Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition Services Programme Manager

JOB TITLE: Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition Services Programme Manager  

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Programme and Operations

LOCATION:  Mongu

POST TYPE: National

Safeguarding :

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Save the Children International’s Diversity Policy, aims to promote equal opportunity in employment and to ban any kind of discrimination based on sex, age, social class, disability, HIV status, religion, race and ethnicity.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Save the Children (SCI) is the world’s leading independent non-profit organization for children. Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation. SCI’s Mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting changes in their lives. In Zambia, SCI has been implementing programs across Child Rights Governance, Health and Nutrition, Child Protection, Education, Child Poverty and Humanitarian thematic areas since 1983.

SCI, in partnership with MAP International and the Zambian Ministry of Health (MOH) with funding from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Charity (LDSC) is implementing the Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Nutrition (IMNCHN) Project. The goal of the project is to contribute to the reduction in maternal, newborn, and child mortality, stillbirths, and morbidity in Mongu district of the Western province. The project is currently supporting twelve health facilities in Mongu district, including two hospitals and 10 health centers to ensure:

I. Sustained improvements in equitable access to and quality of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services (including people with disabilities)

II. Increased demand and enhanced social norms for preventative health behaviors and use of health services

III. Increased capacity of local institutions and organizations to sustainably deliver evidence-based, quality health and nutrition services.

ROLE PURPOSE: 

The Integrated Maternal, Newborn, and Child, Health and Nutrition (IMNCHN) Programme Manager is responsible for strategically driving, coordinating and reporting on the results for the Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, Newborn, and Child, Health and Nutrition Services project using an adaptive management and learning and reflection approach to achieve outcomes and impact for meaningful and lasting change for children.

The IMNCHN Programme Manager works closely with other functions including Country Office Senior Management Team to meet all program-related objectives in the Country Office. The Programme Manager is accountable for effective and efficient management of Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Nutrition Services project in ways that ensure resources are focused on reaching strategic objectives, meeting donor expectations and adhering to all internal and external standards.

The IMNCHN Manager will have the primary responsibility for leading and managing the project team, ensuring technical, programmatic soundness, fiscal management and alignment of project with policies and strategies of the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) aimed at enhancing the quality of MNCHN services. The intervention will target all the levels of the Zambian health system from community to health centers to Level 2 hospitals focusing on strengthening the access to and quality of services along a continuum of care of while also generating demand for ealth services and improving essential health practices among the population in the targeted catchment.

Role Dimensions: Programme Manager has overall accountability and is the main budget holder for the Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition Services project. The job holder manages all key and strategic communications with district line ministries, official health chiefdom heads, community-action, social behavior change, campaigns relationships and engagements, the Programme Manager will be expected to present the project to donors in liaison with country donor representatives. for the Programme with funding member offices and within the CO. The Programme Manager works collaboratively with other teams (PDQ, finance, Supply Chain and Awards including Human Resources). S/He engages with Health Technical Specialist and CO senior management and support staff to ensure smooth running of the Programme.

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: Director of Programme Operations

Staff reporting to this post:  IMNCHN Coordinators, MEAL Coordinator and Project Driver SBC Specialist

Indirect: Finance Officer

Budget Responsibilities:  Main budget holder for the Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition Services project

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Technical Leadership

• Foster and establish productive working relationship with DHO staff.
•  coordination, and support to the implementation of Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, New-born, and Child, Health and Nutrition Services activities.
• Convene Projects meetings, ensuring effective collaboration and coordination with strategic partners
• Responsible for ensuring integrated capacity-building activities, quality improvement, and effective program delivery of the project.
• Identify, document, and disseminate program successes, best practices, challenges and lessons learnt during project implementation on quarterly basis
• Participate in and represent the project in the MNCHN technical working groups and other professional meetings.
• Support MOH to hold regular technical meetings to review the performance of MNCHN services.
• Prepare quality monthly, quarterly, and annual reports for the project.
• Work with MOH staff and the project supported health facilities to ensure the availability of key commodities and equipment required for the provision of quality MNCHN services
• Work with MOH to ensure that the supported health facilities conduct integrated community outreach services and strengthen referral systems between different care levels.
• Work with MOH to support the regular engagement of community structures to address gaps in MNCHN services in the project supported health facilities.
• providing leadership and ensuring program approaches and interventions are aligned with national policies, strategies and evidence-based

Program Planning and implementation Management.

• Responsible for managing the Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, Newborn, and Child, Health and Nutrition Services to achieve and report on the results in line with the projects’ Logical Framework.
• Provides leadership and design expertise in the rigorous application of Social and Behaviour Change Communication theory, practice, principles and current best practices that achieve measurable results.
• Ensure timely submission of quality program annual plans with the respective phased budget aligned with the Country office Country Strategic Plan (CSP).
• Ensure that all program operations are based on and are in line with the approved annual plan, phased budget, detailed implementation plans (DIP), procurement plan.
• Foster networking with other stakeholders and the community structures to promote access to and the uptake of MNCHN services.
• Keep updated a repository of approved resources that can be shared with other partners

Partner Management

Partnerships

• Wok with the Provincial Health Office to improve the coordination and implementation of MNCHN services through stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, and oversight.
• Work with relevant program staff to ensure all implementing partners undergo legal vetting and capacity assessment prior to commencing work with Save the Children.
• Ensure that all partners are engaged with appropriate agreements and effective monitoring systems are in place so that partner delivery meets donor expectations and requirement
• Work with program staff to ensure relevant donor requirements are effectively communicated and understood by implementing partners.
• Effectively managing relationships of MoH and partners

Budgeting and Financial Management

• Responsible for the overall programs financial and budgetary management. This responsibility includes.
• Ensuring that a quality and timely program phased budget aligned with the DIP is in place.
• Ensure that program implementation meets the monthly financial performance target (100% burn rate) and annual spending against life of award budget not greater than 100%.
• Ensure that all financial policies and regulations relating to cash flow management, expenditure controls, cash management, accounting information, advances management as put in place for the management and control of funds are followed by the staff and partners in implementing the different program activities.
• Hold monthly staff meetings to plan and reflect on program roll out.
• Financial management – Ensure excellent financial management and accountability in line with SCI policy guidelines.

MEAL and Program Reporting.

• Ensure timely and quality program design and study processes which include assessments, baseline, research and evaluations
• Ensure that the program adheres to and meets all quality benchmarks
• Work with technical coordinators, MEAL team and Member Technical advisors to define a learning agenda
• Lead pause- and reflect activities to understand what is working well and what adaptations may be needed to achieve project results
• Ensure accountability mechanisms are integrated into all aspects of programme management structures including information sharing, beneficiary engagement (including children’s participation) and that excellent collection and management of complaints and feedback is conducted in close collaboration with MEAL staff.
• Ensure regular monitoring of program results, documentation of programme, case studies, lessons learnt, significant changes and best practices and coordinating, learning and reflection meetings/sessions
• Ensure functional program monitoring and evaluation systems is in place
• Ensure timely submission of high-quality monthly program progress and end of fiscal year reports which are in accordance with the program reporting schedule and formats/guidelines.
• Ensure that issues raised in the reports are comprehensively addressed in a timely manner
• Ensure that the Strengthening Health Systems to Provide Life Saving Maternal, Newborn, and Child, Health and Nutrition Services is aligned with and meet MEAL requirements, CO KPIs, essential standards and policies.
• Contribute to the analysis, synthesis, and reporting of program outputs and results in close collaboration with the M&E team and ensure incorporation of lessons-learned into ongoing implementation.
• Submit routine reports for project in line with project’s reporting requirements

Advocacy, Networking and influencing

• Guides and spearheads district level advocacy for children and other vulnerable groups in the Impact Area
• Liaise with PDQ to identify, develop and lead local level advocacy in line with organizational advocacy strategy
• Builds strategic networks, coalitions and alliances on key advocacy issues.
• Develops a data base of strategic networks and partnerships for advocacy.
• Ensure Advocacy for children integrated in programme and project operations and plans.
• Develop strategies for collaborations within the district.
• Document lessons and learning’s from advocacy engagements
• Work closely with partners in the districts including the District Health Office, District Education Office to ensure synergy between the country strategy plan and district plans and intervention in addition to organization visibility.
• This includes attending key and agrees upon district and Sub- national and national meetings for purpose of advocacy.

Child Safeguarding 

• Work with Child Safeguarding Focal persons to ensure all CO staff are trained in CS
• Closely review documents and agreements to ensure all partners, contractors, visitors, volunteers etc. comply with CS and code of conduct standards

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in Social Sciences, Public Health, Nursing or other related Health degree
•  Post graduate qualification i Public Health or related field will be an added advantage
•  Minimum of 5 -7 years of experience in an in leading implementation and managing integrated health programs at regional or national level, with a specific focus on maternal newborn and child health programs, and or District Health systems strengthening programs
• Previous working relationships within donor funded programs and with key multilateral agencies, and bilateral donors.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• Degree in Social Sciences, Public Health, Nursing or other related Health degree
• Minimum of more than five years of project management experience at mid-level management or higher   Previous working relationships within donor funded programs and with key multilateral agencies, and bilateral donors.
• Demonstrated ability to work within a multi-faceted health development program in collaboration with MOH personnel at provincial, district and health facility levels, and local partners.
• demonstrated track record in approaches for improving access to MNCH services in underserved communities
• experience with scale up of high impact MNCH interventions at sub national level
• experience and demonstrated results on using effective approaches for strengthening capacity at subnational level to deliver quality MNCH services
• experience with use of data/evidence for priority setting / decision making and targeting interventions
• experience and skills in managing and motivating teams to deliver results
• Demonstrable financial, planning and budget management skills a MUST.
• Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
• Demonstrated knowledge of international and local policies and frameworks relating to their thematic area is necessary.
• Certification or proven experience in project management methodology
• Strong record of fostering new and effective partnerships, team building and collaborative implementation
• Proven ability to develop and oversee implementation of program work plans and coordinate/manage field staff implementing these plans.
• Ability to work in a complex environment with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to perform.
• Ability to work independently and as a team leader/member with diverse team of partners and counterparts.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (oral, written and presentation).
• Excellent computer skills and experience working with Microsoft Office applications.
• English fluency (verbal and written) required.
• Proven leadership, strategic thinking, organizational, team-building, and representational skills.
• Strong knowledge of the Zambian health system.
• Previous experience working in Western Province

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

QUALIFIED APPLICANTS SHOULD ONLY ATTACH A COVER LETTER AND AN UPDATED CV.

The closing date for receipt of applications is Wednesday 28^th May 2025. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Save the Children reserves the right to re advertise if suitable applicants are not found.

Save the Children is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer that does not engage in any practices which discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, colour, religion, gender, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status and we will never ask that you pay for anything as part of the selection process or thereafter.