Senior Program Manager at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Program Manager

Job ref.: 200000PD
Location: CARO-NG-Federal Capital Territory, Abuja
Job: Program Management
Organization: Catholic Relief Services
Schedule: Regular
Shift: Standard
Employee Status: Manager
Job Type: Full-time
Job Level: Day Job
Travel: Yes, 50 % of the Time

Overview

• CRS has a long and rich history of collaboration with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). In Nigeria, CRS has been a Co-Principal Recipient (PR) for the Global Fund Malaria grant since January 2017. As a Co-PR, CRS partnered with the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP), various state governments and malaria partners and stakeholders to coordinate and implement the 2017 long lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) mass campaigns in 6 states. CRS also supervised and monitored an SR and supported a range of malaria treatment and prevention services at the state level.
• For the 2018-2020 Global Fund Malaria grant, CRS remained a Co-PR with NMEP, strengthening the synergy and collaboration with NMEP to improve efficiency and impact. CRS worked closely with NMEP, Society for Family Health (SFH), Malaria Consortium, various state governments and other stakeholders to coordinate and implement the 2018-2020 long lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) mass campaigns in 13 states. CRS provided oversight and ICT4D leadership for the LLIN campaigns and implemented directly in some of the states. In addition to SFH, CRS provided oversight to 2 other SRs (Management Sciences for Health and Malaria Consortium), in providing support to the 13 states supported by the Global Fund, for a range of malaria treatment and prevention services at the state level. These services included Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) implemented by Malaria Consortium with oversight from CRS.
• For the 2021-2023 Global Fund Malaria grant, CRS will remain a Co-PR with NMEP and provide robust oversight to the 3 SRs (Society for Family Health, Management Sciences for Health and Malaria Consortium). CRS will work closely with NMEP, 3 SRs and other partners, to scale up the implementation of life saving interventions and improve access to quality malaria services in the 13 GF supported states. These critical interventions include malaria treatment and prevention services such as Seasonal Malaria

Job Summary

• The position of Senior Program Manager (SPM) will provide management and oversight functions to the 3 SRs, including (but not limited to) coordination of SR activities; planning for effective oversight and monitoring; providing technical support to SRs; and participating in direct implementation as required.
• In addition to the above program management roles, the Senior Program Manager will directly oversee the implementation of Case Management activities on the grant (working closely with NMEP and SRs), ensuring that targets are met and activities efficiently implemented, in accordance with the Detailed Implementation Plan (work plan). Implementation of grant activities will be carried out within the approved budget provisions, and in strict adherence to agreed timelines and donor guidelines.
• She/he will oversee the SR reporting process, monitor SR training, facilitate training as required, and provide technical support to SR staff, and liaise with counterparts in Federal and State Ministries of Health to ensure adherence to national strategies and guidelines for malaria prevention, testing and treatment.

Specific Job Responsibilities
Program and Case Management:

• Represent CRS in relevant coordination and planning meetings, including (but not limited to) the Malaria Technical Working Group meeting, Programme Management and Case Management Subcommittee meetings
• Manage the relationship with and oversee the work of 3 SRs (Management Sciences for Health, Malaria Consortium and Society for Family Health) under the Global Fund Malaria Grant
• Oversee the implementation of iCCM by the iCCM SR under the Global Fund Malaria Grant while coordinating with the other iCCM stakeholders
• Oversee the implementation of Malaria Case Management by the SRs under the Global Fund Malaria Grant while coordinating with the other Malaria Case Management stakeholders
• Work closely with the ACSM team in overseeing the implementation of ACSM activities by the ACSM SR under the Global Fund Malaria Grant while coordinating with the other ACSM stakeholders
• Ensure that CRS Nigeria’s “cashless” approach and policies are being respected by all CRS Global Fund Malaria partners
• Ensure proper monitoring and supervision of program activities implemented by the SRs and the elaboration of the various trip reports with the assistance of the multidisciplinary team
• Support in managing SR program implementation, budget tracking and reporting, and ensure that the SRs are adhering strictly to the SR Agreement as well as the Global Fund policies and guidelines
• Conduct program-wide quarterly programme and operational review meetings with the SRs and follow up with appropriate actions and feedback
• Participate in PR-SR meetings to review grant achievements, analyze reports and SR performance ratings; and provide technical support where required
• Participate in PR-PR meetings to review grant achievements and agree on strategies for improving grant performance
• Participate in quarterly grant review meetings with the Global Fund Country Team and partners, for improving grant efficiency and effectiveness
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting on case management activities by the SRs
• Ensure timely SR reporting on all grant activities
• Implement an efficient feedback mechanism between PR and SRs, including (but not limited to) the quarterly SR report submissions and PR feedback
• With key program staff and stakeholders, ensure the Global Fund Malaria Program’s strategic objectives for malaria implementation and LLIN mass campaign activities are fully accomplished, meeting expected quality standards
• Work with relevant key stakeholders to identify pertinent operational research questions which can be answered within the program, design appropriate studies, implement them, analyze data and document the findings

Budget Management:

• Actively participate in activities to ensure appropriate budget planning and financial reporting by SRs, including budget management, forecasting and analysis of burn rates
• Actively participate in reviewing actual financial performance against the budget for the various SR budgets, and explain variances on a regular basis
• Actively participate in activities to ensure sub-recipients remain in compliance with CRS and Global Fund donor rules and regulations for management of resources
• Participate actively in the monthly CRS Budget Comparison Report (BCR)/budget review meetings

Partnership Management:

• Act as Case Management contact/support for CRS sub-recipients, including sharing new information and ensuring healthy relationships are maintained between the sub-recipients and the state governments
• Represent CRS at national level technical meetings with other malaria partners as delegated by the Deputy Chief of Party and/or the Chief of Party
• Carry out any other duties assigned by the supervisor

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL):

• In collaboration with the MEAL team, track progress towards relevant performance indicators, analyzing reasons for shortfalls and adapting program strategies as needed
• Support the design and implementation of feedback and response channels to enhance accountability of malaria program services
• In collaboration with program and SRs staff, provide guidance and technical oversight to partners and other collaborating agencies to ensure that lessons learned and best practices for malaria programming are documented and disseminated
• Facilitate learning exchanges among SRs and between SRs and government ministries on malaria program management and support quality improvement initiatives

Management and Administration:

• Support elaboration of Program Update/Disbursement Requests (PU/DR) in collaboration with other program staff
• Review SRs program reports and provide feedback on implementation progress and performance, identifying solutions to address challenges and weaknesses
• Ensure implementation of activities in compliance with all CRS and Global Fund administrative and operational procedures and policies, as well as applicable donor regulations

Required Language(s):

• English

Travel:

• Must be willing and able to travel up to 50%.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Program Manager and Technical Malaria Specialist

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Global Fund Malaria Program Team, Deputy Country Representatives, Country Representative, Head of Operations, Finance, Procurement and Administration Staff, Regional and Senior Technical Advisors, Deputy Regional Directors for PQ and MQ
• External: Global Fund’s Fund Portfolio Manager and Nigeria Country Team, SRs, State Ministries of Health (SMOH), National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) within the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Technical and Financial Partners, supported health facilities, Local Fund Agent (LFA)

Qualifications
Basic Qualifications:

• MBBS / MD and / or Postgraduate Degree in Public Health / Health Management; with significant field experience in clinical and/or community-based malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment
• At least 8 years’ relevant experience in public health with a strong preference for candidates with at least 5 years’ experience in malaria programming
• Experience in health-related community development
• Experience in managing developmental programs and providing technical assistance to partner organizations; knowledge and experience of programmatic and technical service delivery challenges highly desired.
• Ability to work both in a team and independently, and ability to transfer knowledge through formal and informal training.
• Experience with, and a demonstrated commitment to, community-based approach to development.
• Experience with Global Fund ATM Grant implementation
• Excellent analytical and information seeking skills; and good decision-making skills
• Experience with participatory planning and evaluation methods
• Strong inter-personal and public relations skills
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly and at short notices
• Excellent English language (oral and written) communication skills
• Proficiency in MS Office, including Word, Power Point, Excel and Outlook
• Willingness and ability to travel in-country (sometimes on short notice) up to 50%.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with ability to make sound judgment and decisions and offer innovative solutions
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Good presentation and facilitation skills
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Integrity
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation
• Builds Relationships
• Develops Talent
• Strategic Mindset
• Accountability & Stewardship

Application Closing Date
8th December, 2020.