Project Leader - Children’s tuberculosis H/F

The project:

Children with tuberculosis (TB) are underdiagnosed and undertreated, leading to high mortality and morbidity. Almost all MSF projects, in almost all contexts see patients with TB and struggle with the challenges of diagnosing TB, especially amongst children. In March 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Program published new recommendations for children with TB including integrated treatment decision algorithms to diagnose pulmonary TB, a shorter 4-month treatment for non-severe TB and shorter treatments for TB prevention. These recent WHO recommendations present a unique window of opportunity that cannot be missed to transform the way that children are diagnosed and treated with TB across MSF projects, and to have a truly meaningful impact on mortality and morbidity from TB in this population. In order to achieve this, MSF has built a project to support MSF teams and their partners with scaling up the use of the above-mentioned recommendations, as well as providing evidence to improve their further use: TACTiC – Test, Avoid, Cure TB in Children.

All MSF operational sections are involved in this multidisciplinary, inter-working groups, transversal and integrated project which will roll out along 3 main axes of work:

1. Implementation: training and the development of training and support pediatric patient-centered tools for wide dissemination, increased access to diagnostic tools, development of tools for record keeping and data collection, local and national advocacy for implementation of new recommendations.
2. Operational research (OR): in some contexts, MSF projects will conduct operational research (OR) on the feasibility, acceptability and validation of new recommendations.
3. International advocacy: with the Access Campaign, advocacy for the development of better tools (diagnostics, treatments) adapted to children.

The project will have a special focus on change management, user and patient experience, and will ensure that inclusive dialogue with external partners and populations is anticipated at every stage.

The project has 2 phases. The first phase will run from October 2023 to September 2025, and cover 12 countries across 6 MSF Operational Centers with a preliminary budget of 3.600.000 Euros funded through the MSF Transformational Investment Capacity (TIC) initiative.

Main Responsibilities:

The Project Leader is accountable to the Project Sponsor, the Project Board and reports to the Project’s Accompaniers specifically appointed by the MSF TIC mechanism. He/she is responsible for the following:

Management and Coordination

• Pilots and provides support and advice for the Project’s successful execution, including in its change management perspective.
• Initiates and animates regular follow-up calls and meetings with the Project’s Governance/advisory bodies and members and with the TIC Secretariat.
• Leads and coordinates the Project Steering Committee, composed of MSF HQ technical advisors and relevant external stakeholders, and attached to the Project.
• Manages hierarchically and supports the Project’s Senior Management Officer. Manages functionally the Project’s Operational Research Coordinator.
• Ensures activities comply with the Project’s objectives, timeline, and validates budget execution and finalization of deliverables.
• Validates changes – scope, advocacy/operational research/implementation strategy, budget - proposed by the various internal stakeholders directly involved in the Project: Steering Committee, Field Project Committees, Project team (Operational Research Coordinator, Change management and communication officer, Project Senior Management Officer). Where and when relevant, presents requests for change and seeks respective approval from the TACTiC’s Board and, where relevant, to the TIC Accompaniers.
• Vets and ensures the relevant transmission of information related to the Project and its objectives, both internally and externally to MSF.

Representation

• Advocates for and presents the project’s objectives and results in MSF internal platforms, seeking to secure buy-in and support: medical and technical working groups (TB, pediatrics, nutrition, HIV, laboratory, diagnostic, pharmacy, etc.), MedOps, DirMeds, Epicentre and MSF Scientific days, platforms specific to each Operational Centers, etc.
• Advocates for and presents the project, its objectives and results to external stakeholders, seeking participation as well as buy-in and support for the improvement of TB management in children: WHO, the Union, EGPAF, etc.
• Provides support to targeted MSF country teams with advocating towards central level Ministries of Health/National TB Programs, including on-site participation to seminaries, workshops, etc.
• Accepts interviews, writes or co-signs scientific articles or Op-Eds with a view to share findings and outputs stemming from the project’s activities, and to advocate according to the Project’s objectives.