outcomes.
• Support the use of routine health information systems (e.g. MTUHA, Afya-eHMIS, GOT-HOMIS and DHIS2) and facility data for clinical decision-making and program improvement.
• Contribute to learning agendas, operational research, and documentation of best practices.
• Support policy dialogues, technical working groups, and national reviews related to newborn health.
• Represent the program in national and subnational forums as delegated by the Program leadership.
• Advice on strategies for institutionalising and sustaining program interventions within government systems.
• Support the development of scale-up pathways and investment cases for effective newborn health interventions.

Desired Skills

• Strong understanding of global and national maternal, newborn and child health policies, guidelines, and service delivery models.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication, and coordination skills.
• Ability to translate clinical evidence into practical, scalable programme interventions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience using routine data for improvement.
• Presentation skills.

Essential Qualifications

• Medical degree (MD or equivalent)
• Specialisation in paediatrics and child health (MMed paediatrics, neonatology or equivalent).
• Registered with the Tanzania Medical Council (or eligibility)

Required Experience

• Minimum 3-5 years of clinical experience in specialised paediatrics and/or newborn care.
• Demonstrated experience supporting large-scale MNH programs in LMICs settings, preferably in Tanzania.
• Experience working with or advising government health systems at national and subnational levels.
• Familiarity with quality improvement, clinical mentorship, and health workforce strengthening approaches.

Preferred Language Skill

• Fluent in both English & Swahili language.

• Provide technical leadership in the design, implementation and monitoring of maternal and newborn care interventions.
• Co-lead updating and harmonisation of tools and training materials in collaboration with MOH, PMO- RALG, professional associations, and other implementing partners.
• Lead technical mentoring strategies on essential newborn care, inpatient neonatal care and continuity of care interventions supported by the program.
• Support national guideline updates and TWG engagement.
• Work closely with MoH, PMO-RALG, other partners and national mentors to ensure fidelity to evidence-based newborn care practices.
• Support the Program leadership in collaborating with MoH, PO-RALG, and other implementing partners in co-design program strategies, workplans, and implementation models.
• Provide hands-on technical input to implementing partners on service delivery models, clinical protocols, referral systems, and quality improvement (QI) approaches.
• Contribute to site selection, facility readiness assessment, and phased scale-up of newborn care interventions.
• Lead efforts to strengthen quality of care, including supportive supervision, mentorship, and clinical audits (e.g. perinatal death reviews, neonatal case reviews).
• Support integration of quality improvement collaboratives and learning platforms across facilities and regions.
• Advice on strengthening clinical governance, accountability and patient safety mechanisms.
• Guide the design and implementation of capacity building strategies for health workers (pre-service, in-service, mentorship, and CPD).
• Work with professional associations and training institutions to support competence-based training for neonatal care.
• Promote task sharing and team-based models where appropriate.
• Provide technical oversight on clinical indicators, dashboards, and learning questions related to maternal and newborn health outcomes.
• Support the use of routine health information systems (e.g. MTUHA, Afya-eHMIS, GOT-HOMIS and DHIS2) and facility data for clinical decision-making and program improvement.
• Contribute to learning agendas, operational research, and documentation of best practices.
• Support policy dialogues, technical working groups, and national reviews related to newborn health.
• Represent the program in national and subnational forums as delegated by the Program leadership.
• Advice on strategies for institutionalising and sustaining program interventions within government systems.
• Support the development of scale-up pathways and investment cases for effective newborn health interventions.

• Strong understanding of global and national maternal, newborn and child health policies, guidelines, and service delivery models.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication, and coordination skills.
• Ability to translate clinical evidence into practical, scalable programme interventions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience using routine data for improvement.
• Presentation skills.

• Medical degree (MD or equivalent)
• Specialisation in paediatrics and child health (MMed paediatrics, neonatology or equivalent).
• Registered with the Tanzania Medical Council (or eligibility)