Niger State Program Manager at The Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF)

Scope of Work
HSDF’s work will focus on strengthening the core health system elements of the PHC system in Niger by:

• Providing technical assistance to the State to enhance their ability to provide effective and sustained stewardship of the system, and
• Engaging with, and/or coordinating, the work of BMGF consortium partners and other stakeholders in PHC service delivery and support.

HSDF’s technical assistance to Niger State will focus on four main areas:

• Improving PHC governance so that the SPHCDA has the authority, accountability, and capacity to steward the PHC system:
  • We will provide support to the State to: fully implement the PHCUOR policy; develop the optimal organizational culture and health for their new roles; be appropriately positioned within the health sector with clearly defined roles vis-a-vis other health-focused ministries, departments, and agencies; build or update individual staff capabilities to execute their new mandates; and develop operational guidelines and processes for executing their core functions.
• Improving performance management so that the State effectively manages PHC system performance and monitor service-level performance using appropriate data:
  • We will support the State to improve the quality and quantity of PHC-relevant data, improve visibility of key PHC performance metrics, and institutionalize data use for decision-making and management of PHC
• Improving financial management so that there is increased availability, management, transparency, and efficient use of PHC funds, including at facility level:
  • We will provide technical assistance and advice to the State in several areas, including creating and managing secure funding for PHC; piloting financial autonomy for PHC facilities to manage non-salary operational funds; improving financial reporting from PHC facilities; and bolstering financial- management systems at SPHCDAs.
• Improve governance capacity to independently drive quality improvement initiatives through the use of outcome and process data generated at the facilities:
  • In addition, we will support the leadership of the Hospital Management Board and the SPHCDA to institutionalize the MPDSR system and ensure preventable maternal and perinatal deaths are tackled effectively.

In the following areas, HSDF will also carry out ancillary work:

• Supporting the State to develop and implement context-appropriate, cost-effective PHC service-delivery model that improves population health and continuity of care in communities, facilities, and referral centers, and that maximizes the efficiency of resources through careful trade-offs by the States between the scope of the service package and available resources
• Improving workforce planning, so that the State can better deploy, retain, and incentives good performance and improved productivity of the health
• Enhancing the State’s capacity to make informed choices on demand-side financing so that there are reduced financial barriers to accessing PHC for pregnant women and children
• We will provide access to the information and technical knowledge on their strategic options, as well as support them to make optimal decisions on demand-side financing.
• The proposed work will be carried out principally at state level, although a limited set of interventions will be at the facility level
• Direct service delivery is out of scope, as are non-health interventions to address the socio-economic determinants of poor health outcomes
• A key element of the proposed scope of work will be leveraging what other BMGF consortium partners and other stakeholders are doing at state level.

Duties and Deliverables
To carry out the program of work described above, the State Program Manager will report to and support the State Lead in the following areas:

Stakeholder Management:

• Identify critical stakeholders in health systems and PHC at state level and their priorities. Such stakeholders include, but are not limited to: Governor’s Office; legislature; representatives of central ministries and departments (Finance, Budget & Planning, Head of Service); health-related ministries, departments, and agencies, with focus on the SPHCDA; parties to the BMGF PHC MOUs (for instance, DFID and its relevant projects in health and governance); other BMGF consortium partners; and other development partners with interest in the area.
• Develop a pragmatic stakeholder engagement plan that tailors its approach and intensity of engagement to each key stakeholder’s relevance, influence, and other important factors.
• Manage stakeholder relationships: develop and maintain a cooperative relationship with the key stakeholders that is of mutual benefit to both HSDF and the stakeholders.
• Serve as a liaison with stakeholders in the State.
• Participate in stakeholder meetings, conference calls, conferences and other similar forums relevant to financial management in health, including, but not limited to, budget planning and review processes, state and partner work planning for health, relevant events and meetings of other parties to the BMGF PHC MOUs and other BMGF consortium partners.
• Maintain a database of key stakeholder contact information.

Project Management and Administration:

• Be familiar with the annual work plan/delivery timetable of the project.
• Develop clear operational plans for execution of project aims, continually identifying and implementing opportunities for HSDF to add value and maximize impact.
• Ensure execution of multiple program interventions simultaneously along aggressive timelines.
• Assist in selection, recruitment, and oversight of project staff and consultants.
• Provide periodic reports to the Health Systems team centrally; work with technical leads to ensure the timely submission of progress reports relating to project work streams.
• Support the SPM in overseeing administrative functions related to the activities of HSDF in the State, including management of project staff, office, vehicles, equipment and other assets

Technical Assistance to the State:

• Support the SPHCDA to implement priority interventions and activities outlined in the PHC MOU; the SPHCDA’s own priorities; and other activities defined by, or agreed with, the Director for HealthSystems, Coordinator PHC and/or technical project leads
• Support the State Ministry of Health (SMOH) to implement priority interventions and activities outlined in the PHC MOU; the SMOH’s own priorities related to PHC; and other activities defined by, or agreed with, the Director for Health Systems and/or technical project leads.
• Support the Coordinator PHC, SPM and technical leads to implement the scope of work outlined above; propose adjustments to the scope of work and activities in a way that considers state-level policy priorities, stakeholder environment, practical programming realities, and other relevant factors.
• Support the State to develop an implementation plan and oversee the implementation of the Service Delivery Plan, being a critical factor for success of the PHC MOU
• Support implementation of knowledge management/sharing processes for broad dissemination of HSDF’s findings, conclusions, recommendations, and best practices on what works in health-systems strengthening in Nigeria.
• Document and share experiences and lessons learnt during project implementation
• Propose, and with the approval of the Director for Health Systems, develop and conduct new programs and other initiatives
• Support the State in the regular review of facility data submitted to the HMB and SPHCDA as well as data on the DHIS2 and the MPDSR database to make informed decisions about addressing preventable maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity

Other Work:

• Carry out other ad-hoc tasks required for the success of the activities mentioned above or as designated by the State Lead