Consultant, Hypertension Program Implementation Field Support

The Cardiovascular Health (CVH) team at RTSL provides technical assistance in developing cardiovascular disease prevention programs to help countries improve the heart health of their people. Working with our partners to improve the control of high blood pressure, reduce salt intake, and eliminate trans fats from the global food supply, the CVH team has helped save countless lives from cardiovascular disease.

Length of Engagement: 4 Months, with possibility of extension based on performance and project needs.

Level of Effort: Equivalent to FTE

Location: Ethiopia

Assigned region of work: South Ethiopia, Afar, Southwest Ethiopia, Sidama, Somali, and Central Ethiopia. Selected consultants will be assigned up to three regions based on program needs, geographic considerations and experience.

Job Structure: Independent Contractor 

• Must have a registered business license to operate as a consultant in Ethiopia, or be willing to get one before the contract is signed.

Position Purpose

The Consultant will provide technical and coordination support for the implementation, monitoring, and scale-up of the Ethiopia Hypertension Control Initiative (EHCI) in newly established regions. The role will focus on supporting regional and district-level planning, stakeholder engagement, implementation follow-up, routine monitoring, and quality improvement efforts, including the implementation of the WHO HEARTS technical package and the Simple digital health application. 

The Consultant will be responsible for supporting up to three assigned regions and will provide regular on-site technical assistance through a rotational deployment model. The consultant is expected to spend approximately one month in each region, providing focused support to the Regional Health Bureau of that region while being available for light support to the other assigned regions. Responsibilities include extensive field support for sub-regional and selected PHC levels. This collaborative approach aims to build local ownership, allowing subregional teams to independently lead the continuum of care without external support.

Core Tasks and Activities

Regional and Subregional Support

• Conduct baseline assessments of HEARTS implementation, including hypertension service delivery, mentorship systems, quality improvement initiatives, and utilization of the Simple app and other digital health tools. 
• Support Regional Health Bureaus, Zonal Health Departments, and Woreda Health Offices in the development and execution of regional implementation and mentorship plans aligned with EHCI priorities and targets. 
• Provide technical assistance on NCD planning, program management, target setting, and development of strategies to accelerate the scale-up and sustainability of HEARTS and digital health interventions. 
• Coordinate with subnational stakeholders and implementing partners to strengthen leadership, governance, ownership, and accountability for NCD service delivery. 
• Organize and facilitate training, workshops, review meetings, and other capacity-building activities to strengthen technical and managerial capacity at subnational levels. 
• Conduct Joint Supportive Supervision (JSS), mentorship, coaching, and supportive supervision visits to strengthen implementation quality and build local mentoring capacity. 
• Support implementation of quality improvement initiatives and facilitate routine performance review meetings to identify gaps and track progress toward program targets. 
• Support implementation, scale-up, and performance monitoring of the Simple app and other approved digital health solutions, including strengthening data use for decision-making and program management. 
• Prepare and submit field monitoring, coordination, mentorship, training, workshop, review meeting, and other technical reports as required. 
• Support the development and regular updating of program performance dashboards, including HEARTS and Simple app performance indicators.

Direct Facility Support

• Provide technical assistance to health facilities to strengthen the implementation of the WHO HEARTS technical package and delivery of quality hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease services.
• Conduct clinical mentoring and supportive supervision to improve adherence to national guidelines, HEARTS protocols, and standards of care.
• Provide joint mentorship with subnational mentors to strengthen the continuum of care, including opportunistic screening, linkage to care, diagnosis, enrollment, retention, treatment titration, follow-up, and disease control. 
• Support health facilities in designing, implementing, and monitoring quality improvement interventions to improve service delivery and patient outcomes. 
• Strengthen routine use of the Simple app for patient registration, cohort management, follow-up, clinical decision-making, and performance monitoring. 
• Support healthcare workers and facility managers to use routine service and Simple app data for clinical care improvement, patient retention, treatment optimization, and blood pressure control. 
• Conduct routine data quality assessments and support facilities in improving data completeness, accuracy, and utilization. 
• Support integration of NCD indicators into routine Performance Monitoring Team (PMT) meetings and facility performance review processes. 
• Provide technical support to strengthen supply chain management for essential NCD medicines, diagnostics, and related commodities. 
• Promote multidisciplinary team-based care involving clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory personnel, data managers, and facility leadership to improve coordination and quality of NCD care. 
• Contribute to monthly, quarterly, and end-of-assignment reports by documenting achievements, challenges, lessons learned, best practices, and recommendations for program improvement and scale-up. 

Contract Deliverables

• Baseline reports on the status of the HEARTS implementation package, including the Simple application
• Regional implementation and mentorship plans 
• Monthly field monitoring and supportive supervision reports 
• Technical and financial reports (trainings, review meetings, workshops, mentorship) 
• Program performance dashboards and progress updates (HEARTS, including the Simple app status)  
• Monthly and quarterly implementation reports 
• End-of-assignment report with key achievements, lessons learned, and recommendations for transition and sustainability

Contract Management

The Independent Contractor will receive guidance from and submit all deliverables to the Senior Program Manager – Hypertension, who will manage this contract and monitor progress toward the deliverables. The Consultant will also work in close collaboration with RTSL’s Principal Advisor, Major NCD Advisor embedded within the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Senior Software Engineer embedded within the MOH. The Consultant will also collaborate closely with the assigned Regional Health Bureau NCD focal persons, healthcare providers, implementing partners, and other stakeholders. 

Qualifications

Education

• Master’s degree in public health, Medicine, Nursing, Health Services Management, Epidemiology, or a related field. 

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in public health program implementation and coordination. 
• Demonstrated experience working with Regional Health Bureaus, health facilities, and government stakeholders.
• Familiarity with the WHO HEARTS technical package or national NCD guidelines. Experience in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly hypertension and cardiovascular disease program implementation, is highly desirable.
• Experience in program management, monitoring and evaluation, and stakeholder engagement
• Experience supporting the implementation of digital health solutions is an asset. 

Skills

• Demonstrated experience conducting training, coaching and mentorship for healthcare workers 
• Experience using health data for data analysis and decision-making. 
• Excellent communication and report writing skills. 
• Strong coordination, interpersonal and problem-solving skills. 
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently and spend extended periods in assigned implementation regions. 
• Ability to work independently and maintain effective collaboration with government partners 

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit their CV and a cover letter detailing their suitability for the role.