Campaign Project Director

Malaria Consortium is recruiting for a Programme Director to join our team in Abuja.

Job purpose

To manage suppport to ITN Campaign programme activities, resources as well as provide leadership, stewardship and maintain collaborative links with the project’s key stakeholders at national and FCT  levels.

Scope of work

The Programme Director will provide overall leadership to the ITN Campaign team and be responsible for managing the project activities. The position will be based in the country office, with regular travel within implementing locations at FCT. It will support the ITN Campaign project team through providing managerial, technical support and direct implementation of ITN campaign and distribution, the community engagement and waste management.   S/he will work clsely with the country-level   Senior Management Team (SMT).

Key working relationships

The post holder will report to the West and Central Africa Programmes Director and work closely with the wider Technical and management team  at country and state level, especially the Country Programmes Manager, Country Operations Manager, as well as other senior technical, research, M&E, operational and external relations colleagues at project level. The role will also work with major stakeholders and partners at the national level, including the National Malaria Elimination Project (NMEP) Prevention , integrated vector control, ACSM , supply chain managers , as relevant to the project. S/he will line manage key project staff in the country.

Key accountabilities (percent of time spent on each area)

Strategic Planning and Project Management (60%)

• Build and manage a high-performing country-level and state-level ITN Campaign  project team;
• Line manage the Technical leads and Finance and Administration and Campaign managers
• Be responsible for the coordination and implementation of ITN project activities for all ITN projects within Malaria Consortium on a time and within budget, ensuring targets and milestone are met including performance based targets.
• Liaise regularly with the West and Central Programme Director, Senior Country Technical Coordinator and other Country Office SMT to provide timely and comprehensive updates and reports as required.
• Work with the country-level and state-level project team to develop and implement annual work plans.
• Work closely with the Country Office M&E Manager and ITN project M&E team to prepare the project monitoring and evaluation framework and research strategy, taking project-level frameworks and strategies into account.
• Work with the country finance team to track progress of project and activity budgets
• Work with relevant country office staff to ensure they are aware of the project needs and support is provided adequately to the project team.
• Be responsible for project budget management including the preparation of annual budget and forecasts, implementation as planned, tracking and reforecasting, as well as liaise with project-level colleagues to ensure accurate tracking and reporting of Nigeria finance information at project level
• Lead in the preparation of semi-annual report and other supporting documents required for meeting performance milestones and liaising with the donor to ensure the payments are made timely.
• Be responsible for preparing country-level project progress and quarterly narrative reports on time.
• Liaise with project-level colleagues to ensure accurate tracking and reporting of Nigeria project and operations information at project level
• Work with the country finance mamager and project finance and admin manager to prepare quarterly financial reports.
• Work with the relevant country personnel to prepare and implement an exit strategy as well as see to the smooth end of the project.
• Work with External Relations colleagues at project level, the Country Communications Manager, Demand Creation Officer and project partners to develop and implement a project communications and advocacy strategy is developed, taking project-level communications and advocacy goals and objectives into account.
• Contribute to the development and be responsible for the implementation of a communications and advocacy plan in line with the communications and advocacy strategy of the project and NG office, which will include, for example, the production of case studies, reviews of lessons learnt and general documentation for internal and external dissemination.
• Be responsible for lessons identification and learning documentation and dissemination.
• Be responsible for building functional partner relationships among the project’s stakeholders.
• Oversee project partners’ inputs and subcontractors’ activities to deliver harmonized, aligned and effective outputs
• Manage the risks of the project including Safeguarding, financial, reputation and security in a challenging environment.
• Lead on the performance management of country-level project staff
• Ensure regular communications are maintained between the different teams.
• Be responsible for the project risk register. Work with the team members of the SMT in the identification, tracking, prevention and management of key project risks especially those related to performance and fiduciary management.
• Liaise between the project, NMEP, SMEP and other stakeholders.

Technical contributions (10%)

• Work with senior technical colleagues at country and project to determine technical support needs to implement the project effectively and with high quality.
• Liaise with the Senior Country Technical Coordinator to obtain the required technical support.
• Support the generation of evidence to improve project performance and illustrate effectiveness through monitoring and evaluation, research and learning.
• Contribute to the development and production of dissemination documents to allow wider sharing of Malaria Consortium’s experiences, lessons and successes.

Technical performance management and Quality Assurance (20%)

• Take the lead in monitoring and evaluating project performance.
• Keep abreast with evidence and best practices that are related to the project.

Representation (10%)

• Work with the Country Director to participate in national level meetings and workshops to represent Malaria Consortium at programmatic and coordination events.
• Liaise regularly with NMEP coordination platforms and focal persons keeping the relevant Country Team in loop of communication.
• Work with the Country Director to keep other key national and state stakeholders abreast with the project.
• To exert influence and to advocate for Malaria Consortium’s key technical positions and promote best practice in ITN distribution interventions, in line with MC global and national communications and advocacy plans and strategies.

Person specification

Qualifications and experience: 

Essential:      

• Master’s Degree in a relevant field (e.g., Epidemiology, Public Health, Tropical Medicine, Parasitology or Equivalent);
•  At least 10 years of experience managing development projects, preferably in African countries with a strong focus on field implementation;
• Experience managing projects with a mix of facility and community-based interventions is required.
•  Experience managing projects with a focus on behavior change would be an asset;
• Demonstrated track-record with project management, monitoring and evaluation,
• Strong communication skills (oral and written) in English
• Experience managing project / project budgets

Desirable: 

• Proven leadership skills and team leading
• Experience in advocacy and policy influencing
• Experience managing donor grants or contracts such as World Bank, Islamic Bank .
• Experience working on malaria, maternal and child health projects, including community health delivery.
• Familiar with the Nigeria health system

Work-based skills and competencies:           

Essential:      

• Demonstrable passion for Malaria Consortium’s mission; a strategic manager with integrity and a desire to work in a dynamic environment

• Excellent report writing and presentation skills are also needed.
• Clear communication skills for managing partnerships and relationships with senior stakeholders at all levels
• Strategic thinking.
• Ability to manage and inspire high performing teams.

• Excellent project management skills, with proven ability to implement high quality projects on time and within budget.
• Strong negotiation skills, particularly in engaging government health officials at all levels.
• Good influencing and persuasion skills and ability to remain compliant with organisational and donor policies.
• Ability to manage and prioritize high workload and multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines.
• Excellent problem solving skills.
• Excellent English language skills, both spoken and written.
• Capable of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures.
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel.
• Proactive and takes initiative as required.

Results-oriented work ethic.

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.

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.