Deputy Chief of Party/Technical Director

DRS islooking for a Deputy Chief of Party/Technical Director for the five-year, USAID-funded Strengthening Integrated Health Services Activity (SIHSA) in Sierra Leone. The activity aims to advance and sustain improved health outcomes for Sierra Leoneans with a focus on, but not limited to children under five, pregnant and postpartum women, youth and especially adolescent girls, and women and children living in hard-to-reach areas with limited access to health services.

SIHSA seeks to build a sustainable and resilient health system response to improving access, quality and effectiveness of family planning (FP), reproductive health (RH), maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), adolescent health, and malaria services. In addition, SIHSA aims to strengthen communities’ active engagement for community-driven solutions to improve health outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

The Deputy Chief of Party/Technical Director (DCOP) will serve as the project’s technical leader, responsible for providing the vision and ensuring quality implementation of the project. The DCOP will support the Chief of Party (COP) as needed, acting as a delegate and carrying out tasks assigned to ensure proper management of the activity. Beyond technical responsibilities of leading the range of health system technical activities focused on maternal, newborn and child health, family planning, reproductive health, adolescent health, and malaria, the DCOP will manage the performance of senior and mid-level staff overseeing these technical activities, ensuring that there is a shared vision for project activities and outcomes, addressing implementation challenges and encouraging the sharing of best practices and project successes. The DCOP will have a key role in ensuring there is a culture of learning, knowledge exchange, innovation and capacity strengthening. The DCOP will also have a role in engaging with consortia partners, health system actors, USAID and national and district authorities. In collaboration with the COP, the position of DCOP will provide quality assurance of the project, providing programmatic and financial monitoring and oversight, ensuring program activities and deliverables are met in a timely and efficient manner alongside high-quality reporting.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in international development, public health, business or similar. Sufficient relevant work experience can be considered in lieu of a Masters qualification.
• At least 6 -8 years of experience implementing and managing donor-funded projects in developing countries and working in consortia.
• At least 5 years experience implementing health-strengthening projects of a similar scale/scope to SIHSA in the areas of maternal, newborn and child health, family planning, reproductive health, adolescent health, and malaria, in Sierra Leone or in other comparable developing country settings.
• Strong knowledge of the Sierra Leone health system and engagement with health system actors (Government, CSOs, Private Sector).
• Familiarity with the U.S. Government administrative, management and reporting procedures and systems.
• Ability to build strong relationships and partnerships across a range of diverse stakeholders.
• Strong oral and written communication and presentation skills in English are required.