The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. For more information, please visit: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

CHAI is seeking a highly motivated individual with outstanding technical and managerial capabilities to play a leadership role to help develop, execute, and coordinate an effective program to fight against infectious diseases and neglected tropical diseases (NTD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Since 2017, CHAI supports the government of DRC to sustainably reduce malaria morbidity and mortality through the scale-up of evidence based, high-quality and effective interventions for surveillance, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. CHAI’s initial malaria control effort in DRC set to advance the development of operational guidance for the scale up of pre-referral rectal artesunate (RAS) treatment for severe malaria among children under five in hard-to-reach communities.

As a scale up of its scope of work, CHAI aims to strengthen data reporting, data analysis, and disease surveillance, including the integration of reporting of private health facilities, community health workers as well as entomological and intervention data. The CHAI malaria program also encompasses support to the National Malaria Program (NMCP) and key stakeholders in DRC for effective coverage of high-quality, context-appropriate prevention, case management and vector control interventions at national, sub-national and community levels.

The Program Manager will shape the future strategy, drive success, and provide technical input to an exciting portfolio of work in DRC reinforcing the strong relationships built with and across all stakeholders and ensuring that expected deliverables and targets are achieved.

Position Overview

Reporting to the CHAI DRC’s Associate Director for Infectious Diseases and NTD, the Program Manager will benefit from working with a strong internal team and building on the deep and dynamic relationships that CHAI DRC has cultivated with government partners and the Ministry of Health (MoH) and its partners, shaping the future direction of CHAI’s support to and partnership with the government of DRC, as well as direct management of one or more of the program team members. They will work with a range of partners and subject matter experts and will have deep personal commitment to producing results, the skills to navigate political situations, and patience and optimism even in the face of daunting challenges.

The Program Manager will be responsible for overseeing the effective execution of programmatic strategies and ensuring that CHAI provides high-quality support to the DRC government partners. They will spearhead the development and implementation of program technical activities, management systems, and supervision of a small but robust technical and programmatic staff. This role requires strong technical, managerial, communication, and organizational skills. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a new, start-up effort to build up a targeted, impact-driven CHAI program in a country with significant public health needs.

The position will be based in Kinshasa, DRC with limited domestic travel and occasional international travel (5-10%).

Leadership and Strategic Planning

• In close coordination with the DRC senior leadership team, provide operational and technical support to the MoH and most particularly the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) to develop a strong national vision and increase coverage of high-quality case management and vector control, including working with government staff on a daily basis to:
  • Catalyze critical improvements in government-owned surveillance systems and routine data analysis and response
  • Design and implementation of routine surveillance and data system improvements including developing guidelines to ensure quality data collection and reporting; training staff on the new approaches, introducing new analytic or visualization tools and ensuring regular data review
  • Foster a data culture and create sustained demand for information to understand the drivers of malaria transmission and impact of malaria programs as well as to respond and/or adjust course more rapidly
  • Develop and execute evidence-based strategic and operational plans and policies
  • Identify, document, and disseminate lessons learned
  • Support operational stratification and tool selection for context-appropriate interventions
  • Develop new funding proposals for the country malaria control activities in collaboration with national governments
  • Support national malaria programs to streamline financial planning, disbursement, and tracking processes to reduce impediments to implementation
  • Identify key financial management impediments to programmatic goals and work with donors and country governments to devise targeted solutions to address them
  • Develop and implement a compelling strategy for maximizing CHAI’s impact and support to the MoH, including clear operational plans that align with government priorities and are coordinated with relevant stakeholders

• Coordinate CHAI’s support to the MoH to help strengthen systems and achieve audacious goals on aggressive timelines
• Monitor program activities against project goals and MoH commitments, identify operational bottlenecks or weaknesses, and work with DRC government partners and CHAI teams to strengthen programs as necessary
• Produce quality products and documents including strategic plans, guidelines and standard operating procedures, presentations, project reports and implementation updates, and/or communications with partners
• Successful transition of completed activities with an emphasis on the long-term sustainability of investments

Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Engage, build, and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders in government, country and international partners, donors and NGOs working on public health campaigns and digital health in DRC in alignment with MoH priorities to:
• Develop a deep understanding their motivations and challenges and
• Ensure effective and impactful coordination between various stakeholders
• Represent CHAI in public forums, including the development of presentations and materials for external audiences and maintain relationships with national and international partners to ensure coordinated activities
• Coordinate and lead internal communication within the team, across teams and globally
• Engage and collaborate with regional and local experts, institutions, and partners to facilitate long-term sustainability of CHAI’s work

Program Management and Mentorship

• Provide direct oversight of a small team of highly competent staff; provide support and guidance to program managers and junior staff on strategy and project deliverables to achieve team goals
• Mentor program managers and technical staff as they take on managerial responsibilities
• Develop management capacity and technical expertise of CHAI country and regional staff to augment support to national health programs
• Develop and ensure execution of program budgets and performance indicators in collaboration with program staff and the DRC senior leadership team
• Lead reporting for the health campaigns programs, working alongside the DRC senior management team to develop programmatic and financial updates
• Work with program teams to develop new program areas, including proposal development and engagement with internal and external stakeholders

Other activities and responsibilities, as needed.

• Master's Degree in Public Health, Business Administration or related field strongly preferred, or Bachelor’s degree minimum with exceptional experience
• Minimum of 5 years of work experience in management consulting or program management with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership
• Experience conceiving, planning, and executing complex programs or projects with verifiable results
• Demonstrated ability to navigate complex processes with multiple influencers, as well as negotiate and achieve consensus
• Demonstrated proficiency working on highly complex problems without extensive structural or operational support
• Demonstrated ability to learn quickly, connect the dots and act upon technical information and translate scientific knowledge into actionable insights for decision-making
• Proven ability to inspire, mentor and lead teams for consistently high performance
• Strong analytical skills and insight
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with strong spoken and written French and English, and skill in making persuasive presentations and written reports
• Experience working and communicating with government officials and multilateral organizations
• High levels of proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Ability to effectively scope problems, anticipate and pre-empt emerging issues, and make decisions with conviction even in highly ambiguous contexts

Advantages:

• Knowledge of global infectious disease priorities and understanding of disease surveillance with knowledge of global health issues
• Experience working in fast-paced, output-oriented environments
• Previous experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa

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