Country Director

Overview

Country Director needed to provide vision, leadership and direction to ensure the strategic, programmatic, technical, and financial integrity of Jhpiego’s programs in Zambia. This includes guiding the strategic planning, design and implementation for country programs and achieving the planned results.  Country Director works closely with MOH to streamline efforts and ensure complementarities of projects, serves as the primary point of contact for donors including USAID, CDC, DOD, and others, MOH, Zambian Defense Forces, stakeholders and partners and is responsible for managing relationships and collaboration with international and local partners. Country Director also ensures timely and cost-effective project implementation, reporting of activities, and project deliverables.

• Provide leadership and strategic direction to ensure programmatic and financial integrity of the program and to achieve project goals, objectives and targets.
• Develop and revise/update as needed Zambia’s country strategy with objectives, staff roles and responsibilities, outreach, and a plan for overall flow of information and knowledge to and from HQ.
• Works closely with Project Directors/COPs ensuring that the projects are technically sound, evidence-based, deliver on targets, on time and on budget, and are responsive to the needs of the country and donors.
• Serve as Project Director/Chief of Party in temporary or permanent basis as needed.
• Mentor, support, supervise and manage a team of highly qualified staff and align their efforts to ensure rapid and sustainable results.
• Directly supervises Directors of Projects, MER, and Finance/Admin, HR, and Compliance Officers.
• Take concrete steps to create and promote a safe, respectful and harassment-free work environment.
• Provide programmatic and/or technical leadership in the design, analysis, and synthesis of interventions.
• Ensure the quality and sustainability of interventions particularly in the areas of HIV prevention (including HIV Testing, VMMC, key and priority populations), HIV care and treatment, MNH, FP, gender integration and others as program needs dictate.
• Provide guidance, in collaboration with key staff specialists, to subcontractors and subgrantees to ensure they meet program deliverables and targets.
• Ensures that all awards perform on time, on scope and on budget, and raise potential overspending and areas of risk to VP GPO, Senior Director GPO, and Director Program Finance in a timely manner.
• Ensure preparation and timely submission of all programmatic and financial reports to Jhpiego and donors
• Promote a culture of meritocracy and high performance amongst staff.
• Promote cost efficiency and cost effectives across programmatic and operations areas.
• Identify opportunities for new program development and lead efforts to respond to solicitations.

• Ensure that Jhpiego Country Office is compliant, including:

  • Compliance with all local laws.
  • Registration is current.
  • Annual statutory audits and financial reports have been completed and filed with the appropriate agencies.
  • Meet all legal requirements for filing reports, withholding and remitting income taxes for all local staff, expat staff, TCNs, consultants and vendors, and work permits for expats and TCNs retained by the Field Office.
  • All findings from prior audits/reviews have been corrected or are in the process of being corrected according to the timeline in the action plans.
  • Has complied with Jhpiego’s policies, procedures and practices related to the financial reporting and internal controls. All deficiencies in the design or operation of, or any weaknesses or non-compliance in internal controls in the Field Office have been corrected or are in the process of being corrected.
  • Has complied with donor policies and procedures applicable to management, technical, programmatic, financial and human resources.
• Ensure the mandatory reporting of Severe Adverse Events (SAE) according to donor and Jhpiego SAE procedure (e.g. VMMC).

• Report to HQ any communications regarding:

  • Violations or possible violations of laws or regulations by the Field Office.
  • Legal actions against the Field Office or Jhpiego.
  • Instances of fraud (actual and suspected).
• Work with Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) staff to ensure M&E frameworks are developed and data/results are effectively tracked.
• Work closely with Jhpiego HQ staff to ensure effective, timely and coordinated project implementation.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships and alliances with USAID, CDC, DOD, other donors, the MOH as well as implementing partners, and other key stakeholders to maximize resources and avoid duplication of effort.
• Ensure visibility of Jhpiego’s technical expertise and program capabilities with key stakeholders, including MOH, partners and donors.
• Represent Jhpiego’s interests and present progress, achievements and lessons learned to donors and other key stakeholders in public and professional circles through meetings, conferences, and presentations.
• Ensure annual staff evaluations and support professional development for staff.

• Advanced degree in public health, health administration, public administration, business administration or related degree.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible international public health management experience including design, implementation, monitor, reporting, and financial management.
• Experience serving as COP preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage (funding range between $10M+) USG-supported public health projects and budgets.
• Experience of managing projects or country offices with large staff sizes (100+), with multiple office sites/intervention areas.
• Experience managing a multi-partner consortium (both international and local NGOs),
• Experience developing successful, replicable and sustainable projects in East or Southern Africa.
• Experience designing and managing complex HIV prevention, care and treatment, MNH, FP/RH and HSS .programs.
• Proven leadership skills and expertise in strategic program planning, implementation and management
• Proven experience in leading highly skilled and qualified program, technical and administrative and finance personnel.
• Ability to build capacity and collaboration between governmental and non-governmental partners and other project implementers.
• Experience building the capacity of local organizations to lead project implementation.
• Strong new program development skills, including proposal management and writing as well as negotiating with potential partners.
• Understanding of USG donor’s regulations and compliance, reporting requirements, and health strategic framework, and experience of working in a PEPFAR funded environment.
• Previous experience working in southern Africa (experience in Zambia is preferable) and strong relationships at senior level in the health sector in the country preferred.
• Experience leading annual workplans and collaborating on local action plans incorporating national Technical Working Groups guidance.
• Ability to communicate effectively, instilling trust and confidence.
• Excellent interpersonal and written and oral presentation skills.
• Ability to work in a complex environment charged with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to perform.
• Capacity for analyzing technical and programmatic challenges that impede efforts to provide improved health care to populations, and building skills of staff to do the same.
• Ability to develop technical solutions to these challenges and assisting in the design of operational research that could yield appropriate solutions.
• A team player accustomed to building team capacity, delegating working teams, and developing communities of learning among host country partners and counterparts.
• Ability to travel in Zambia and internationally.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.