Jobs at Malaria Consortium

To provide oversight and support to all monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities of the SARMAAN II) Project in Nigeria. The M&E Manager will serve as the main focal person for all MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) activities which include impact evaluation, data validation, coordination meetings, lot quality assessment sampling (LQAS), end of cycle (EoC) reviews, capacity building in data quality and supportive supervisory visit to strengthen health management information system (HMIS). S/he will also work closely with externally engaged survey companies and technical assistants (TAs) for end of round (EoR) coverage surveys, other surveys, studies, evaluations and assessments, including for value for money (VFM); and would report to the Technical Specialist.

Scope of work

The M&E Manager shall be responsible for technical oversight in planning, coordination and supervision of M&E activities before, during and after SMC delivery for the SARMAAN II Project in three states (Kaduna, Kebbi and Jigawa). S/he will provide expert technical inputs to state MC/Senior M&E Officers, their state and LGA counterparts in campaign personnel database development/finalization, data management, data quality assurance, LQAS, analysis, interpretation of findings, EoC reviews and writing of progress and scientific reports. Furthermore, this Manager would be an integral part of digitization efforts/direction of the SARMAAN II Project by being an integral and active part of the country and international digitization subgroup.

The M&E Manager while reporting to the Project Director, would work with the Senior Country Technical Coordinator, Country Office M&E Manager, Senior/Zonal and State Programme Managers, Data Analyst, Senior Country and State M & E officers, towards the delivery of all MEAL activities at the national, state and LGA levels, plus in the sentinel sites.

Key working relationships

The M&E Manager will work closely with the Programme Director to operationalize all MEAL components of the programme. S/he would be line managed by the Project Director and will have dotted line management with the Senior Country Technical Coordinator. The post holder will provide technical oversight to the Senior M&E Officers working in the programme states and country office. S/he would work very closely with the Operational Research (OR) Specialist in the analysis of research findings and mainstreaming same into better programme outcomes. Technical quality assurance for the job will be provided by the Senior Country Technical Coordinator (SCTC); while the holder would be part of the MC/international M&E community of practice (CoP).

Key accountabilities

Management and planning (35%)

• Support the finalization/review of SARMAAN II Project M&E plans and frameworks as listed below:
  • log frames with appropriate programme indicators, targets and data collection methods.
  • tools and methods for M&E components of the annual SMC implementation.
  • routine monitoring systems, including databases, systems for data collection, maintenance and storage; and
  • templates and schedules for routine reports including quantitative and narrative reports (where necessary).
• Take the lead in planning M&E activities in the approved work plan and coordination of implementation ensuring high level of technical quality and work closely with the Technical Specialist to ensure that the M&E plan is aligned with the overall programme work plan and is within the budget allocated for M&E.
• Support State Senior M&E Officers in the implementation of M&E activities in approved programme work-plan.
• Ensure high quality data are available in useable format on a regular and timely basis for programmatic decision making by facilitating data collection and collation.

Data management, reporting, surveys, and dissemination (35%)

• Provide technical support for routine data collection and management including IT applications for data transfer where needed.
• Support the states in the development/finalization of the personnel database and composite national database for the SARMAAN II Project.
• Support the conduct of successful monthly EoC reviews, LQAS and annual EoR survey.
• Plan and coordinate quarterly routine monitoring visits to project supported sites and conduct field visits to validate data and monitor the quality and completeness of collected data.
• Assist in analysis and presentations of project data at national level.
• Participate in project assessments, evaluations and design including development of survey protocols with support from country office and advisors.
• Participates in regular documentation of lessons learnt on various interventions by the project.
• Work with relevant UK/HQ and Country Office colleagues, NMEP and state stakeholders towards appropriate impact evaluation of the SARMAAN II Project.

Knowledge Management, Capacity Building and Learning (10%)

• Work with the Technical Specialist to develop training or capacity building plans related to M&E and implement them as necessary.
• Support M&E training planning and rollout at the state levels.
• Ensure that state M&E and programme teams regularly review and accordingly adjust M&E plans and tools in the light of changes and needs in the field context based on monitoring data and reflection sessions.
• Support learning-to-action events and reflection sessions to systematically analyze data for programmatic use for the state and for the national level, and to document and incorporate lessons learned into programme design and implementation.
• Conduct regular data review and analysis for feedback to states for program improvement, and for updates to national level (MC and government).
• Work closely with the PD, TS and SCTC to support programme staff in key activities including development of a learning agenda, organizing regular learning events, supporting operations research, and reflecting, documentation, and communication of learning initiatives.
• Actively participate in the M&E community of practice (CoP).
• Support knowledge management systems (MC/External Relations/Communications) and practices to gather, document and share best practices with project team, MC country office, government and technical partners.

Accountability (10%)

• Support state programme staff to engage key populations in M&E programme performance and to incorporate participatory methods into M&E systems in the states.
• Support the state M&E Officers in the orientation of programme staff and partners on the basic principles and practices of beneficiary accountability in the states.
• Support the development and implementation of feedback and response channels to reflect the preferences of community members and beneficiaries.
• Support the states to ensure that beneficiary feedbacks are adequately documented, addressed, analyzed, and utilized by programme teams.

Networks and representations (10%)

• Develop and maintain relationships with NMEP and relevant Ministry of Health officials, so as to stay abreast of and involved in related SMC, HMIS and M&E developments.
• Represent MC at national level as designated  by the Project Director of Senior Country Technical Coordinator or MC senior management; and make presentations at technical meetings and events related to M&E.

Person specification

Qualifications and experience:

Essential

• A postgraduate degree in Public Health (with focus on epidemiology/bio-statistics) or a relevant social science discipline such as Demography or Statistics;
• A minimum of 5-years’ experience in a related role;
• 3 years’ previous experience in a supervisory role at middle management level;
• Hands-on knowledge and expertise of database management systems (Epi-info, DHIS2, LMIS, HMIS, STATA, SPSS) as well as data and statistical analysis;
• Previous experience in the Public Health sector and at the community level and on a malaria project;
• Experience in use of evidence to inform programming and policy;
• Significant experience in survey design and implementation; and
• Experience in capacity building/ transferring of skills.

Desirable

• Experienced in applying qualitative methods of data collection and analysis; and
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

Work-based skills:

Essential

• Proficient in the development of data entry programmes, using statistical analysis software (Epi Info, EpiData, Excel, Access, Stata, SPSS) and management of project M&E systems;
• Excellent communications and presentation skills; and
• Excellent written and spoken English.

Desirable

• Excellent organization skills; and
• Experience/skills in team management.

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Job purpose

To provide technical strategic direction, technical leadership and technical quality assurance to the technical team members and the projects in the Nigeria Malaria Consortium office. To ensure that up-to-date technical knowledge, technical methodologies and national and international best practices are used in programme implementation and programme quality improvement. To ensure that experiential learning and lessons learning are captured, documented, disseminated and inform adaptive management in the project portfolio. To identify relevant research priorities and work with team members, the global technical team and key national stakeholders to design suitable studies and submit proposals for funding.

Scope of work

The position holder will be responsible for technical oversight for all projects and programmes within MC Nigeria portfolio. S/he will lead technical quality assurance activities of the country portfolio using a continuous quality improvement approach. S/he will ensure that programmes are effectively coordinated to achieve coherent technical direction and a complementary/balanced portfolio. The position holder will play an active role in strategic and technical development and expansion of the Nigeria programme portfolio and will provide technical inputs to the Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders that are of technical quality and add value to the engagement S/he will actively participate in relevant technical working groups at national and other levels to foster evidence-informed dialogue and decision-making. S/he will be involved in catalytic-solution building between government and non-government actors. S/he will be an advocate for health and wellbeing and communicable diseases control. S/he will be a role model for colleagues and a mentor for direct reports.

Key working relationships

The CTC will have a dotted reporting line to the Technical Specialist West and Central Africa and report directly to the RPD-WCA / CD. S/he will line manage in-country technical team as the technical lead. She will also work with the Global and Senior Technical teams  above-country  as well as the Country Management Team and external stakeholders such as National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), donor agencies, partner organisations and academic institutions S/he will actively participate in rolling out of Malaria Consortium’s strategy with Nigeria portfolio and capture lessons to be disseminate within MC NG and with the rest of the organisation. S/he will provide supervision of direct reports and dotted line working arrangements with selected team members.

Key accountabilities

Strategic accountability (20%)

• Work with the Regional Programmes Director for West and Central Africa/ Country Director and with inputs from Technical Specialist WCA to lead the development and revision of the technical aspects of the MC strategic roll-out in Nigeria country office
• Support the Regional Programmes Director for West and Central Africa/ Country Director in business development, identifying areas of technical need and developing concept notes, evidence summary and contributing to proposal development to sustain a balanced portfolio of projects in Nigeria
• Take lead on the technical aspects of proposal development in accordance with donor tender documentation and requirements

Technical accountability (40%)

• Ensure all programmes are implemented to high technical quality and based on national and international evidence and best practices
• Provide technical input towards rapid and smooth programme start up and close out, including programme transition to national stakeholders
• Coordinate identification of technical support needs for programmes and work with the WCA technical specialist, and Technical Director as well as other members of the Global Technical Team to ensure that technical support is provided on time and to high quality
• Support the development of MEL plans and utilization of appropriate MEL tools and systems for the country office and its programmes
• Contribute and support implementation of VFM framework to measure MC strategy and interventions
• Provide technical support to key stakeholders including the Ministry of Health in strategy and policy development and review on communicable diseases control and represent MC on technical coordination platforms in consultation with the WCAPD
• Support identification, selection and oversight of short-term technical assistance to take on defined scopes of work and arrange for the quality assurance of their deliverables
• Work with the West and Central Africa Technical Specialist to provide technical inputs to activities of the West & Central Africa Technical Team (WCATT) and Global Technical Team (GTT)

Technical human resource development (5%)

• Support the Regional Programmes Director for West and Central Africa/ Country Director to identify technical resource gaps in the country office team and provide inputs to the recruitment of qualified technical staff
• Lead the technical mentorship of direct reports and other technical team members

Documentation and positioning (10%)

• Lead the development and implementation of internal mechanisms for experiential and lessons learning to inform continuous quality improvement of programmes
• Periodically report to the Regional Programmes Director for West and Central Africa/ Country Director on the technical progress of programmes and highlight any critical technical issues and risks, and advise on solutions and mitigations
• Provide leadership, direction and mentorship in writing of technical publications such as policy briefs, case studies, literature reviews, approach papers, learning briefs, technical briefs, conference abstracts and peer review publications.
• Identify key relevant advocacy issues related to the project portfolio and work closely with External Relations team in the Country Office and UK to develop suitable advocacy outputs and their dissemination

Programme Management (5%)

• Take on the role of Principal Investigator (PI) on priority / relevant research studies
• Act as budget holder on key programmes or research studies as agreed with the Regional Programmes Director for West and Central Africa/ Country Director when relevant

Representation (10%)

• Represent Malaria Consortium at relevant technical working groups at the national level to share and use up-to-date technical information for evidence-based decision-making. This will involve sharing results from our work, current technical perspectives, approaches and best practices.
• Represent Malaria Consortium at regional and international meetings/workshops on specific technical areas as appropriate, including relevant networks to showcase the work the country team are doing and to position the organization as one of the leading technical organisations

Business Development (10%)

• Work with Regional Programmes Director for West and Central Africa / Country Director, Head of Technical WCA and the BD team to identify new business development opportunities which will include identifying areas of interest, responding to relevant opportunities, and writing funding proposals
• Support the NMEP/MOH in resource mobilisation activities such as GF Concept Note writing.
• Facilitate the identification of ideas, research questions aligned with the country strategy

Person specification

Qualifications and experience:  

Essential

• Master’s degree in Public or International Health, Communicable or Infectious diseases, Epidemiology or related discipline
• Medical qualification and familiarity with the Nigerian health system
• Extensive experience working in public health programmes or communicable disease control, with significant experience in a senior role
• Significant experience managing projects or programmes funded by major institutional donors and agencies such as DFID, USAID, the UN or EU
• Substantial first-hand experience in malaria control
• Experience working with actors in the public and private health care sectors
• Experience in health systems strengthening
• Demonstrable experience working in a technical advisory capacity to Ministries of Health and other partners, including relating to policy and guidelines review or development, and programme reviews
• Experience of building effective working relationships between MoH and its stakeholders
• Business development, including needs assessment, the development of concept notes and proposals, and stakeholder consultation and analysis

Desirable

• Field experience in Sub-Saharan Africa and a solid understanding of the realities and complexities of in-country programme implementation
• Experience in project or programme management including design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
• Experience in strategic planning and strategy implementation
• Experience working with teams with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds
• Experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative research related to public health programmes
• Financial management and/or experience of working with large budgets

Work-based skills and competencies:     

Essential

• Excellent understanding of communicable disease control, in particular malaria
• Excellent understanding of health services delivery in both the public and private sectors, in particular community-based primary health care
• Extensive knowledge of the health system in Nigeria including non-government actors
• Familiar with operations research (OR) methodologies and capable of designing and implementing OR studies
• Demonstrable ability to write funding proposals
• Demonstrable ability to write technical publications
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, with strong stakeholder management skills, able to engage effectively with broad and diverse audience
• Strong leadership skills with inclusive and motivational style and strong influencing ability
• Strong problem-solving ability, with excellent planning and organizational skills
• Results-oriented mind-set that is capable of balancing processes and outputs
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Strong technical writing skills
• Strong computer skills, conversant with MS Office packages
• Self-motivated, proactive and results-focused
• Able to work effectively as part of a team and on own initiative, with ability to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines whilst being attentive to detail

Desirable

• Demonstrable data management and statistical analysis skills
• Basic security training
• Skills in strategic thinking
• Familiar with mixed methods research approaches
• Familiar with the evaluation of complex health interventions
• Able to design and use quality improvement approaches including adaptive management.

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Job purpose

The role of the Senior Country Programmes Manager (SCPM) is to provide leadership in the roll-out and efficient running of programme / project management systems and processes for all programmes and projects as a coherent portfolio within Malaria Consortium Nigeria office. The position holder will also line manage some Project Managers in Malaria Consortium Nigeria as agreed with the West and Central Africa Programmes Director, who also functions as the Country Director. And act as Project or Programme Director in case these roles become vacant to avoid gap in programme management oversight of the projects / programme portfolio of MC NG. The CPM will also be a member of a management board of Malaria and Public Health Nigeria Ltd/Gte.

Scope of work

The position holder will be the lead of programme and project management function for the country office and ensure all programmes and project in the MC NG portfolio are implemented in line with the programme proposals and operational plans whilst ensuring that programme/ project targets are met.

The role will work closely with the WCAPD to review the MC NG portfolio to ensure the projects and programmes delivers optimal value according to plan and within budget and time. The position holder will ensure efficient and effective project management practices including lessons learning, adaptive management, and optimal value-for-money. The position holder will line manage several programmes / projects personnel as assigned by the WCAPD. The role will play a leadership role in day-to-day management of Malaria and Public Health Nigeria Ltd/Gte operations.

Key working relationships

The CPM will be a member of the Country Management Team (CMT), the Senior Management Team (SMT), MPH Management Board and will report to the West and Central Programmes Director (WCAPD). S/he will work very closely with all departments (Technical, Finance, Logistics, HR & Admin) while rolling out project and programme management tools and processes to support project directors and managers to ensure that all Malaria Consortium Nigeria programmes / projects are implemented in line with donor guidelines and Malaria Consortium policies and procedures. The position holder will line manage assigned Project Managers and other staff. They will build the capacity and mentor for good project management performance. The role will also act as the Safeguarding focal person for the Malaria Consortium NG office.

Key accountabilities

Programme management (50%)

• Develop and implement systems and processes for work planning, work plan review, monitoring and reporting ensuring that different donor grants are integrated into an overall integrated work plan for the country office and demonstrate alignment with Malaria Consortium Country Strategy.
• Support PMs to ensure the development of appropriate work plans for each level in each of the projects, such as annual, quarterly, monthly operational / activity plans and ensure these are linked to the forecast both in content and timing.
• Support PMs to ensure programmes and projects are implemented as planned and all Malaria Consortium systems to ensure key performance measures (BVA, QPA etc) are complied with.
• Acts as interim Programme or Project Directors for programmes in MC NG portfolio either as a result of delay recruitment at the start – up of programmes or when the role becomes vacant for any reason during implementation and close -out phase of the programmes.
• Provide programme management oversight of innovative  / cocreation of projects / programmes with our donors pending the finalisation of discussions e.g fiscal agents role, procurement TA etc
• Work with PD and PM to set periodic reviews of their programme and projects with stakeholders and ensure all relevant authorities and stakeholders are included in the planning and implementation of projects as appropriate.
• Ensure regular cross functional project review meetings are held which include all relevant country and state office stakeholders. Such reviews should review output and outcome indicator progress against the project log frames, activity progress against work plans, financial progress against the forecast and compared to activity progress, and operational plans (procurement and HR plans)
• Work with the PMs to develop risk registers and mitigation plans for projects and programmes which should inform a consolidated risk register for the country office and set systems for the review of these risks including the mitigating actions in line with the organisation risk framework.
• Work with other country functional leads to develop and maintain, as a management tool, a Value-for-Money (VfM) framework for the country office and track the key indicators and use these to improve efficient running of all MC office locations in the country.
• Collate and develop a schedule for all different types of programme / project reporting including the quality assurance process and support PMs to ensure this is complied with.
• Ensure monitoring systems are in place and that project reviews/audits are carried out periodically in conjunction with the team, local stakeholders and project partners.
• Work with the PMs and other Country Office functional leads to respond to audit / review recommendations within the agreed timeline.
• Work with the West and Central Africa Programmes Director to monitor the evolving security and humanitarian situation in all MC implementation sites, especially in the North – East Zone and consider operational and immediate responses to security risk exposures.
• Travel to the field as necessary to provide support and effective oversight to the field teams.

• Maintain a good and proactive collaboration with the local authorities and partners.
• Work closely with the Country Technical Coordinator to see that work plans are aligned with best technical approaches.
• Work with the Country Technical Coordinator to see that lessons and experiences are documented, and that programme quality improvement is evidence- and/or data-informed.
• Work with Compliance manager to ensure all donor and MC requirements for all projects and programmes are met.

Strategic planning and strategy implementation (10%)

• Provide strategic planning support to the West and Central Africa Programmes Director with focus on ensuring the relevance of Malaria Consortium’s role in Nigeria and contributes to the development, implementation, and M&E of Malaria Consortium’s country strategy.
• Support the West and Central Africa Programmes Director in identifying new business development opportunities which will include identifying areas of interest and identifying potential partnerships.
• Ensure regular communications are maintained between the different functions particularly between field teams, and the Abuja office.

Financial planning and management (10%)

• Work with the Country Finance Manager (CFM), PMs and Operations team to design roll-out systems that ensure the link of programme / project planning with Malaria Consortium annual budgeting and forecasting cycle.
• Work with WCA Programmes Director to monitor that Programme / Project Managers are efficiently and accurately managing their budgets and resources within allowable line-item flexibility and there is accountability of resources.
• Work with the Country Finance Manager (CFM) to monitor expenditure and budget compliance on a regular basis, report any concerns to the WCAPD and develop plans to mitigate any under or over expenditure at grant level.
• Closely monitor programme / projects budget spending and burn rates.

Malaria and Public Health Nigeria Ltd/Gte (15%)

• Work with WCA Programmes Director to oversee effective management and operations of Malaria and Public Health Nigeria Ltd/Gte activities.
• Be a member of a management board of Malaria and Public Health Nigeria Ltd/Gte and take the lead in implementing management actions.
• Maintain and track progress in objectives of MPH Nigeria Ltd/Gte to ensure optimal value for its key stakeholders.

Human Resource Management and Capacity development (15%)

• Contribute to recruitment and selection of competent staffing for programme and projects.
• Be an effective line manager and mentor, using performance-based management approaches.
• Act as safeguarding focal point for Malaria Consortium NG office and work with HR Manager and Safeguarding (FG) Advisor to ensure Malaria Consortium safeguarding policies are rolled out and complied with in MC NG office.
• Develop or adapt practical guidance and tools, based on Malaria Consortium project management frameworks, for PMs to support best practices in project management.

Person specification

Qualifications and experience:

Essential

• Postgraduate qualification in international development, public health, business administration, project management or similar.
• Extensive experience in a similar role
• Significant hands-on experience in project management at a senior level or management of large or multi-country programmes ideally in low- or middle-income countries
• Excellent experience with managing operational units in large international organisations.
• Experience managing grants from institutional funders such as the GFATM, USAID or FCDO or foundations such as the BMGF.
• Strong team management skills with experience of working in diverse teams.
• Experience of managing large projects with multiple operational sites
• Experience working in security challenged environments and/or humanitarian context.
• Experience in proposal development and reporting.
• Significant experience in budget management responsibilities
• Experience working in a multi-cultural team.

Desirable

• Experience working in Nigeria.
• Programme management qualification e.g. PRINCE2.
• Experience working on maternal and child health programmes, including community health delivery.
• Experience working in the management of complex public health programmes.
• Experience in risk management.

Work-based skills:

Essential

• Solid understanding of project management practices
• Ability to manage and prioritize high workload and multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines.
• Ability to work under stressful conditions and to remain flexible and calm under pressure.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and critical thinking skills
• Proven ability to deliver high quality projects on time and within budget.
• Capable of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel
• Excellent English language skills, both spoken and written.
• Excellent presentation skills
• Excellent negotiation skills
• A team player, with a friendly attitude
• Proactive and self-starter
• Results-oriented work ethic
• High integrity
• Committed to Malaria Consortium’s values and mission.

Desirable

• Excellent Monitoring and Evaluation skills
• Excellent capacity building skills especially mentoring and coaching
• Conversant with public health principles
• Familiar with adaptive management approaches
• Skilled in project management quality improvement approaches