State Program Manager - South South Zone at Evidence Action

In 2016, Evidence Action began supporting the government of Cross River state, with expansion into Rivers state in 2017, to launch school-based deworming programs for STH
and schistosomiasis as a part of the states’ integrated NTD control program. Evidence Action seeks an in-country program manager to provide focused support to health and
education personnel within the South-south zone government teams in planning, launching, and sustaining school-based deworming programs. Objectives and key activities of the
position are described below.
 
Objective
The State Program Manager will drive high-quality technical support for school-based mass drug administration (MDA) for STH and schistosomiasis in the South-south zone. The
manager will work closely with state government personnel to provide technical expertise and manage day-to-day collaboration for all states, and support government entities at the
LGA level as necessary. The State Program Manager will be report to the Country Director, Evidence Action, Nigeria and work closely with the Deworm the World global team. The
State Program Manager may also support analysis and pursuit of new opportunities for scale-up of school-based deworming in the country.
 ***This position is open to Nigerian Nationals or legal residents of Nigeria. 
 
Responsibilities

• Cultivate and maintain strong working relationships with state-level government personnel, ensuring smooth coordination of all activities
• Drive development of program management tools including work plans, treatment strategy documents, and operational guidelines
• Leverage program management tools and maintain close attention to detail to ensure that timelines are adhered to and all milestones such as trainings, meetings, and distribution of materials are completed on time
• Provide technical input and evidence-based recommendations for program planning (i.e., strategy documents for specific program components, such as monitoring or coverage
• validation) and for decision-making during implementation (i.e., troubleshooting supply chain delays or responding to public misperceptions about deworming)
• Engage in outcome-oriented capacity-building efforts with state ministries of health and education in areas such as budgeting, work planning, drug forecasting, and monitoring
• Collaborate with Evidence Action’s global Deworm the World staff to incorporate other programs’ learnings and expertise into the delivery of South-south zonal programs
• Represent Evidence Action in meetings and communications at the state level, and be accountable for state-level relationship management with all relevant partners
• Ensure technical support to the state government is in line with Deworm the World’s theory of change and technical support model, and adhere to Evidence Action’s mission
• and brand through all communications
• Other technical support as necessary for high-quality implementation of school-based deworming

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in a relevant field is preferred
• Proven experience in a program management role, preferably for 5+ years
• Demonstrated success in managing relationships with partners and collaborating effectively with diverse partners
• Strong English communication skills, both written and verbal
• Attention to detail coupled with an ability to visualize the “big picture”
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), Google Documents, and other common computer programs; familiarity with Box,
• Asana, and Slack would be a bonus!
• Strong work ethic and a sense of humour

 
Terms
The term of this position is 2 years, with the potential for extension based on performance and according to program needs. The manager will be based in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State
and will report to Evidence Action’s Country Director. The manager will work very closely with government staff and other partners within the states, and will collaborate with Deworm
the World teams based in Kenya, India, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and the US. Travel within Nigeria will be required in accordance with program needs.

Location:
Port-Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria; frequent trips to other South-south states and occasional trips to Abuja and other domestic travel