Program Officer

General summary/purpose:

Program Officer I will work under the guidance of the Program Officer II, Management and Capacity Building PMU-PMA and the Project Director for PMU-PMA, to provide overall project management support for PMA, and build management capacity of local implementing partners. The Program Officer I will support the POII to provide overall project management for PMA ensuring that good project management practices and tools are being used to stay on scope, schedule, and budget for the core and country supported activities. PMA will be implemented across multiple countries and will scale up over time to additional countries. The PO I, will take the lead on management of country implementation in at least three geographies with potential additional countries as the project scales up. The Program Officer will also monitor overall management of the sub-awardees and build the long-term management capacity of local organizations.

The PO I, will also need to work closely with Jhpiego PMA staff in-country, Jhpiego Program Officers, Senior Program Coordinators, Finance Managers, sub-awardees, and the staff at Bill & Melinda Gates Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health which will lead the technical portion of PMA.

Specific duties & responsibilities:

Management

• Support Project Management trainings for PMA staff
• Support development of PMA Project Charter and development of other project management tools (e.g., detailed implementation plans, risk registers, change logs, procurement plans, etc.)
• Keep core project management tools updated in commonly shared platform
• Provide administrative and on-site support to annual work planning meetings with PMA staff and in-country partners (developing agenda, identifying locations, developing presentations etc.)
• Maintain invitations and documentation for routine PMA management meetings for Core and country level POs, SPCs Finance Managers to track implementation against country level work plans and budget and make course corrections as needed
• Ensure Project management files are maintained for PMA
• Conduct after action reviews and document lessons learned
• Review and escalate quality concerns (technical, project management, financial management, compliance)
• Support PMA communication needs
• Maintain the overall PMA workplan
• Manage PMA Core close out process according to internal processes and donor guidelines
• Additional assignments as assigned

Capacity Building for Partners

• Support the implementation of capacity building plans including: leading project management start-up workshops in countries, providing on-site and virtual coaching, supporting in-country PMA staff to provide support, etc.
• Monitor sub-awardees spending in select countries and progress against detailed implementation plans
• Track and manage that PMA and sub-awardees are receiving their contracts and payments on time
• Track and manage that PMA sub-awardees are meeting project management standards
• Review and escalate quality concerns for sub-awardees (technical, project management, financial management, compliance)
• Ensure that sub-awardees are appropriately closed out
• Additional assignments as assigned

Minimum qualifications (mandatory):

• Proficient French language skills
• Advanced degree in public health or related field with 3 years’ experience OR BA and 5 years’ experience
• 3+ years’ experience supporting international health projects, including working or studying internationally
• Experience with workplan development, reviewing quarterly and annual reports, providing budget inputs and program close out
• Certified in PM@Jhpiego (Jhpiego’s internal project management curricula) or PMD Pro (or will be within 60 days of hire)
• Understands basic financial management principles and budgeting
• Strong understanding of at least 2 technical areas in which Jhpiego works
• Experience with Office 365 with strong Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, TeamSites
• Strong organizational skills
• Very good writing skills
• Team player
• Good communication skills with diverse groups
• Problem solving skills
• Ability to travel 30% of the time