Senior Programme Assistant, Vaccine Programmes

Group Company: GAVI

Position title: Senior Programme Assistant, Vaccine Programmes

Position type: Temporary (until 31.12.2025)

Location: Gavi Alliance HQ, Geneva, Switzerland 

Purpose of the position: Provide strategic and administrative support to programme managers in the Vaccine Programmes team to develop, implement and monitor Gavi’s VP grants and investments.   

Department: Vaccine Programmes

Reports to: Head, Strategic Coordination

Career step level: 2

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children's lives and protecting people's health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together implementing country and donor governments, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of more than one billion children and the prevention of more than 15 million future deaths.

This is a position in the Vaccine Programmes (VP) team in Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The VP team is responsible for developing programme design and guidance for new vaccine introductions (routine immunisation and/or campaigns), ensuring Gavi’s vaccine portfolio optimisation, coordinating support across global Alliance partners, designing and implementing diagnostic capacity strengthening, and serving as the vaccine point of expertise within the Secretariat for equitable and efficient implementation of vaccine-preventable disease control activities, including outbreak detection and response, contributing to reaching zero-dose and under immunised communities.

Senior Programme Assistants (SPA) play an important role in Gavi's mission. The hands-on work is critical to ensuring that all administrative aspects of the portfolio are effectively managed, including the development and implementation of Gavi’s grants and investments, as relevant to Vaccine Programmes. The work is fast paced, demanding, and rewarding. 

THE ROLE

The Gavi secretariat is seeking an experienced and skilled person with a background in end-to-end grant and budget management, including monitoring, familiarity with SAP, and project management. The role will also self-drive and require strong interpersonal skills to facilitate effective and timely engagement with relevant Gavi Secretariat teams and partners, as needed, to facilitate processes and approvals and to monitor the same.   

The primary function of this position is to provide strategic and administrative support to programme managers in the Vaccine Programmes team to develop, implement and monitor Gavi’s VP grants and investments. 

Specifics responsibilities include:

• Support the Gavi country grant approval cycle for pre-identified workstreams in the VP portfolio, by mapping milestones, coordinating input and identifying opportunities for the optimal utilization of grants and investments;
• Support development and implementation of relevant grants and service agreements, including conducting required SAP processes, in coordination with other Gavi Secretariat teams, as relevant;
• Ensure monitoring of these grants, and follow up, in coordination with other Gavi Secretariat teams, as relevant;
• Ensure grant and service agreements closure processes and timelines are followed, including timely communication to grant recipients / suppliers and updates in SAP/ relevant monitoring systems;
• End-to end administrative responsibility for setting up monitoring and review meetings with partners/ grant recipients and ensuring relevant documentation and dissemination of discussions, as agreed, with stakeholders;
• Knowledge management: ensure housekeeping guidance is respected within the VP team and available technology platforms are used effectively and consistently;
• Coordinate with relevant colleagues in Gavi Secretariat to ensure cross-learning and process improvements for enhanced administrative performance.

Note: The essential functions listed in this section are not exhaustive of the job responsibilities; other duties may be assigned consistently with the department needs.

QUALIFICATIONS

ACADEMIC

• Completion of at least two years of university education. Training in secretarial/administrative field highly desirable. 

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 3 years in secretarial/administrative field showing of progressively responsible work;
• Proven ability to quickly adapt to a complex administrative and organisational environment;
• Experience working in multiple countries/international environment an asset;
• Experience working with SAP an advantage. 

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

Problem solving:

• Ability to proactively make decisions and operate independently as well as judgement to know when to seek guidance.

Planning and organizing:

• Ability to multitask, tracking and managing many active priorities in parallel; judgement to prioritise between multiple important tasks but not drop other tasks.
• Highly organised and structured, good planner with a high level of attention to detail.

Portfolio support:

• Excellent administrative capabilities to support management of different portfolios;
• Work effectively with others, structure work to meet deadlines, including effective prioritisation;
• Ability to track and follow-up on tasks ensuring completion.

Effective communicator:

• Delivers clear, concise and coherent messages -verbally and orally – adapted to intended audience.

Strong interpersonal skills:

• Models positive team behaviors that foster teamwork and trust, both internally and externally;
• Ability to work in a high-pressure environment with tight timelines;
• Conflict management;
• Multi-cultural sensitivity;
• Team player.

Digital skills and information management:

• Know-how in record keeping (e.g. proper handling of records and systems to preserve institutional memory, including correspondence logs, office filing and reference systems, etc.);
• Knowledge of Salesforce and/or SAP and SAC an advantage.

Financial management and budgeting:

• Know-how in budget administration and accounting, resource allocation and planning at a divisional level is an advantage. 

Note: short-listed candidates may be asked to complete a timed test to demonstrate their data management, analysis, and communication skills.

LANGUAGES 

• Written and spoken fluency in English.
• Fluency in French other languages of Gavi-supported countries an asset

CONTACTS

• All Gavi Secretariat teams
• Gavi Alliance partners, including UNICEF, WHO, FIND, academic institutions, expanded partners.
• Gavi donors

Please note that as a vaccine organisation and in order to provide duty of care towards its employees, Gavi is requiring its new employees to confirm that they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as a condition for pursuing employment with us. You can find out more by visiting this link. 

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In support of Gavi’s commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, we hire globally and welcome applications regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, national origin, family status, sex, gender identity or expression, physical characteristics, race, religion, spirituality or sexual orientation. Gavi has zero tolerance towards sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse as well as any form of discrimination or harassment. Everyone at Gavi is expected to conduct themselves with integrity and respect towards each other. Gavi is committed to creating a work environment that is safe and professional, therefore all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference checks. Read more here.

Gavi brings together the public and private sectors to save lives and protect people’s health by increasing equitable and sustainable use of vaccines against 18 infectious diseases. You will be joining an organisation at the centre of the international COVID-19 response, at the most critical time in global health in a lifetime. You will work in a culturally diverse environment with over 70 nationalities. You will collaborate with partners such as WHO, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank – and from business, civil society and government. And you will work in the first global health organisation to receive equal gender salary certification. Your unique experience, skills and talents can help us achieve our vision of leaving no one behind without the life-saving power of vaccines.