Project Manager

Malaria Consortium is recruiting for a Project Manager  to join our team in Osun

Job purpose

The Project Manager will be responsible for delivering this project in Nigeria. The Be In A Net project aims to optimise the impact of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) by applying behavioural science to ITN campaign activities. The project will be conducted in collaboration with the Behavioural Insights Team an organisation specialising in the application of behavioural science. There is potential the project will be extended to include testing of the intervention in a randomised control trial.

Scope of work

This role will include management of project staff, stakeholders, and project partners; as well as project budget management, reporting, and risk/security planning. The postholder will be required to support the development of protocols, research tools and processes to ensure the project is successfully implemented as well as being responsible for the day-to-day management of the project, including developing and overseeing compliance with work plans, budgets and tracking frameworks. The postholder will be required to coordinate with the Research Project Manager and other highly skilled technical staff in the study countries and the UK to ensure all project related outputs are timely, high-quality and in accordance with the expectations of Malaria Consortium and the funder.

Key working relationships

The Project Manager will have overall responsibility for implementing this project in Nigeria in close collaboration with the country senior management. With support from Malaria Consortium’s Principal Advisor, Senior Country Technical Coordinator, and Research Project Manager the role will have overall responsibility for activities relating to the implementation of project. The role will liaise closely with Malaria Consortium’s Nigeria country team, the West & Central Africa regional and global team.

Key internal working relationships include the Senior Country Technical Coordinator, Country Director, Research Project Manager and the project’s statistician, and M&E staff. The role will also  intrerphase with other project managers within the Nigerian portfolio with relevant output/deliverables.

Externally, the role will work closely with collaborating ministries such as the Ministry of Health and key stakeholders at national and subnational levels.

Key accountabilities

Managing the implementation of the project interventions (60%)

• Under the strategic guidance of the Principal Advisor and the Senior Country Technical Coordinator, provide leadership to project staff, national and district-level health authorities, and implementing and research partners, ensuring that each partner is contributing to the project objectives.
• Lead the development of detailed work plans for each component of the intervention, working closely with the Principal Advisor, Senior Country Technical Coordinator, project staff, and partners.
• Oversee the timely implementation of the work plans, ensuring high quality outputs and taking corrective action where needed.
• Throughout all phases of project intervention, work closely with partners, national, and district-level health authorities to ensure effective lines of communication and collaboration are established and maintained, build buy-in for and ownership of the project among relevant stakeholders, and facilitate embedding the intervention within the health system.
• Liaise with the operations department to ensure timely procurement and distribution of goods and services commodities.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the global/regional technical and programme teams for all queries relating to the project’s implementation in Nigeria.
• Regularly report on progress in line with Malaria Consortium’s and funders’ reporting requirements, including regular update calls with the global/regional technical and programme teams, quarterly and annual progress reports.
• Coordinate partner quarterly and annual reports, in a timely manner to compile into one large report to submit to the donor with the PI’s guidance and sign-off.
• Act as budget holder for the project in Nigeria, applying Malaria Consortium’s finance and procurement policies, and ensuring transparency and accountability.
• Monitor and regularly report on project spend in line with Malaria Consortium’s and funders’ reporting requirements, including regular reforecasting.
• Liaise with the Country Finance Manager and other finance staff to ensure payments to project implementers (e.g., field staff) are documented and processed appropriately.
• Where applicable, manage sub-grant agreements with local implementing bodies

• Be responsible for knowledge management for the project working closely with the project team to ensure the documentation of project activities and ensure implementation of monitoring and evaluation activities, while  ensuring key learnings are archived and available for easy access and use for decision making

• Liaise with the External Relations team and the Research Uptake Manager to develop communications, advocacy strategy, research uptake publications plan for the project.
• Participate in relevant national, or district level planning, review, and advocacy meetings.

Technical and research (20%)

• Work with internal and external stakeholders to adapt and contextualise processes, tools and materials for each research component (planning; procurement and supply management; community engagement; training; response preparedness and implementation, supervision, monitoring & evaluation)
• Coordinate staff resource allocation and management for project implementation at national, subnational-field levels.
• Lead quality assurance implementation of key activities, including planning meetings, training and supervision.

• Liaise with the project team/partners to ensure quality of research activities.
• Contribute to the development of technical and research reports and outputs.
• Contribute to research uptake activities.

General project management (20%)

• Work with the Senior Country Technical Coordinator, Country Director and the Principal Advisor to develop and maintain a project risk register and ensure that any actions required to mitigate risks are implemented.
• Assume overall responsibility for the Project safeguarding Risk Assessment tool, safety and security of Malaria Consortium project staff, assets and reputation.
• Develop a national or sub-national safety and security plan and manage its implementation, ensuring the project team is equipped with the tools required to live and work in a safe and secure environment.
• Monitor available security information and establish contingency planning exercises in anticipation of major events, to provide requisite security whilst minimising programmatic disruption
• Ensure the project staff and partners are compliant with contract requirements and donor regulations.

Person specification

Qualifications and experience:

Essential

• Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, international development, management or relevant discipline
• Extensive work experience as a technical project manager in public health related projects, and a proven ability to deliver high-quality project outputs
• Extensive experience of management of research projects, budget management and providing financial oversight
• Experience in managing research projects
• Extensive experience of personnel management
• Experience of procurement and supply management
• Experience of working in multi-partnership arrangement within an international NGO
• Experience of design and implementation of  projects

Desirable

• Experience in public health research project design and implementation, including the development of processes, tools and materials
• Experience of managing risk and security

Work-based skills:

Essential

• Established team leadership skills
• Excellent coordination and time management skills
• Excellent strategic, analytic and systems thinking
• Ability to create functional work relationships at a distance and to relate to people across locations, functions and levels of seniority
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Good report writing skills in English
• Attention to detail
• Fluency in English

Desirable

• Familiarity with public health
• Familiarity with the health system in Nigeria
• Familiarity with implementation research approaches

Due to the nature of this role we will be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis and the role might be filled and closed before the closing date. Early applications are encouraged.

This is a fixed-term contract for 12 months. 

To apply for this position, you will need to have the right to work in Nigeria.

The Company

Established in 2003, Malaria Consortium is one of the world’s leading non-profit organisations specialising in the prevention, control, and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases among vulnerable populations.

Our mission is to save lives and improve health in Africa and Asia through evidence-based programmes that combat targeted diseases and promote Universal Health Coverage.

Qualified female candidates are strongly advised to apply.