Chief of Party | ReliefWeb

Employment Opportunity with MJAP-

Chief of Party

Makerere University Joint AIDS Program (MJAP) is a Company limited by guarantee under Makerere University. MJAP emerged from the Mulago-Mbarara Teaching Hospitals Joint AIDS Program (MJAP) which was established in November 2004 under the then Makerere University Faculty of Medicine with funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief(PEPFAR) and technical assistance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

MJAP seeks a qualified individual for a position of Chief of Party for an anticipated five year USAID Comprehensive HIV/AIDS and Maternal Newborn and Child Health(MNCH) project whose overall goal is to contribute to the national efforts of increasing coverage, access and utilization of quality health care services in the Karamoja region. The purpose of the project is to expand the provision of quality and comprehensive HIV and MNCH services to 70% of the people in the region with focus on women, children and People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).

MJAP is an equal opportunity employer and is currently looking for a competent individual to fill the position ofChief of Party

Role Definition:Working closely with USAID, the Chief of Party will set a broad vision for and provide strategic direction to the project, and shall be responsible for overall management, including: setting technical direction; partner relations; compliance and finance management; and reporting. The COP will also have principal responsibility for assuring that all project goals and objectives are met in a timely fashion.

Reports to: Executive Director

Key Result Areas

· Provide leadership, management, and strategic direction to all project activities (technical, administrative & financial) to ensure the efficient use of resources and achievement of results and project expectations.

· Guide senior technical staff and build project team, including project subcontractors and short-term technical assistance, to ensure the responsiveness and quality of all project work.

· Ensure effective planning, management and timely implementation of the project in collaboration with USAID, partners, key stakeholders, and others.

· Establish and maintain close working relationships, partnerships, and coordination with the Government of Uganda, Ministry of Health, USAID-funded partners, and other stakeholders and partners, including non-USG donors.

· Represent the project at joint meetings with the clients, partners, and national collaborators to further the implementation and sustainability of project activities.

· Oversee development of annual work-plans, budgets, reports, and other deliverables, ensuring all are on time and of high quality.

· Oversee monitoring and evaluation activities in accordance with the M&E plan, responding to the project results and the donor’s strategic objectives.

· Oversee project finance and administrative processes and ensure that project budget projections, expenditure, tracking and reporting are in accordance with USAID requirements, procedures and practices.

· Troubleshoot to prevent and resolve potential problems and review outputs for quality control; ensure quality of all project activities.

· Establish processes and capabilities to ensure documentation and dissemination of project activities/results.

· Coordinate with MJAP senior management to assure that managerial and administrative matters are communicated and activities comply with the provisions of the contract and with USAID regulations.

· Ensure compliance with USAID rules, regulations and policies while meeting project/program targets

· Liaise frequently and regularly with a variety of stakeholders including USAID staff, project participants, implementing partners, local, regional and national governments, international organizations and donors as well as staff in similar projects.

· Attend local, regional and international meetings, as required.

Person Specifications

• An advanced degree (Masters or PhD) in a relevant field such as Medicine, Public Health, social sciences.


• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible management or technical experience in public health sector development projects including comprehensive HIV/AIDS services.


• At least 5 years’ experience in related COP, DCOP or senior leadership roles highly preferred.

· Strong technical expertise in health & HIV/AIDS, including at least five years applied experience in HIV/AIDS program implementation;

· Successful experience working with USAID and USAID-funded projects and organizations;

· Significant knowledge of USAID public health programming objectives and regulations;

· Excellent understanding and expertise with reporting to USG, budgeting, procurement, and project management procedures;

· Proven ability to lead and manage multiple teams and ability to foster strong and effective relationships with local and international partners;

· A good understanding of the overall Karamoja Health and HIV/AIDS Integrated program goals and objectives

· Substantial experience in understanding complexities of post-conflict health programming, gender issues, local development and health systems strengthening

· Extensive experience of building in-country led programs is vital

· Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;

• Experience managing interdisciplinary, multicultural and gender balanced teams.


• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint required.


• Demonstatred leadership skills and experience in interacting with other project, host country government at local and national level and international agencies


• Ability to spend significant periods of time (insert %) in Karamoja leading programme activities.