Head of Health at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Job Ref Code: HOH81519
Location: Abuja
Department: Programs
Reports To: DCR Programs
Band: 12

Background

• CRS Nigeria’s health program represents over 70% of the country program’s entire programming portfolio. The portfolio has undergone significant changes over the last year and currently consists of a large malaria program and other projects in polio eradication, adolescent and pediatric HIV care and support, and programming for orphans and vulnerable children. Some of the integrated humanitarian and resilience programs that CRS implements also include interventions that impact on health, such as nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene.
• CRS’ new strategy emphasizes a focus on continuing to work with families and communities to develop skills and knowledge related to health-promoting behaviors, early detection of ill health, and prompt care-seeking. At health facility level, CRS works with health institutions to improve human resource competencies, strengthen logistic management and improve the quality of data and information. CRS also supports government health departments and agencies with capacity building and mentoring in planning, budgeting, supervision, monitoring and evaluation, and advocacy for improved domestic funding of health services.
• Through the engagement of a Head of Health Programs CRS will continue to demonstrate leadership and high-quality health program implementation in Nigeria. CRS will also seek to influence donor investment in this sector in Nigeria, and to partner with government to create the enabling environment for innovative transformative and impactful programming in health.

Job Summary

• The Head of Health Programs is responsible for leading the management and strategic evolution of the country program’s (CP) health portfolio as well as providing leadership and ensuring program quality.
• S/he will lead the health program team to establish clear priorities and plans and ensure that systems are in place to monitor and evaluate progress against those plans.
• S/he will also play a key role in business development, anticipating and positioning for health program funding opportunities in-line with the country and agency strategy.
• This will also include support indigenous partner organizations to pursue funding opportunities as prime.
• The Head of Health Programs will promote teamwork, collaboration, adherence to CRS programming principles and program quality, and learning across program teams as well as between operations and programming, and will ensure effective partnerships, especially with Church partners, government and the private sector, to reach program objectives.
• The Head of Health Programs is a critical member of the CRS Nigeria Senior Management Team (SMT).

Specific Responsibilities
Program Quality:

• Oversee the implementation of the Global Fund Malaria, Core Group Polio, FASTER, 4GATES and other prospective health and social services programs.
• Ensure that strategic objectives and results of health and social services programs are fully accomplished and meet expected technical quality standards.
• Oversee periodic technical reviews and manage changes in health program direction and focus in collaboration with partners, donors, and CRS technical experts.
• In collaboration with the MEAL Coordinator, oversee the monitoring and evaluation systems for health projects, ensuring the use of data for informed decision making among health program staff and partners.
• Collaborate with Regional and Headquarters technical staff to identify and implement appropriate ICT4D solutions to improve timeliness and quality of health project implementation and MEAL.
• In collaboration with the project-specific teams, ensure development of high-quality training materials, delivery of quality training, technical assistance and administrative and financial support to health project partner organizations.
• Ensure effective gender-mainstreaming across the health program in both programming and management.
• Work with the DCR/Programs, Chiefs of Party and Project Directors/Senior Project Managers of health and social services programs and other projects with health/social service components to ensure intra-sectoral collaboration and engagement across CRS health programs towards enhancing program quality.
• Liaise with operations teams to ensure health project compliance with all CRS financial and administrative procedures and policies, as well as with applicable donor regulations.

Strategic Portfolio Management:

• Ensure that the CRS Nigeria Strategy guides the CP’s direction in the health sector, ensuring that this strategy is innovative and aligned with CRS’ agency and CP strategies and policies.
• Ensure that CP health programs are developed within the framework of Integral Human Development (IHD) and complementary to/aligned with other programs, including government and Church.
• Identify upcoming new business opportunities in health in line with the Country Program (CP) and health programs business development strategy.
• Articulate CRS’ vision for the local partners transition landscape, including CRS’s strategy to support indigenous partners to become prime-ready and develop strong and competitive prime applications.
• In collaboration with the Business Development Specialist, coordinate capture planning, prepositioning, partnership negotiations and proposal development processes for health opportunities in compliance with CRS’ best practices and guidance.
• Assist the Business Development Specialist and senior management team in forming strong and competitive consortiums, and in the preparation of teaming agreements. This will entail developing and maintaining competitor and partner analysis.
• Ensure high quality, logical project design and context-appropriate, technically sound strategic approaches in new health proposals.
• Prepare and update capacity statements and past performance reference documents for CRS in Nigeria’s health programs.

Representation, Influence and Knowledge Management:

• Develop, maintain and strengthen partnership, collaboration and communication with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Welfare Development, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and other relevant government programs.
• Maintain and strengthen partnership, collaboration and communication with Catholic Church entities, especially the Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN) as related to their health activities.
• In close collaboration with the Deputy Country Representative/Programs and health project leads, serve as liaison between CRS Nigeria and donor and other local and international stakeholders within health sector
• Promote the identification, documentation and exchange of lessons learned across CRS Nigeria health programs.
• Coordinate and support the MEAL Coordinator in developing, conducting, writing up and disseminating surveys, assessments and studies within health projects.
• Identify opportunities and prepare abstracts to participate and represent the CRS Nigeria’s health projects in national, regional and global forums.
• Provide health program inputs into developing communications and networking systems, newsletter, website, events with Government and other stakeholders.

Human Resource Management:

• Lead, manage, and supervise the health programming team staff. This includes supervision of Chiefs of Party (CoP), Project Director and Senior Program Managers.
• Conduct periodic reviews of staff performance in keeping with CRS’ performance management system and mentor staff to ensure high levels of motivation, commitment, capacity, and teamwork.
• Manage recruitment for health projects in collaboration with Human Resources and CRS country program management, to ensure optimum service delivery through recruitment of competent and qualified staff.

Agency-Wide Competencies
Builds and leads effective teams:

• Definition: Promotes and guides teamwork among staff and partners as the fundamental approach to achieving CRS’s program goals.

Supervises and Develops Program Staff:

• Definition: Supports the performance and professional development of staff.

Focuses on Quality:

• Definition: Establish systems that support program quality via agency principles and standards, compliance, learning and innovation.

Leads growth in programs:

• Definition: Engages staff and partners in the development and growth of programs in line with the country strategy and CRS guiding principles.

Key Working Relationships

• Internal: Country Representative, Deputy Country Representative/Programs, Deputy Country Representative/Operations, Business Development Specialist, MEAL Coordinator, Emergency Coordinator, Head of Agriculture and Economic Growth, Chiefs of Party, Finance Manager, Deputy Regional Director for Program Quality, Regional, Africa-wide, and HQ Technical Advisors, other programming staff including HoPs and DCRs from other CPs
• External: Church (Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria – CCFN, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria – CSN, Diocesan and other implementing partners, etc.), USG (USAID, CDC, etc.) and other donors, Government of Nigeria (National Planning Commission, relevant Ministries, etc.) Primary Recipient and other Global Fund partners, consortium partners (current and potential), NGO network members, and CSE.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Master's or Doctorate degree in Public Health, Medicine, International Development or another relevant field. Degrees in other areas could be considered with relevant experience.
• Minimum of seven years of experience managing and implementing large health programs in developing country settings.
• Experience leading business development processes, including proposal development, project design, coordination, prepositioning and negotiating consortium partnerships.
• Proven experience in building and maintaining institutional linkages and relationships, including professional representation with governments, donors and partners.
• Demonstrated capacity and experience with institutional strengthening of local civil society and government agencies.
• Understanding of and experience working with faith-based organizations and local church structures, especially the Catholic Church.
• Knowledge of key donor regulations, including USG, Global Fund, DfID and other donors and foundations.
• Demonstrated commitment to improving gender equality and gender responsiveness in programming and operations.

Personal Attributes:

• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Culturally sensitive, patient and flexibility.
• Team leadership abilities and experience coaching diverse/multi-disciplinary teams..
• Strong communications and presentation skills; able to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented
• Demonstrated personal accountability and driven to serve others.

Required Travel:

• Ability to travel up to 40% of time within Nigeria and internationally as required.