Deputy Deployment Manager

ABOUT VILLAGEREACH

VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone, so that each person has the health care needed to thrive. We develop solutions that improve equity and access to primary health care**.** This includes making sure products are available when and where they are needed and primary health care services are delivered to the most under-reached. Radical collaboration with governments, the private sector and other partners strengthen our ability to scale and sustain these solutions. Our work increases access to quality health care for more than 58 million people in Africa. VillageReach in incorporated in Washington State and has offices in Seattle (USA), Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Mozambique.

Summary

VillageReach is searching for a qualified individual to fill the role of Deputy Deployment Manager (DDM) for its mHealth program in Cote d’Ivoire. The employee will be based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, with frequent domestic travels. This is an eight-month contract with the possibility of extension. The DDM will provide day-to-day support to the field deployment of a mhealth solution. He/She will assist the Program lead with project oversight, coordination and reporting. He/she will be responsible for developing and updating operational planning and will ensure all project and deployment plans are timely and efficiently executed. The DDM will facilitate transparent and timely communication between all partners through weekly coordination meetings, quarterly meetings, reports, and ad hoc meetings as necessary and ensure the project is properly documented and reported to proper audience.

Description

Gavi, the vaccine alliance, Orange S.A., a global telecommunications leader, and the Ministry of Health of Cote d’Ivoire joined forces to improve immunization coverage in Cote d’Ivoire by leveraging the increasing prevalence of mobile technology. The three partners, supported by their technical partner VillageReach, conceived the M-Vaccin project that aims at developing and deploying a customized mobile application in targeted health districts identified by the Programme Elargi de Vaccination (PEV). Since December 2019, the mobile application is deployed at the district-level, sends SMS reminders to mothers of personalized vaccines schedules and allows health workers to monitor immunization activities with the digital registration of patients.

VillageReach is serving in a management capacity on this project and is providing overall supervision to ensure adherence to partnership agreements and project plans and technical support in planning for and ensuring deployment of M-Vaccin.

The DDM will provide day-to-day support for the field deployment of the M-Vaccin solution.He/she will assist the program lead on a day-to-day basis. He/she will support client-facing project managers, business, and technical analysts by contributing in maintaining oversight of the overall project resources, schedule, key milestones, and deliverables. The candidate will work directly with technical partners, final users, and the EPI team at the central, district and health facility levels with specific leadership for the field deployment of M-Vaccin. He/she will be responsible for the following:

Project Management (60%)

• Contribute to District-level deployment, under the supervision of the deployment manager, by working closely with regional authorities and districts to meet project objectives. Work with Deployment Manager to identify and resolve issues with an impact on Project Schedule, Budget and Quality.
• Work closely with team members, project partners, EPI partners, national and regional authorities, and districts health workers to meet project objectives. Update priorities and needs necessary throughout project life.
• Work closely with Orange team in deployment to ensure a close integration of all work plans affecting regions and districts.
• Monitor project implementation and refine project strategies and plans.
• Organize weekly coordination meetings for the project team

Project Management (5%)

• Build a strong relationship with Orange by working with Orange’s deployment teams, in coordination with the Project Manager.
• Contribute to establish a culture of trust for VillageReach – build on excellence, collaboration and information sharing among partners as well as strong governance and accountability to the project.
• Represent VillageReach in partner meetings, technical working groups, committees, government forums, and conferences.

Technical (25%)

• Work closely with users in the field to implement a troubleshooting mechanism and change management strategies for the effective use of the application
• Work with the VillageReach team and with Orange to ensure that appropriate training materials are adjusted
• Support the Deployment Manager in developing appropriate deployment strategies based on early deployment experience
• Provide technical support to the EPI for the equipment (tablet) reception, management and replacement
• Contribute to the development of technical documents such as, operational deployment plans.

Monitoring and Evaluation (10%)

• Provide oversight for monitoring of the project results by tracking and communicating key performance indicators, conducting periodic data quality analyses, ensuring timely and accurate reporting of results, and making recommendations based on the findings.
• Contribute to the evaluation of project implementation according to M&E plan
• Ensure the operationalization of the M&E plan
• Contribute to the implementation of the impact evaluation

The principal accountabilities are not meant to be an exhaustive list of tasks. The need for flexibility is required and the job holder is expected to carry out any other related duties that are within the employee’s skills and abilities whenever reasonably instructed by the Program Lead.

Competencies:

The following competencies reflect what is expected of all VillageReach employees; including examples of how one might demonstrate each of these competencies in one’s role.

• Personal Motivation and Drive: Is self-directed in one’s approach to work, but asks for help when needed; holds oneself accountable; undertakes self-development activities; seeks to build and master new skills; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities within the organization
• Collaboration & Effective Communication: Establishes and maintains effective relations with coworkers, partners & stakeholders and external parties; works collaboratively with others to accomplish organizational and team goals and objectives; works actively to resolve conflicts; expresses ideas and thoughts effectively; selects and uses appropriate communication methods and maintains meaningful communication with virtual coworkers and other parties to keep them informed
• Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Takes personal responsibility for and supports others across the organization in creating and sustaining a diverse work environment where individuals are welcomed, valued, respected and supported; personally committed to attaining cultural competency including self-awareness of one’s own attitudes about culture and cross-cultural interactions; exhibits the willingness and ability to engage openly and respectfully around issues of race, colonialism, identity and culture; upholds equity in access to sharing of information, ideas, and opportunities throughout VillageReach
• Commitment to Excellence: Produces a high output of work, both in terms of quality and quantity; looks for ways to improve and promote quality; monitors work to ensure quality; has a personal commitment to the mission of VillageReach
• Solution Orientation & Innovation: Focuses on results and desired outcomes and how to best achieve them; gets the job done; sees opportunities for creative problem-solving while staying within the parameters of good practice; sees old problems in new ways and has novel approaches to solving those problems; contributes original and/or resourceful ideas to their area of responsibility; is able to consider and articulate risks and consequences of proposed innovations and factor these into decision-making

REQUIREMENTS

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• A Master’s degree or higher in project management, public policy, resource management, public administration, public health, ICT or related field;
• 5+ years of experience working in development or private organization, with familiarity of donor reporting mechanisms (Gavi, USAID, Bill Gates etc..) and with a focus on health systems strengthening programs
• 5+ years of experience in Health System Strengthening Initiatives: Experience working with Cote d’Ivoire ’s health system and working with a variety of stakeholders, including ministries of health and health facility staff, in the areas of program design, implementation or management. Must have strong understanding of the service delivery level and working in rural environments.
• Experience in Project/Program management: Familiar with program and project management principles and strategies.
• Coalition-Building. Experience in working with government, donors, NGO and development agency in Africa to influence change.
• Resource management: The candidate will assist the program lead to ensure appropriate resources (human, finance, material) are allocated for project execution. He will report on any constraints and risks associated with project.
• Communication and interpersonal skills. Strong communication and cross-cultural management. Persuasive written and verbal communication. Open mindedness to accommodate the non-traditional mix of disciplines within the team and interpersonal skills to work effectively in partnership with both the private and public sectors and academics on the project and externally.
• Writing and analytical skills. Superb writing skills and the ability to assemble, distill and analyze all necessary information for decision-making, presentations and reports. The DDM will contribute to the development of project deliverables and documentation, including the solution toolkit, competency transfer plan, deployment tools, reports and others.
• Problem solving, creative thinking, and analytical skills. Ability to anticipate and make smart and consensual decisions under pressure. Ability and confidence to identify and recommend creative solutions to a diverse group of stakeholders. Identifies both opportunities and needs for change. Ability to identify issues or problems and provide a respective solution that is feasible and acceptable to the local context. Explores and shares innovative best practices with others.
• Commitment to the mission. Passion for the mission, including strong commitment to global health, and a belief in the role of private sector solutions to public health systems.
• Personal qualities. Energy, intelligence, diplomacy, proactivity, sound practical judgment and the ability to work independently without supervision.
• Digital health skills would be a plus

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Other Qualifications:

• Comply with VillageReach’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.
• Ivorian national, lawful resident or possessing a legal work permit.
• Excellent command of Microsoft Office 2016 or 2013 (with focus on Excel, Word and Powerpoint). A test will be conducted to assess.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in French and English.
• Solid programmatic, financial, and organizational planning skill is highly desirable.
• Ability to work collaboratively and collegially in an inter-agency and geographically dispersed team.
• Ability to be self-directed, prioritize and perform multiple tasks, problem-solve, and work under pressure.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally.

Environment and Physical Demands

VillageReach has no private offices, employees work in a shared, open environment with task and conference rooms accessible to employees for privacy and meetings. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

The position is an eight-month contract with the possibility of extension. This is an immediate hire and therefore resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis. To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter to our online portal: http://www.villagereach.org/join-us/

SAFEGUARDING:

VillageReach is committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults, and beneficiaries with whom it engages. We expect everyone working with us to share this commitment through our code of conduct.All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which may include criminal records. VillageReach participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, in line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION:

VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. We hire people into the established range based on one’s experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history.