Chief of Party, Advocacy for Better Health Project - 2015

PATH is an international organization that drives transformative innovation to save lives and improve health, especially among women and children. We accelerate innovation across five platforms—vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, devices, and system and service innovations—that harness our entrepreneurial insight, scientific and public health expertise, and passion for health equity. By mobilizing partners around the world, we take innovation to scale, working alongside countries primarily in Africa and Asia to tackle their greatest health needs. Together, we deliver measurable results that disrupt the cycle of poor health.

In Uganda, PATH is implementing various projects including the Advocacy for Better Health Project funded by USAID. This five year project which begun in June 2014 aims to improve accessibility, availability and quality of health and social services in 35 target districts. The project empowers citizens to productively engage with duty bears for improved accountability and service delivery.

We seek to recruit a Chief of Party who will be responsible for representing the project and providing overall leadership in technical, program, and financial management, serves as the liaison with USAID, and host country government agencies including local governments, development partners, and civil society organizations including community based organizations to provide day-to-day technical and managerial guidance. The COP has the overall responsibility to meet the Project’s strategic objectives, to supervise all the activities undertaken by PATH and its subcontractors in the name of the project, and to provide direction to both technical and administrative aspects of the Project. The COP will promote, articulate, and ensure a common program vision and strategy among the partner and local organizations. S/he will be responsible for the development and timely implementation of integrated workplans, reports, and project and staff performance monitoring and will work closely with senior Project staff members on project and subproject management and administration to meet project responsibilities in accordance with USAID regulations, provide day-to-day technical advice, and routine troubleshooting and assistance to meet PATH’s, Government’s and USAID’s requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

Provides strategic direction of all project activities. Develops and updates the project strategic plan, ensuring that programmatic directions are technically sound, evidence-based, and consistent with USAID priorities.
Ensures that project performance objectives and mandates are implemented in a timely fashion and meet the highest quality standards.
Serves as the senior representative for the Project to USAID, Path, host country government agencies, development partners, and civil society organizations. Cultivates and strengthens positive, productive relationships and ensures that PATH is consistently viewed as an effective implementing partner achieving project targets.
Together with other members of the leadership team, seeks to leverage non-USAID funds (such as multinational corporations and foundations) to support expanded program activities.
Directly supervises senior Project staff members such as the Deputy Chief of Party/Advocacy and Partnership Specialist, , Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist and Capacity Development Specialist.
Ensures systems are established to measure accomplishments, track work in progress and use of project resources, and evaluate impact of services provided by implementing partners.
Works closely with Project staff, and with implementing agencies and their respective long-term advisors, to design and operationalize an annual project planning cycle, which formulates comprehensive, integrated annual project workplans and budgets.
In collaboration with the Finance and Grants Manager, establish and maintain the ongoing financial and grants operations, ensuring compliance with PATH’s policy and USAID grant provisions. Conduct monthly reviews to ensure accountability of all project activities as well as the accurate and timely reporting of finance deliverables.
Works with Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist to provide leadership and direction to M&E strategies, frameworks, plans and indicators to capture project performance and results. Leads a periodic implementation review process to monitor progress and to identify specific actions that may be needed to achieve expected results.
Manages and coordinates activities of sub-grantees and other partners to create synergy and ensure that project responsibilities are carried out in accordance with donor regulations.
Selects, hires, and supervises staff; assigns roles and responsibilities, manages performance in consultation with HR.
In coordination with the PATH Contracts Officer, contract with and manage local individuals/organizations for identified tasks according to donor and PATH procedures. Negotiate consultancy agreements and develop capacity of local partners in mandated program areas.
Ensure that appropriate security guidelines and procedures are established, maintained, updated regularly, and adhered to by staff. Monitor the security situation and provide leadership for staff in emergencies.
Reports to PATH’s Country Director and collaborates closely with Headquarters financial, technical, and operations officers by providing accurate and timely reporting and updates on the project progress.

Required Skills:

Strong interpersonal skills and organizational skills.
Highly skilled in coaching, mentoring and capacity-building of team members and partners.
Proven ability to work with and manage a diverse international team and proven record of excellent management, leadership, decision-making, and interpersonal skills.
Proven ability to develop and monitor project budgets.
Knowledge of USAID financial management and reporting requirements is highly desirable.
Excellent representational and communication skills, written and oral proficiency in English, and verbal communication skills in one or more local languages.
Excellent knowledge of Microsoft software packages: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook.
Demonstrated team player with visionary leadership.
Ability to travel up to 25% of the time.**
Required Experience:**

A Minimum 10 years of experience in development, working with local governments, civil society and communities, minimum of five (5) years’ experience managing USAID-funded health programming, especially with a focus on capacity building, advocacy, community mobilization, behavior change, and/or health systems strengthening at COP level, experience interacting with host country government agencies including local governments, development partners, and civil society organizations including community based organizations, experience in developing program work-plans, budgets, managing implementation, staff and short-term technical assistance, past experience of working with USG supported projects and knowledge of financial rules and regulations at a senior level.

Please apply on or before 4th September 2015.

You must currently have legal authorization to work in Uganda.

PATH is dedicated to diversity and is an equal opportunity employer.