Country Director at Chemonics International

Summary

• Chemonics seeks a country director in Nigeria to support, strategically direct, and lead the USAID Global Health and Supply Chain Program – Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s initiatives. GHSC-PSM is a five-year project designed to ensure an uninterrupted supply of health commodities to more than 50 countries worldwide to prevent suffering, save lives, and create a brighter future for families.
•  In Nigeria, GHSC-PSM procures commodities and provides technical assistance to improve HIV/AIDS, malaria, maternal and child health, and family planning supply chains. In addition to meeting GHSC-PSM’s contractual requirements, the country director will support an agreement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to bolster national public health supply chains in Nigeria. With Global Fund, Chemonics provides warehousing and distribution services for HIV and malaria commodities.
• The country director will manage the development of technical strategies and work plans; monitor programmatic, financial, and administrative performance; supervise the administration of standard project operating and financial procedures; manage short and long-term technical assistance; and maintain effective communication with clients, the home office, the public and private sectors, and other donors and cooperating agencies.
• The country director will manage disparate project funding streams, ensuring that funding sources are properly allocated to activities for the purpose of financial management and reporting. In addition to providing leadership and management, the country director will provide direct and targeted technical support to GHSC-PSM and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s initiatives. This position is based in Abuja, Nigeria. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities

• Maintain strong, positive working relationships with clients and implementing partners, including USAID, Global Fund, and local governments
• Ensure that USAID and Global Fund activities are complementary and lead to greater outcomes for both donors
• Develop and implement work plans and budgets that reflect the priorities of USAID, Global Fund, local government ministries, and other stakeholders
• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders to build the health supply chain capacity of national systems throughout Nigeria and, specifically, USAID focal states
• Identify, develop, and maintain strategic alliances that will ensure that GHSC-PSM and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s initiatives work closely with the U.S. government, other governments, and donor-supported supply chain programs; with the same stakeholders, identify and pursue opportunities to integrate supply chains, share resources and information, and create efficiencies
• Identify capacity gaps and arrange for training for more than 200 field staff
• Ensure the use of appropriate management methodologies to plan, organize, and control resources
• Develop, update, and implement performance monitoring plans that encompass commodity security, supply chain management, technical assistance and logistics management indicators, and project-wide performance measures
• Oversee regular data collection and reporting and lead quarterly reviews of performance analysis to identify issues and drive evidence-based interventions
• Oversee finances and cash flow; ensure expenditure forecasts are prepared, reviewed, and submitted to the project management director quarterly; track spending against multiple project funding streams; and manage overall cost-share structure between four USAID task orders and other funding sources, including Global Fund
• Maintain positive, productive working relationships and regular communication within the field office and between the field and home offices
• Develop and implement staffing and technical assistance and procurement plans that lead to the effective implementation of project strategy and work plan
• Develop and implement risk mitigation strategies for procurement and logistics services; assess risks quarterly and implement risk management/mitigation strategies
• Ensure compliance with procurement standard operating procedures, including supplier order fulfillment, order tracking, customs clearance/freight forwarding, storage and distribution, and logistics management information systems
• Monitor security operations in Nigeria, including supporting the home office’s management of the in-country security team to ensure compliance with risk assessments and other rules and recommendations from the home office
• Report project results to USAID, Global Fund, relevant government ministries, other funders, and the home office; ensure timely submission of all deliverables
• Build the capacity of local counterparts in supply chain management and oversight as appropriate
• Oversee a technical assistance strategy that builds the capacity of state and national host-country supply chain staff with the objective of transitioning increasing levels of management responsibility for the supply chain to local stakeholders and partners
• Engage host-country leaders and stakeholders at the national and state levels to advocate for supply chain resources, policy implementation, and issue resolution
• Identify opportunities for building the capacity of local implementing partners with the objective of transitioning increasing levels of responsibility for supply chain operations to local entities
• Oversee a technical strategy aimed at building the self-reliance, capacity, and commitment of government agencies and institutions involved in the management of the in-country supply chain

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Health or a Management-related discipline
• Minimum of 10 years of experience with USAID-funded programs, preferably in public health program management, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, supply chain management systems, or medical procurement and logistics
• Demonstrated ability to manage and implement complex USAID-funded public health programs or projects in a developing country context
• Demonstrated ability to apply supply chain management best practices and innovations to donor-funded programs
• Experience working in complex environments with limited resources
• Ability to create efficiencies and lead operational transformation in large, complex programs; experience in medical procurement, logistics, or supply chain management preferred
• Expertise in leading and managing lean teams to generate large-scale results
• Demonstrated ability to work and coordinate with cooperating partners in implementing complex programs
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing; proven diplomatic and public relations skills
• Willingness to live in Nigeria and travel throughout the country up to 25 percent of the time
• Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity
• Fluency in English required