Organizational Context

Job Purpose

Under the supervision of the Health & Care Coordinator, the Senior Officer, Public Health in Emergencies (PhiE), is responsible for overseeing the implementation of IFRC’s public health emergency programs in close collaboration with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) and movement partners . The incumbent will work closely with the ARCS PHiE team to ensure that emergency health programs are delivered effectively and efficiently, and in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and other relevant external stakeholders at national and local levels.

The post holder will work in close collaboration with the ARCS Health Department at headquarters, provincial, and regional levels. The primary purpose of the role is to strengthen the capacity of the ARCS PHiE team in designing public health emergency programs, disaster preparedness initiatives, emergency response activities, and systems for monitoring and evaluation.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Programme planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Review emergency interventions for consistency and compliance with evidence-based approaches, policies, procedures, standards, methodologies, and best practices.
• Support the continuous learning and capacity development of ARCS PHiE counterparts in programme planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
• Provide technical inputs for developing and revising health operational plans and budgets for IFRC and ARCS-supported health programmes, in consultation with ARCS primary health and immunization focal points.
• Review and update the implementation of action plans derived from project proposals, in coordination with ARCS.
• Track and monitor PHiE performance indicators to ensure achievement of results and support ARCS in meeting program performance requirements.
• Produce monthly, quarterly, and annual PHiE programme reports and contribute to pledge-based reporting.
• Lead and facilitate the development of case studies, success stories, and other communication materials related to health and immunization activities.
• Ensure IFRC-funded health projects consistently apply appropriate PMER tools in line with IFRC planning and budgeting guidelines.
• Support ARCS in preparing monthly, quarterly, and annual reports for IFRC on agreed health projects.
• Conduct monitoring visits to IFRC-funded ARCS health programme areas and prepare field visit reports to provide feedback to the ARCS Health Programme team at HQ and regional levels.
• Provide technical public health support to ARCS for follow-up on evaluation activities of IFRC-supported health programmes and projects.
• Assist IFRC and ARCS in monthly budget utilization tracking, in coordination with the finance department.
• Support ARCS in identifying health priority areas and provide expert inputs in developing health programme/project proposals, DREFs, and Emergency Appeals.
• Ensure that all projects and programmes integrate Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) and Protection, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI) approaches.
• Be available for national deployment as a Public Health Expert during emergencies.

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

National Society (NS) Technical and Operational Capacity Support

• Support the ARCS Public Health in Emergency team in identifying solutions for improving skill-building, qualitative data collection, and analysis.
• Provide technical assistance and strengthen the capacity of ARCS PHiE team in program design, implementation, and emergency interventions within the broader disaster management framework.
• Collaborate with ARCS to implement recommendations from the Health Cluster and relevant technical working groups for PHiE interventions.
• Ensure ARCS PHiE services adhere to Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) national standards and guidelines.
• Assist ARCS in integrating measures for prevention, mitigation, public health preparedness, humanitarian health actions, and recovery into program planning and execution.
• Build ARCS capacity and provide oversight for planning, implementing, and managing the health components of emergency response and recovery programs, ensuring alignment with agreed-upon standards.
• Contribute to IFRC–ARCS country office strategic and operational discussions beyond health programming.
• Supervise IFRC-supported PHiE Mobile Health Teams (MHTs) across Afghanistan including data collection, statistics reporting, and financial report processing.
• Serve as focal person for designing and leading health responses during emergencies/ disasters including earthquakes, floods, population displacements etc.
• Support ARCS in preparing PHiE MHT activity reports and developing case studies.
• Monitor the provision and distribution of medical and non-medical supplies to ARCS MHTs in targeted locations.
• Follow up with ARCS headquarters and field finance departments to ensure timely and accurate submission of financial reports.

Coordination and Communication

• Assist ARCS and liaise with the Health Cluster and other national technical bodies to ensure effective transfer of technical knowledge to ARCS.
• Contribute to the implementation of ARCS’ upcoming five-year strategy and overall strategic plan.
• Strengthen relationships and coordination with PNS, helping to build a shared community of practice for Public Health and Emergency.
• Facilitate effective liaison and coordination with technical counterparts from the Red Cross Movement, government authorities, UN agencies, INGOs, and NGOs involved in IFRC-supported health programmes at national and regional levels.
• Support collaboration between ARCS and IFRC Health teams and contribute to cross-departmental coordination with other relevant ARCS and IFRC offices.
• Participate in health sector and thematic technical networks to share knowledge and stay updated on emerging developments and issues.
• Maintain regular communication with ARCS Mobile Health Teams in the field, including conducting weekly update calls with field teams.
• Act as a key facilitator between IFRC and the ARCS Public Health in Emergency team to ensure smooth coordination and information flow.

Prepare and contribute to briefs, reports, and feedback documents for ARCS and IFRC health colleagues.

Education

Required

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experiences in Public Health/ Medical/Midwifery/Nursing, Pharmacy and health related degree.
• Equivalent training/course on public health, health programme management, health system development; planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (PMER); training development and facilitation; in development and emergency context.

Experience

Required

• 5-7 years of previous work experience in managing health program both development and emergency health programming for national and international organizations with skills and experience in handling admin/finance and project management work.
• Experience within the humanitarian sector
• Demonstrated success in planning, project management and reporting

Preferred

• Understanding of the work of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Required

• Thorough understanding of project/program management
• Open to work with others with different cultural backgrounds
• Self-supporting in computers (Windows, Microsoft Office)
• Ability to produce written documentation on a daily, weekly and monthly basis
• Demonstrated core proficiency in (a) digital communication & collaboration, (b) basic digital content creation, (c) digital safety & security, (d) data literacy, and (e) problem solving with technology (including responsible use of AI assistants
• Understanding of and commitment to IFRC’s mission and values.
• Fluent spoken and written English and one or both of Afghanistan official languages

Preferred

• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic)

Competencies, Values and Comments

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability

Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust