Evidence Action scales proven development solutions to benefit millions of people around the world. We fill the gap between knowing ‘what works’ and having impact at scale. We implement cost-effective interventions whose efficacy is backed by substantial rigorous evidence. We identify innovative, appropriate financing mechanisms and build best-practice operational models. We voraciously self-evaluate, learn, and improve our models for scaling with a commitment to transparency on progress, impact, and value for money. Our two flagship programs reached over 100 million people this year. One of them, the Deworm the World Initiative, was again selected by GiveWell as one of only four Top Charities on the planet.
About Deworm the World Initiative
The Deworm the World Initiative enables governments to eliminate the public health threat of intestinal worms through school-based mass deworming programs. We advocate for school-based deworming to policymakers and provide technical assistance to launch, strengthen and sustain programs targeting all at-risk school-age (and sometimes preschool-age) children. The program is delivered through a multi-tier training and distribution cascade, whereby all levels of government, from national to local, are engaged to ensure treatment of school-age and preschool-age children in all at-risk areas.
In 2016 Evidence Action began supporting the government of Cross River state to launch a school-based deworming program for STH and schistosomiasis as a part of the states’ integrated NTD control programs. In 2017 this support will be extended to Ogun, Oyo and Rivers states, targeting over 5.5 million school age children across four states.
State Program Consultant
Reports to: Lead Representative, Nigeria, Deworm the World Initiative
Location: Ibadan, Oyo State or Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria; occasional trips to Abuja and other domestic travel
Desired start date: Immediately
Length of commitment: 12 months, full time
Objective
The State Program Consultant will use sharply honed project management skills to drive high-quality technical support for school-based mass drug administration (MDA) for STH and schistosomiasis in Oyo and Ogun states. The consultant will work closely with state government personnel to provide technical expertise and manage day-to-day collaboration between Evidence Action’s Nigeria team, global team, and both states, and support government entities at the LGA level as necessary. The State Program Consultant will report to the Lead Representative, Deworm the World Initiative, Nigeria and work closely with Evidence Action’s global deworming team. The State Program Consultant may also support analysis and pursuit of new opportunities for scale-up of school-based deworming in the country.
Responsibilities
- Cultivate and maintain strong working relationships with state-level government personnel, ensuring smooth coordination of all activities.
- Drive development of program management tools including work plans, treatment strategy documents, and operational guidelines.
- Leverage program management tools and maintain close attention to detail to ensure that timelines are adhered to and all milestones such as trainings, meetings, and distribution of materials are completed on time
- Provide technical input and evidence-based recommendations for program planning (i.e., strategy documents for specific program components, such as monitoring or coverage validation) and for decision-making during implementation (i.e., troubleshooting supply chain delays or responding to public misperceptions about deworming)
- Engage in outcome-oriented capacity-building efforts with state ministries of health and education in areas such as budgeting, work planning, drug forecasting, and monitoring.
- Proactively engage and collaborate with Evidence Action’s global Deworm the World staff to provide updates, and to incorporate other programs’ learnings and expertise into the delivery of the Oyo and Ogun programs.
- Collaborate with Evidence Action’s Monitoring, Learning, and Information Systems team to develop and implement strategies and tools for program monitoring and evaluation- ultimately using the resulting data to inform program design.
- Represent Evidence Action in meetings and communications at the state level, and be accountable for state-level relationship management with all relevant partners
- Ensure technical support to the state government is in line with Deworm the World’s theory of change and technical support model, and adhere to Evidence Action’s mission and brand through all communications.
- Other technical support as necessary for high-quality implementation of school-based deworming
Qualifications
- Master’s degree in a relevant field is required
- Proven experience in a program management role, preferably for 5+ years
- Demonstrated success in managing relationships with partners and collaborating effectively with diverse partners
- Strong English communication skills, both written and verbal
- Attention to detail coupled with an ability to visualize the “big picture”
- Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), Google Documents, and other common computer programs; familiarity with Box, Asana, and Slack would be a bonus!
- Understanding of neglected tropical diseases (basic epidemiology, common approaches to treatment and control) is preferred
- Strong work ethic and a sense of humor
Terms
The term of this position is 12 months, with the potential for extension based on performance and according to program needs. The consultant may be based in either Ibadan, Oyo State or Abeokuta, Ogun State and will report to Evidence Action’s Lead Representative, Deworm the World Initiative. The consultant will work very closely with government staff and other partners within the states, and will collaborate with Deworm the World teams based in Kenya, India, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and the US. Travel within Nigeria will be required in accordance with program needs and all costs for consultancy-related travel will be reimbursed by Evidence Action.
More Information
- Job City Abuja
