Programmes Intern – volunteer (unpaid)

BACKGROUND

Welbodi Partnership is a UK-registered charity working to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity in Sierra Leone. Since 2008, Welbodi Partnership has worked in partnership with hospital management, health facility staff, and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to improve maternal and child health outcomes in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. We do this through a range of health system strengthening activities, staff training, hospital improvement projects, and community engagement.

Our vision is that all women and children in Sierra Leone will have access to effective, essential healthcare services characterised by respect and dignity for all, including patients, communities and staff. Our mission is to build the capacity of the health system in Sierra Leone to reduce the number of women and children who are sick, suffer, or die unnecessarily.

Ola During Children’s Hospital serves a crowded and deprived local population, is in easy reach of around 1 million people (1/7 of the population) and is the only national referral centre for paediatrics. Similarly, Princess Christian Maternity Hospital is the only tertiary referral maternity facility in Sierra Leone and only healthcare facility providing Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal services (C-EmONC) across the Western Area District. Based here, we implement capacity building activities to catalyse improvements in maternal and child care delivery across the country.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Deliver Lasting Results: Our overall aim is to reduce the number of women and children who are sick, suffer, or die unnecessarily in Sierra Leone. To achieve this, we build the capacity of the institutions, organisations and people that make up the public health system. However, we ultimately hold ourselves accountable for delivering lasting results for women and children, their families and communities, throughout Sierra Leone.
2. Working in Partnership: Our work is conceived, designed, led and implemented in partnership with those most affected by the barriers to health in Sierra Leone: patients, families, providers, and policy makers. We are embedded in the facilities and communities with which we work, and we commit ourselves to listening to our partners, valuing their expertise, and supporting their visions for change.
3. Health Systems Approach: Our approach means that we consider the health system as a whole, attending to how different elements interact and overlap. Rather than pushing individual “solutions” in isolation, we intervene at multiple points simultaneously, and we watch closely for unintended consequences. We identify, and work collaboratively with, agents of change in different parts of the health system and the community.
4. Valuing People: We support our partners and members of our team to develop as individuals and as leaders. We treat our partners and team with respect and compassion, and believe that this helps ensure the same treatment is extended to patients and their families.
5. Reflective Practice: The problems we face are complex and difficult to solve, and we do not presume to have all the answers. We strive to acknowledge and learn from our mistakes and to instil a culture of learning among our team and partners. We regularly question the assumptions underlying our work, evaluate the efficacy of our approach, and adapt accordingly.

*For further information, please see: www.welbodipartnership.org*

CONTEXT

One in eight children in Sierra Leone dies before their fifth birthday (UNICEF 2015), mainly from preventable and treatable diseases. A lot of work remains to be done if Sierra Leone is to reach Sustainable Development Goal 3; ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages. Whilst there are interventions which address child health, there are few providing the high-level technical support needed, meaning care remains rudimentary. There is an urgent need for quality tertiary healthcare for children, requiring trained staff and well-equipped facilities to enable clinicians to make appropriate decisions about care.

The Ebola outbreak highlighted severe challenges to Sierra Leone’s health system: a limited health workforce in numbers and quality, ineffective supply chains and challenged management systems. Sierra Leone has one of the weakest health infrastructures in the world and continues to be liable to outbreaks and other considerable public health issues.

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Welbodi Partnership is currently looking for an intern to expand our programme portfolio and provide support to our child and maternal health programmes, implemented both at ODCH hospital and across maternity health units across the country. The successful candidate will work within a national and international team to assist in finding new fundraising opportunities, developing projects, writing proposals to secure funding, researching new health system strengthening approaches and evaluating their success, including through literature reviews. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the role will be remote-based, however the diversity of activities undertaken will provide a wide-ranging experience for an entry level development professional, who can effectively and efficiently deal with a comprehensive range of tasks related to the complex sector of international development. Dependent on background and experience, there may also be an opportunity for the Intern to be involved in the scoping and design of new programmes alongside the Hospital Teams, and to contribute to grant writing for large and/or government donors, as well as reporting and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILTIES

Overview

· Research and identify fundraising opportunities

· Preparing and editing of proposals

· Writing and editing report

· Manage small grants database

· Support the organisation with event fundraising

· Researching international best practice

· Contribute to promotional and social media content

· Support administrative work

· Support to MEL research design, data inputting and data analysis

· Conduct literature reviews on health system strengthening approaches

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Compile funding proposals based on past evaluation, team discussion and International best practice in an engaging and professional manner
2. Support development of projects that fulfill local need and sit within the aims of Welbodi health system strengthening goals, taking into account research findings, local needs and constraints and government objectives
3. Conduct internet searches for potential donors
4. Take the lead in writing social media content and developing a communication strategy
5. Conduct research into International best practice with regard to health systems strengthening approaches and clinical training modules and take the lead in discussing these with the team
6. Assist in developing monitoring and evaluation tools for projects and to work with the team in the field on implementing these
7. Analyse data and be able to clearly and concisely present to the team, with demonstrable ability in gathering and assimilating information from various sources, compiling documents (reports and proposals), and identifying lessons learnt and best practice
8. Contribute to project reports to a high standard of English that clearly demonstrate the successes and challenges of Projects, learning from the project and give clear budgetary information
9. Liaise with the Programmes Director, as well as the team in-country in ensuring clear communication at all times
10. Maintain a database of projects and funders alongside the Programmes Director in London and maintain the database of photographs for projects
11. Take an active part in international team meetings and provide support to other members of the team as needed
12. Complete other ad-hoc tasks as required by the Programmes Director and the Programmes Manager to further the aims and work of the organisation.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Personal attributes

· Passionate about improving health care in sub-Saharan Africa

· Ability to work effectively with others in a cross-cultural environment

· Ability to work well under pressure and deliver to deadlines whilst maintaining standards

· Outgoing, enthusiastic, and willing to learn

· Ability to self-motivate and meet deadlines in remote working arrangements, if necessary

Essential

· Undergraduate degree from a recognised University

· Excellent written and spoken English communication skills

· Self-starter, works well with little supervision and within the scope of the role

· Excellent computer skills in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

· Commitment to the goals and principles of Welbodi Partnership

Highly desirable

· A Masters’ level education (Public Health, Development Studies, or similar)

· Experience of developing and writing funding proposals

· Experience of developing programme budgets

· Experience of writing donor reports

· Experience in a health care setting (service delivery, policy etc.)

· Previous experience of travelling or working in Low- or Middle-Income Countries

· Krio or other local language ability

What you can expect to get from this experience

· Experience with an international NGO, invaluable for a career in global health and development

· An understanding of how a well-managed and efficient international NGO operates

· Support from a dedicated team

· Insight into the day-to-day running of an international NGO based in one of the world’s poorest countries

GENERAL POLICIES PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES

All employees and volunteers at Welbodi Partnership are expected to comply with the general duties outlined below and detailed in full in our policies.

Safeguarding

Welbodi Partnership is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff and volunteers are therefore expected to behave in such a way thatsupports this commitment. Applicants for this position should be aware that if successful, they will be requested to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, or equivalent in countries other than the UK. The Welbodi Partnership complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice.

Data protection

Welbodi Partnership complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Equality and Diversity

Welbodi Partnership is committed to a comprehensive policy of Equal Opportunities in volunteering and employment in which individuals are selected and treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities and are given equal opportunities within the organisation. It is the Welbodi Partnership’s policy as an employer to treat all people equally irrespective of race, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sex, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, creed, disability, age or political belief.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Given travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Programmes Intern will be expected to work remotely alongside our Programmes Director.

In the future, if an opportunity arises for the Programme Intern’s to work from our office in Sierra Leone, we note that Welbodi Partnership operates in tertiary and primary healthcare facilities in one of the world’s poorest countries. Consequently, working conditions can be challenging. Many things we may take for granted in other working environments, such as running water, power, communications, staff competency and regular supplies of essential medicines and equipment are not a given in the environments where we work. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure a safe working environment; however, this is a challenging context and much is out of our control. We place a strong emphasis on staff health and well-being and strive to ensure staff comfort at all times.

Job revision

This job description is a guide to the duties required and is not definitive or restrictive in any way. The duties of the post may be varied from time to time in response to changing circumstances.