Clinical Mentor – Newborn Respiratory Care Project

Location:
Accra
Ghana
POSITION TYPE: Full Time, Local Hire
DURATION: 18 Months (Renewable Subject to Funding and Performance)
LOCATION: Accra, Ghana (Note that Project HOPE will not be covering relocation expenses)
POSITION TITLE: Clinical Mentor – Newborn Respiratory Care Project
DIVISION: Global Health
REPORTS TO: Senior Technical Advisor – Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH)
Project HOPE is an international NGO with employees and volunteers who work around the globe, responding to the world’s most pressing global health challenges. Throughout our 60-year legacy, Project HOPE has treated millions of patients, provided more than $3 billion worth of medicines to local health care organizations around the world, helped build hundreds of health programs from the ground up, and responded to humanitarian crises worldwide.
Code of Conduct
It is our shared responsibility and obligation to treat each other with respect, to take affirmative steps to prevent matters involving Sexual Exploitation & Abuse and Trafficking in Persons, and to disclose all potential and actual violations of our Code of Conduct, which may include Conflicts of Interest, Fraud, Corruption, Discrimination or Harassment. Together we can reinforce a culture of respect, integrity, accountability, and transparency.
Background On The Activity
With support from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Project HOPE is implementing an 18-month activity to reduce preventable newborn deaths in Ghana by strengthening the capacity of district hospitals to Improve Newborn Respiratory Care in Accra.
The activity is implemented by Project HOPE in close partnership with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Ministry of Health (MoH), and builds directly on monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems, indicators, and CQI tools previously established under the Ghana Integrated Health Partnership (IHP) activity. All data collection will use existing government systems, principally the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS2), facility registers, and standardized monitoring tools, rather than introducing parallel systems.
Position Summary
The Clinical Mentor will provide technical leadership in strengthening the clinical competence of frontline healthcare providers in newborn respiratory care across supported district hospitals. The position will lead the implementation of competency-based mentorship, simulation-based learning, bedside coaching, supportive supervision, and quality improvement interventions aimed at improving providers' ability to identify, stabilize, and manage newborns with respiratory distress and other common neonatal conditions.
Working closely with the Project Manager, Senior Technical Advisor, Senior Neonatal Nurse Specialist, Ghana Health Service, Regional Health Directorates, District Health Management Teams, and hospital management, the Clinical Mentor will support the integration of evidence-based newborn care practices into routine clinical services. The role will also strengthen facility-based quality improvement systems, support clinical governance, and contribute to the sustainability of project interventions through continuous capacity building and institutional strengthening.
Key Responsibilities

• Clinical Mentorship and Capacity Building
  

The Clinical Mentor will provide continuous on-site mentorship and coaching to healthcare providers in supported district hospitals to improve their competence and confidence in delivering high-quality newborn care. The incumbent will implement competency-based mentorship programmes that reinforce knowledge and clinical skills acquired during formal training through regular practice, bedside coaching, simulation exercises, case reviews, and clinical debriefings. The mentor will assess provider competencies, identify individual and facility learning needs, develop mentorship plans, monitor progress, and provide constructive feedback to ensure sustained improvements in clinical performance.

• Training and Simulation
  

The Clinical Mentor will support the planning, coordination, and facilitation of competency-based training programmes on newborn respiratory care and Essential Newborn Care. The mentor will work with facility trainers to institutionalize simulation-based learning and promote a culture of continuous professional development.

• Clinical Quality Improvement
  

The incumbent will support hospitals to establish and strengthen Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) systems for newborn care. This includes facilitating mortality and morbidity reviews, conducting clinical audits, supporting root cause analyses, tracking quality indicators, and implementing improvement plans to address identified gaps. The Clinical Mentor will promote adherence to national clinical guidelines and evidence-based practices to improve patient safety and neonatal outcomes.

• Supportive Supervision
  

The Clinical Mentor will support conduct regular supportive supervision visits to participating hospitals to assess service readiness, observe clinical practice, provide real-time coaching, and support healthcare providers in overcoming clinical and operational challenges. The mentor will monitor adherence to standard treatment protocols, infection prevention and control practices, documentation standards, and equipment utilization, while working collaboratively with hospital leadership to implement corrective actions.

• Equipment Utilization and Clinical Support
  

The Clinical Mentor will support the introduction, proper utilization, routine maintenance, and quality assurance of newborn respiratory equipment provided under the project. The incumbent will ensure providers are competent in equipment setup, operation, troubleshooting, infection prevention, and routine maintenance, while collaborating with biomedical engineers and facility management to maximize equipment functionality and sustainability.

• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
  

The Clinical Mentor will contribute to the project's Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) framework by collecting and validating mentorship data, documenting provider competency assessments, monitoring clinical performance indicators, and supporting routine data quality assessments. The incumbent will prepare mentorship reports, document best practices and lessons learned, contribute to quarterly and annual reports, and promote the use of data for continuous programme improvement and evidence-based decision-making.

• Government and Stakeholder Engagement
  

The Clinical Mentor will work closely with the Ghana Health Service, Regional Health Directorates, District Health Management Teams, hospital management teams, professional associations, and development partners to coordinate mentorship activities and strengthen local ownership of project interventions. The incumbent will participate in technical working groups, stakeholder meetings, and review sessions while supporting the integration of project interventions into existing government systems to ensure sustainability.

• Compliance and Safeguarding
  

The Clinical Mentor will ensure that all project activities comply with Project HOPE policies, donor requirements, national clinical guidelines, and ethical standards. The incumbent will promote safeguarding, child protection, and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) principles in all aspects of project implementation and maintain the highest standards of professionalism, accountability, and integrity.
Minimum Required Skills,
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• A bachelor’s degree in medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, or Physician Assistantship from a recognized institution. A master’s degree in public health, Neonatal Nursing, Paediatrics, Midwifery or a related discipline will be an added advantage.
• At least 5 years' progressively responsible clinical experience in maternal and newborn health, including at least three years' experience providing clinical mentorship, coaching, or supportive supervision.
• Demonstrated experience in neonatal intensive care, Special Care Newborn Units (SCNUs), newborn resuscitation, Essential Newborn Care, newborn respiratory support, quality improvement, and simulation-based education is essential
• Demonstrate excellent clinical teaching and mentoring skills, proficiency in simulation-based learning, strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, and experience using data to improve programme performance.
• Excellent interpersonal, facilitation, communication, report writing, and stakeholder engagement skills are essential.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and familiarity with DHIMS2 or other health information systems will be an added advantage.
• Fluent in English (written and oral); fluency in a local Ghanaian dialect is a plus.
• Willingness to travel regularly to district hospitals in the Greater Accra Region
  

Physical Demands Environment
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Physical Demands
The role requires frequent travel by road, prolonged standing during clinical demonstrations and simulation sessions, movement within busy hospital environments, occasional lifting and transportation of training equipment and simulation models, and prolonged use of computers for documentation and reporting.
Work Environment

• Typical office environment with exposure to a minimal noise level.
• Project HOPE employees work in the global health field and may be required to travel or work in countries where working conditions are classified as “hardship”.
  

Corporate Email Signature Maker
<