Program Manager at Helen Keller International

Scope of the Position

The Program Manager will provide collaborative technical leadership for the project in Nigeria. The position will work under the direct management of the Head of Programs and provide technical support to the members of the project team, government and other partners. This position is based in Abuja, with frequent travel to the project states – Akwa-Ibom, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Kebbi and Sokoto.

Specific Responsibilities

The Program Manager will be responsible for the following:

• Provide technical guidance and support to achieve timely, high-quality project deliverables and meet project objectives and donor requirements, in a manner conducive to professional growth and development for everyone.
• Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of the health, nutrition and food issues in Nigeria including national policy development, key players in government, INGOs, UN and national/regional and local civil society organizations.
• Guide the technical aspects of the project. Ensure that activities are implemented in compliance with the requirements of the donor and with best practices.
• Develop work plans and activity budgets for the project.
• Provide guidance and support to technical teams delivering the project interventions at the LGAl and state levels
• Ensure technical deliverables stay on track. Ensure project performance meets results and deliverables in the project framework and identify solutions and corrective actions.
• Support the Head of Programs to manage relationships with donors, clients, consortium partners, other partners, stakeholders in-country. Coordinate and provide technical assistance to consortium partners as needed.
• Ensure accountability to project participants, partners, colleagues and donors by providing ongoing feedback in a context of mutual respect.
• Model collaboration within the team: effectively consult with and inform colleagues to maximize efficiency and knowledge sharing and integrate guidance and direction from other subject matter experts and other Program team in the global organization to optimize project designs and outcomes.
• Participate or lead the development of training manuals, tools, procedures, materials in nutrition management and dietary diversification practices. Work with the technical team to organize and conduct training programs on best practices and innovations in nutrition and provide technical support to ensure effective nutrition messaging.
• Integrate gender transformative and socially inclusive strategies to the interventions to increase leadership, access to/utilization of nutrient-rich foods by women, adolescents and children.
• Engage with the Government of Nigeria and relevant partners (such as Vitamin Angels, UNICEF, Nutrition International etc) to develop the roadmap for MMS transitioning and scale up in Nigeria.
• Coordinate with Vitamin Angels to ensure the regular and timely supply of Multiple Micronutrient Supplement (MMS) to the state of implementation.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with technical partners in-country. Participate in the national nutrition technical working groups (NNTWG) meetings. Interface with government officials and other nutrition value chain stakeholders.
• In conjunction with the Head of Programs, provide thorough and timely reports to the country leadership and the donor on project activities. Ensure regular communication and sharing of lessons learned and challenges with the program team and consortium partners.
• participate in regular meetings with the regional and global team on the Transforming Lives through Nutrition project.
• participate in the consortium in-country regular meetings.
• Support the M&E team to collect and analyze the data related to the project.
• Conduct regular monitoring of activities, document findings and provide recommendations to inform improvements in program implementation.
• Lead the regular advocacy visit to relevant stakeholders at LG, State and the National levels
• Travel domestically and internationally as needed.
• Represent the project in technical forums, as needed.
• Other duties as required by Head of Programs.

Required Competencies

•       Superior technical knowledge and experience in one or more of the following areas: food systems for nutrition (including post-harvest processing, value chain enhancement, horticulture and small-animal raising, market systems, and income-oriented production of nutritious foods) and/or public health nutrition (including prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition, adolescent health and nutrition, maternal/infant/child health and nutrition).
•   Superior leadership, management and communication skills--this includes professional experience interacting with donor, host country governments and other relevant stakeholders.
•  Strong interpersonal skills and experience working effectively in teams and cross-cultural settings.
•  Excellent time management and personal organization skills.
•   Ability to respond rapidly to shifting implementation scenarios.
•  Comfortable working in a matrixed, integrated work environment.
• Confident giving and receiving feedback in a direct, professional manner. 
•  Capacity to direct multiple long and short-term activities simultaneously with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work effectively with local government and NGO stakeholders.
•    Skilled in fostering new and effective partnerships facilitating meetings, and effectively participating in technical working groups.

Qualifications

• Education: Degree in agriculture, agribusiness, food systems, public health nutrition or a related field and a minimum of 10 years work experience or equivalent combination of skills and experience.
•   Experience: Prior experience working in complex nutrition programs, preferably with direct experience in Nigeria
•  Knowledge of agricultural and/or food systems with experience enhancing the diversity, productivity, nutritional-value, income-producing potential and sustainability of agricultural production and/or leading the development of nutrition-sensitive food systems enterprises
•  Demonstrated experience working and/or collaborating with government ministries and other development partners in multi-sectoral nutrition programming.
• Substantial institutional and staff expertise in implementing complex capacity building programs, in resource-constrained environments.
•  Strong experience and demonstrated success in coordinating activities with multiple stakeholders to optimize use of limited resources, including development of joint work plans.
•  Excellent capacity building and coordination skills.  An ability to delegate responsibilities effectively and coach and mentor staff from different cultures.
•  Ability to respond rapidly to shifting implementation scenarios. An ability to work in challenging and changing environments, and to see through challenges to find solutions; an ability to maintain balance when under stress.
•  Demonstrable respect for all persons regardless of religion, ethnicity, class or gender, with a high comfort level working in a diverse environment with a demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards.
•  Experience working effectively in partnership with staff, collaborating organizations, consortium, international donors and agencies, host country governments and ministries and other relevant stakeholders.
•   Working knowledge of Microsoft software packages: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook.
• Excellent English language skills, both written and spoken with strong presentation skills. Ability to prepare and disseminate project findings, success stories, and other documents effectively.
•  Willingness and ability to undertake travel outside Abuja frequently.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to travel regularly to the project states (Bauchi, Kebbi, Ebonyi, FCT, and Sokoto) as needed for supportive supervision.

Terms & Conditions

This is a local posting and is subject to local terms and conditions.