Programme Manager Health & Nutrition

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is a private, non-denominational, international development agency established in 1967. It seeks sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy & ill-health with special emphasis on the needs of rural communities in mountainous &other resource poor regions, primarily in Asia, Africa &the Middle East. Its main areas of focus are education, health, rural development, environment &strengthening civil society.

AKF(P) is seeking a high calibre professional for the position of “Programme Manager, Health & Nutrition” reporting to the Director Health & Nutrition. This position is Islamabad based with frequent travel to the project areas.

Background

To shape the strategic direction for health & nutrition programmes for AKF(P), ensuring top-quality programmatic implementation & financial accountability. In addition, the role is critical to deepening &expanding partnerships internally & externally with a range of stakeholders &leveraging these relationships to maintain a stable resource base for health &nutrition programmatic implementation. 

Manager Health will support the senior leadership of the AKDN network in ensuring coherence & synergy between the strategies & Health programmes of AKF(P) & those of other AKDN agencies in Pakistan.

Duties & Responsibilities

Strategy

• Contribute to shaping the direction of AKF(P) programmes and positioning as a prominent development organization in Pakistan.
• In liaison with other AKDN agencies & relevant AKF sector colleagues, develop a health & nutrition strategy for AKF(P) that reflects the Global AKF(P) health & nutrition strategy, and alligned with the Government & AKDN priorities in Pakistan.
• Foster, sustain and strengthen linkages amongst AKDN assets, institutions & programmes, Government, other actors involved in health systems and population health.
• Strengthen networks, leadership and effective positioning as a health leader at the country level to identify opportunities to influence, shape & drive the national health agenda & be a catalyst for broader AKDN impact.

Programme:

• Ensure effective operationalization of the AKF(P) health & nutrition programme strategy.
• Responsible for the overall day-to-day management of the AKF (P)'s health department, its staff and its programmatic activities.
• Provide evidence-informed health & nutrition technical guidance to the AKF programme and implementing agencies within AKDN and externally; ensure top-quality technical support for program implementation, oversight and quality assurance.  
• Design and develop new programmes in coordination and consultation with concerned departments, AKDN agencies, Global Programme Team and other stakeholders and ensure alignment of the programme with the AKDN strategic direction & overall goal i.e. Improving Quality of Life.
• To be on top of the global health & nutrition evidence base, and local and global innovations and to ensure this knowledge is regularly refreshed, reflected in active and future programmatic activities of AKDN & shared with relevant staff and field i.e., active knowledge transfer.
• Lead monitoring, evaluation, research and learning of health & nutrition programmes and facilitating donor and external evaluations, providing input on MERL design and implementation, coordination with stakeholders and articulation of results.
• Responsible for the dissemination of project achievements, research findings, lessons learned, best practices, case studies, etc. within AKDN and to a broader audience in collaboration with the AKF communications team.
• Identify capacities needed (staff, Government and partner skill sets and competencies) to achieve programmatic and organizational goals.

Financial

• Accountable for the financial management of AKF(P) administered funds both within AKF(P) and funds deployed to sister AKDN agencies. Oversee management of health programmatic budgets, ensure compliance for all programme grants and contracts; work with Policy and Partnership and finance team to implement/improve financial tracking tools.  
• Organize timely, periodic programme and financial reviews with partners to ensure on-time and on-budget implementation of programmes and grants.  

Stakeholder engagement:

• In collaboration with AKF(P) Donor Units, the Global Lead, Health & Nutrition & the Partnerships & Policy Team, contribute to deepening and broadening relations locally, regionally, and internationally with health & nutrition donors through strategic dialogue and exploration of areas for potential new or expansion of partnerships.
• To work closely with Policy & Partnerships, Finance, AKDN agencies, and AKF(P) units & make efforts for resource mobilization by developing high-quality concept papers and proposals for health & nutrition.
• To represent AKF(P) in various key development forums & external meetings, including policy fora, roundtables & working group meetings, & coordinate external relations across the network.
• Conduct mapping of health sector stakeholders, design & develop stakeholder relationship strategy & ensure a robust relationship with all stakeholders.

Required Qualification & Experience

• The incumbent must have a strong background in Health Sciences with a minimum degree of MBBS, Public Health, Health Policy/Systems/Management, & Population Health, Life Science or another related science field from a well-reputed and recognized university.
• The incumbent must have at least 7 years of relevant experience in the design, implementation, management, monitoring & evaluation of high scale & quality health programmes & systems, with expertise in policy analysis.
• The candidate must have solid field-based experience & be able to engage field teams on practical, operational solutions and effective stakeholder management skills.
• The candidate must have optimal knowledge and skills in project/programme and financial management, and budgeting and can demonstrate a high level of monitoring and evaluation processes and systems, especially those in the context of health development programs.
• Candidate should have past experience of working with donor-funded programmes and grant management, strong coordination & stakeholder management experience of successfully managing multiple partners & stakeholders.
• Experience of working in multi-cultural environments and administering, managing and implementing donor-funded programmes is desirable.
• Candidates having outstanding writing skills, good knowledge of MS Office, Analytical tools and packages, flexibility to travel and ability to work in a diverse team environment are encouraged to apply. This is not an Expatriate position.
• AKF (P) offers a competitive remuneration package & conducive working environment. The recruitment, selection policy &procedures reflect our commitment to equal opportunity &the safeguarding of children, vulnerable adults, beneficiaries, partners, community members &employees in accordance with AKF(P)’s Safeguarding policy & AKDN Code of Ethics. Females are encouraged to apply.
• The deadline for the applications is June 06, 2023. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.