Position Title: Deputy Director & Technical Lead of CORE Group Partners Project Secretariat
Hiring Organization: World Vision US, to be paid from the US
Type of employment: Fulltime long-term consulting contractor
Duration of contract: October 1, 2022 – September 29, 2024
Reports to: Secretariat Director: Horn of Africa (HOA) – Kenya and Somalia
Background
The CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP), a USAID funded polio eradication project, conducts community-based activities designed to strengthen supplemental polio immunization, routine polio immunization, and surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis, COVID-19, and priority zoonotic diseases in nine countries: Ethiopia, India, South Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Angola, and Niger. The project operates through the CORE Group Secretariat model, which coordinates a group of international NGOs in each focal country. Activities are implemented by individual US-based PVOs and local partners and overseen at the country-level by national secretariats. The project operates through more than 20,000 community volunteers who act as community mobilizers and promote childhood immunization, provide health education, and are active members of the community-based surveillance system. CGPP has pioneered several key polio eradication strategies including independent campaign monitoring, cross border collaboration, and the inclusion of civil society in polio eradication.
Purpose of the position
Under the guidance of the secretariat director and in collaboration with the CGPP team, the Deputy Director, and Technical Lead of the CGPP HOA Secretariat will mainly focus on CGPP program activities in Kenya and provide limited support to the Somalia CGPP program as requested by the director.
The position holder will be responsible to follow evidence informed approaches to guide the implementation of polio eradication, global health security and COVID-19 prevention and control activities through a network of international and local civil society organization.
Specific tasks
- Ensure the quality and completeness of the CGPP’s program implementation and field operations.
- Ensure that CGPP field activities support program objectives and are consistent with global and national polio eradication strategies.
- Lead the capacity building, behavioral change communication (BCC) and data systems.
- Responsible for the management and supervision of CGPP field operations and communications with partners on programmatic matters.
- Lead the development and implementation of project budgets and workplans and reports.
- Oversee and track the implementation of interventions to address Priority Zoonotic Diseases (PZD) and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs) at the state level.
- Monitor and track partner’s budget utilization and ensure they align with approved work plans in addition to guiding the implementation of polio, GHSA and COVID-19 activities.
- Ensure the gender aspects of CGPP are carefully planned, implemented, and monitored.
- Support the rapid response of outbreaks through deployment of rapid response teams under the guidance of the national taskforce.
- Attend relevant polio Emergency Operations Center (EOC) meetings and apply the recommendations within CGPP as appropriate and as per CGPP’s contractual responsibilities with the donor.
- Consistently attend meetings with USAID with the secretariat director and other staff as appropriate and share the updates from the meetings to the secretariat staff and partners as appropriate.
- be responsible to ensure data quality at all levels of the system including use of the data to inform activities of CGPP.
- Support the Somalia country CGPP program as directed by the secretariat director.
- Maintain close formal and informal networking and communications with national and international polio partners and stakeholders.
- Represent the interests of the CGPP and its partners in meetings with USAID and other donors and stakeholders.
- Encourage and support secretariat staff and partners to conduct operational research and publish papers and make presentation on national and international forums.
- Represent the secretariat director in technical or programmatic meetings as appropriate.
- Serve as the gender lead to make sure the project and partners follow appropriate steps to address gender aspects at all levels.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
- Very good relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally.
- Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams. Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented, and results-oriented.
- Very good communication and presentation skills especially presenting briefs to donors and representing an organization at conferences and other forums.
Preferred Qualifications
- Recognized technical experience and qualifications in Immunization specifically and Primary Health Care Systems strengthening in general.
- Demonstrated experience of successful management, including management of functions of complex, multi-activity projects.
- Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment
- Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.
- Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Experience in addressing gender in health programs.
Required Languages – English language
Desired – Swahili, Somali as applicable is an added advantage.
Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 30% to 50% of the time.
Supervisory Responsibilities: Supervises some of the secretariat staff as assigned.
Working Relationships
Internal: Secretariat Director, Secretariat staff, Implementing partners, Team Leads and program officers, CGPP HQ staff.
External: USAID, WHO, UNICEF, CDC, CDC, Rotary, Ministry of Health, ministry of livestock and Agriculture (Department of Veterinary services through the GHSA project), National MoH EOC, State /County partner Team Leads, FAO-ECTAD.
Qualifications
- A degree in medicine, Nursing, Public health with Master’s degree or Ph.D. degree in public health, infectious diseases, Social Sciences or related technical field.
- Minimum of 10 years’ working experience with the last 4 years preferably in a management position, supervising senior staff in an international or multicultural environment.
- Relevant management and technical experience.
- Experience managing donor funds.
- Knowledge and experience in budget management.
- Experience in polio eradication in Horn of Africa.
- Basic computer skills.
- Ability to use data to inform program.
- French language ability preferred.
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position. The position holder is expected to accomplish other activities as requested.
Interested candidates can apply by sending an expression of interest letter and an updated CV to [email protected].
