Health Technical Unit

International Medical Corps’ Health Technical Unit (HTU) was established to ensure that IMC’s global health care program planning and operations conform to the highest professional standards in the fields of emergency relief and development. The HTU provides guidance for IMC’s extensive, worldwide network of staff and volunteer doctors, nurses, and other professionals in order to strengthen IMC’s technical capabilities in primary health care; reproductive health; gender-based violence; HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases; nutrition; water and sanitation; and monitoring and evaluation.

The HTU’s comprehensive technical assistance and training programs bring together IMC’s headquarters and field offices to share knowledge and expertise across countries and maintain internationally accepted “best practices.” The HTU also documents and disseminates lessons learned by IMC and its partners in the health field.

The HTU is critical to the success of IMC’s work, helping to ensure that high-quality preventive, curative, rehabilitative, health care services are accessible to vulnerable populations, and that their health care professionals receive the education and training they need to care for their communities far into the future.

Mission Statement for the Health Technical Unit:
The mission of the Health Technical Unit (HTU) is to support the highest standards for IMC’s technical work around the world. The HTU provides technical information, assessments, reviews, advice, training, and content for current projects and new development, working in collaboration with the different units of IMC to strengthen the organization’s technical capabilities in the following key areas: HIV/AIDS, malaria, primary health care, reproductive health, nutrition, water and sanitation, gender-based violence, and monitoring and evaluation.

The Health Technical Unit will work to:

• Ensure that international standards of quality are met and exceeded wherever possible.
• Facilitate sharing of knowledge and expertise across countries to enhance cross-fertilization.
• Document and disseminate lessons learned by IMC and its partners in the health field.
• Provide opportunities for professional (technical) development of IMC staff, both in the field and HQ, and for linkages with academic entities.
• Increase the visibility of IMC’s technical capabilities among potential donor and partner organizations.
• Ensure quality through the monitoring and evaluation of IMC programs.

Within IMC, the HTU supports individual departments as follows:

• Communications Department: To ensure quality and accuracy of technical content for communication materials. Advise on new trends and developments in the health field that can assist in leveraging IMC’s advantage. Develop technical pieces (surveys, analysis, etc.). Assist in analyzing health advocacy points to be used in communications.

• Program Development and Resource Development Units: Provide technical and programmatic expertise, helping to map out potential donors and countries. Assist in identifying and developing new business opportunities through strategic planning and sector strategies for fundraising. Increase collaborative networks and develop partnership initiatives with the public and private sectors. Assist in the proposal development process with input on logical frameworks, technical review of overall project design, and significant input to the technical approach/activities of projects. Create minimum sector standards and approaches to programming, technical training, and information-sharing. Ensure that technical approach in proposals is the latest/cutting-edge in the industry while also programmatically feasible.

• Department of Operations (CDs, DIO, DOs): Assess health needs in IMC countries and identify future activities that help meet those needs. Increase IMC’s visibility and image here and abroad to be recognized as a leader in providing health care to vulnerable populations, with capacity to conduct studies relevant to vulnerable populations. Provide technical input into orientation and other IMC training venues to ensure knowledge of state-of-the-art strategies and technologies among IMC personnel.

• Country Programs/Offices: Provide technical assistance and continuous support to technical staff in the field to articulate strategies and integrate IMC’s work in all phases of the relief and development cycles. Strengthen technical support to field technical coordinators working in health, WatSan, GBV, etc. Develop and operationalize standardized system for program evaluation and monitoring and improve quality of data collection. To assist health personnel in continuous development through ongoing training and education. Develop performance standards and competencies criteria. Working with the field to enhance cross-fertilization among staff and provide opportunities for continuous learning and advancement.

• Recruitment: Provide support for recruitment of technical field positions through input and review of job descriptions, terms of reference, and interview questions; conducting second interview; and providing recommended sources for outside advertising.

• Program Policy and Planning: Help shape/review/edit policies related to health.

• Domestic and International Affairs: Demonstrate IMC’s technical capabilities to external actors. Contribute technical expertise in external and inter-agency fora and initiatives. Increase IMC’s advocacy on behalf of vulnerable persons. Increase collaboration with other organizations, including academic institutions.

• Executive: Serve as the “technical” face of IMC and increase its influence on donor policies and priorities by participating in relevant meetings and conferences and presenting IMC’s achievements.

Operationalizing the Mission of the Health Technical Unit:
Overall Activities: Provide consistent technical support to country programs through a “desk team” approach, in which HTU members will participate to provide technical input and feedback to country program plans, activities, and results. Schedule regular team meetings (including conference calls with the field) to provide clear actions and follow-up needed to ensure adequate integration of technical developments and standards, monitoring and evaluation of results, sharing of experiences across country programs, and discussions of opportunities for new development. These team meetings will result in delegation of technical tasks that the HTU can follow up with via email, meetings, and field visits. The SDO will be the team leader and he/she will be assisted by the Health Technical Unit.

Ensure that international standards of quality are met.
Activity: Conduct ongoing reviews of the latest best practice methods in line with IMC activities. Provide technical guidelines, standards, and norms to country programs. Work with desk teams to assist country programs in modifying practice to meet standards.

Resource Needs: Journal subscriptions, technical guidelines on nutrition, PHC, WatSan etc., attendance at meetings and technical working groups, and field visits.

Share knowledge and expertise across countries to enhance cross-fertilization, as new development grows from good exchange and excellent performance.
Activity: In collaboration with the director of operation and knowledge management, coordinate exchange of experiences by field staff across programs through technical working groups, list-servs, exchange visits, and regular conference calls with technical staff in country. Provide best practices generated outside IMC.

Provide opportunities for professional (technical) development of IMC staff, both in the field and HQ, and linkages with academic entities.
Activity: Survey staff or technical needs. Promote best practice and lessons learned updates. Identify external and internal training opportunities for staff in line with future development goals. Identify materials for ongoing learning. Coordinate programs with academic institutions.

Increase the visibility of IMC’s technical capabilities among potential donor and partner organizations.
Activity: In line with country strategies, develop mapping of donor and partner organizations for leveraging opportunities, share lessons learned, and develop partnerships. Attend technical conferences and meetings, assist field in abstracts and publications, and communications department in producing material on technical accomplishments, making use of monitoring and evaluation results.