Senior Manager Health Program

Background/IRC Summary:  The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

IRC has been working in Pakistan for over 30 years, and manages and delivers large, complex programs to meet the needs in health, education, protection, environmental health and livelihoods for displaced, poor and disaster affected communities. IRC works in partnership with local government and non-governmental organizations and currently works in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces.

Job Overview/Summary: Senior Manager Health Program in conjunction with the Health Coordinator ensures that FP-PAC program technical goals, objectives and policies are successfully implemented and monitored, the prioritized technical sectors/areas are included into the response and that programs develop appropriately. The Senior Manager Health Program oversees the technical or sector aspects of the Health Response, ensuring that technical programs are integrated where appropriate.

Major Responsibilities: Actively participate in all aspects of the overall IRC Health program with a focus on timely and quality results, teamwork, participation, empowerment, accountability, and customer focus. The incumbent will work with numerous counterparts, implementing partners, and technical experts. Major duties as well as technical, programming, and management responsibilities are described below;

Management Responsibilities

·         Act as Technical Representative managing health care/FP-PAC activities as required to ensure performance: review annual work plans, narrative reports and sub-contractor/grantee documents; develop/monitor budgeting and fiscal accountability; monitor short term technical assistance; prepare analyses and documentation required to obligate funds, and initiate and/or make any necessary amendments required for activity implementation.

·         Create harmony and improve team dynamics in all health team members.

·         Act as Activity Manager for IRC working in family/planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) as required: develop/review scopes of work, annual budgets, and work plans; monitor program performance; prepare analyses and documentation required to obligate funds.

·         Ensure timely progress towards planned outputs and results; keep supervisor and other Health staff appraised of progress and issues; make recommendations to solve problems, and take the lead in implementing agreed upon actions.

·         Participate in activity conceptualization and design; write and edit Activity Approval documents, program descriptions and statements of work; prepare activity memos and justifications; lead or participate on Technical Evaluation Committees as required.

·         Assist in the development and refinement of benchmarks and indicators to assess the family/planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) and program progress and impact.

Programming Responsibilities

·         Provide analysis and written content for IRC country sector and country strategy documents on FP/RH.

·         Collect, review, analyses and report Health projects’ data for annual planning and reporting documents; respond to information requests from all sources; guide drafting public affairs materials as needed with relevant sectors.

·         Monitor all aspects of family/planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) implementation including holding regular meetings with implementing partners/stakeholders, reviewing and providing comments on annual work plans and semi-annual reports and annual reports, and undertaking regular site visits to ensure quality and performance.

·         Ensure that mitigate environmental components designed for the activity are being implemented effectively

·         Verify that recipient activities conform to the terms and conditions of the award

·         Ensure that assets are safeguarded against waste, loss, unauthorized use, or misappropriation

·         Check validity of performance data acquisition, and ensure that the data to be reported to HQ/TU fulfils quality standards for validity, integrity, precision, reliability and timeliness

·         Lead in preparing written analyses, trip reports, briefing materials, activity descriptions, press releases, speeches, success stories, and other documents as required.

Technical Responsibilities

·         As IRC’s technical expert, serve as principle advisor to Health management and the Health Coordinator for all Health Program issues.

·         Stay up to date with international and local state-of-the-art Health technical approaches; analyse and interpret policy, strategy, and technical documents to ensure IRC’s Health activities are aligned with and integrating state-of-the-art practices.

·         Develop and maintain an extensive network of key public health contacts with a focus on FP/RH and Environmental Health.

·         Represent IRC in sectorial technical working groups and coordination meetings in support to Health Coordinator; inform the development of FP/RH policy, strategy, and technical documents as required

·         Serve as the link between IRC’s FP/RH activities and the District/Provincial teams.

·         Coordinate with TU/HQ and Donor staff as a backup of Health Coordinator.

·         Ensure synergy and linkages between FP/RH activities and other program elements including Maternal and Newborn Care, Child Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation; ensure synergies and linkages with other IRC programs.

·         Review and provide technical comments and recommendations on scopes of work, work plans, and reports pertaining to PHC/MNCH/Nutrition, FP/RH and Nutrition; ensure synergy, linkages, and complementarity between the IRC Primary Health Care and FP/RH program activities and those of other actors working in the country (Government of Pakistan, donors, local and international non-governmental organizations, private sector, etc.)

Operational Responsibilities

·         Review, update, manage budgets and use BVA for project management, cash forecast and budget tracking.

·         To supervise supply chain and financial activities at project level.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:  Health Coordinator Position directly supervises:  Service Quality Assurance Manager, Community Mobilization Managers, HIS Managers and relevant program staff

Indirect Reporting: Other Internal and/or external contacts: With IRC sector managers, Partners, representatives of Department of Health, DG health officer and partners in health cluster.

Job Requirements:

• Education: Health professional – Degree in MBBS recognized by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council is essential while MPH (preferred) for this role.

·         Work Experience: Strong Public health background with 4-5 years’ experience in health program management in medium-large scale health programs with INGO’s, UN agencies.

·         Prior experience of  family planning and Reproductive Health and emergencies

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

·         Capacity to develop, implement and analyze health assessments, develop and implement work plans, program/project budgets in excel sheets and financial management

·         High quality skills in training, monitoring and evaluation of health interventions.

·         Strong coordination skills with the ability to manage information (report writing and presentations).

Language Skills: 

·         Fluent, professional level speaking, reading and writing in English and Pashto. At this level, applicant should have:

·         Ability to speak using sufficient, structured and accurate vocabulary in formal conversation;

·         Ability to use the language to meet professional needs;

·         Ability to read and write at a normal speed and with almost complete comprehension of a variety of materials, unfamiliar subjects, styles and forms pertinent to the job needs.

Working Environment:  Works well in and promotes teamwork, flexible and able to handle pressure well.

Gender Equality: IRC recognizes that gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of our organizational mission. As such, IRC is committed to the promotion of gender equality in all aspects of our operations and programs. Our organizational policies, procedures and actions demonstrate this commitment.

Women candidates are highly encouraged to apply.