Deputy Director & Technical Lead of CORE Group Partners Project Nigeria Secretariat

Hiring Organization: CORE Group, Inc. (based in USA)

Type of employment: Full Time – Consulting Contractor

Duration of contract: February 1, 2024 – September 29, 2024 (with the possibility of extension)

Reports to: Nigeria Secretariat Director (SD)

Background

The CORE Group Partners Project (CGPP), a USAID-funded polio eradication project, conducts community-based activities designed to strengthen supplemental polio immunization, routine polio immunization, and surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis, COVID-19, and priority zoonotic diseases in eleven countries: Ethiopia, Djibouti, DRC, India, South Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Angola, and Niger. The project operates through the CGPP Secretariat model, which coordinates a group of international NGOs in each focal country. Activities are implemented by individual US-based private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and local partners and overseen at the country-level by national secretariats. The project operates through more than 20,000 community volunteers who act as community mobilizers and promote childhood immunization, provide health education, and are active members of the community-based surveillance system. CGPP has pioneered several key polio eradication strategies including independent campaign monitoring, cross border collaboration, and the inclusion of civil society in polio eradication.

Purpose of consultancy

The Deputy Director of the CGPP Nigeria Secretariat will be based in Abuja and will support and strengthen the Secretariat and PVO/NGO partner operations in CGPP focus states. The position holder will a) ensure the quality and completeness of the CGPP’s program implementation and field operations; (b) ensure that CGPP field activities support program objectives and are consistent with global and national polio eradication and global health security strategies; (c) provide input/feedback into required modifications for capacity building, behavioral change communication (BCC) materials to the Secretariat Director and technical staff. She/he will be responsible for the management and supervision of CGPP field operations and communications and will oversee the development and implementation of project budgets and workplans. She/he will also support CGPP Nigeria Secretariat’s relationship with the CGPP partners and assist the Secretariat Director in providing rapid response through the expansion of NGO network, deployment of rapid response teams, and other key activities during cVDPV and wild polio outbreaks. She/he will oversee and track the implementation of interventions to address priority zoonotic diseases (PZD) and other vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) at the state level. She/he will also monitor and track community-based organization (CBO) budgets and ensure they align with approved work plans in addition to guiding the implementation of COVID-19 activities. The position holder is expected to ensure the gender aspects of CGPP are carefully planned, implemented, and monitored.

SPECIFIC TASKS

• Guide the development of the project’s technical priorities and strategic plan, ensuring that they contribute to quality, robust acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and PZD surveillance, effective supplemental polio immunization activities, and appropriate utilization of routine immunization services.
• Monitor partners’ adherence to the approved budgets and workplans and work with the SD to make any necessary program adjustments to ensure workplans are completed within the allotted budget and timelines.
• Monitor the field operations performed by the Secretariat, international non-governmental organizations (iNGOs), CBOs, PVO partner staff and make necessary program adjustments to ensure effective implementation and alignment with CGPP’s goal and objectives and the national polio eradication effort.
• Provide capacity building, supervision, and mentoring to the Secretariat staff and CGPP partners’ staff and ensure field staff at all levels receive appropriate training.
• Review and approve all capacity building workplans and training curricula developed by the secretariat technical staff and partners.
• Monitor trainings on AFP surveillance, routine immunization, social mobilization, communication, data collection, and reporting tools and techniques.
• Monitor progress toward CGPP polio eradication goals and strategies and propose necessary adjustments to ensure they contribute to the national and global eradication of polio and to the quality and sustainability of AFP surveillance and routine immunization services.
• Maintain close formal and informal networking and communications with national and international polio partners and stakeholders.
• Represent the interests of the CGPP and its partners in meetings with USAID and other donors and stakeholders, and report on those meetings to CGPP headquarters staff in absence of the Secretariat Director.
• Produce the Nigeria CGPP quarterly, semi-annual, annual reports, and other reports and ensure the timely completion of data updates. In addition, support the submission of at least one article per year for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
• Provide technical leadership for the global health security (GHS) and diphtheria activities including coordination of planning, implementation, and monitoring of activities.
• Mentor and support the program manager for GHS in the analysis of public health, animal health, wildlife, and environmental services to identify vertical and horizontal linkages useful to support community-based zoonotic disease field surveillance, strengthening of One Health coordination mechanisms, and work collaboratively to maximize efficiencies and cooperation.
• Support project monitoring, data quality assurance, evaluation, and surveillance activities and guide the interpretation of the analyzed data.
• Develop the annual secretariat budget and work plan.
• Monitor the implementation of the workplan to ensure activities are on course and track the secretariat expenditure pattern by reviewing monthly and quarterly financial reports. Make recommendations for corrective action if required.
• Monitor field operations of all CGPP partners to ensure that their activities are supported by capacity building efforts of the Secretariat and CGPP PVO partner staff.
• Participate in the hiring of Secretariat staff when necessary.
• Provide technical assistance to Secretariat staff and partners to conduct operational research in relation to polio, routine immunization, GHS, surveillance, other emerging infectious diseases, and to publish or present the findings of this work in reputable journals as well as in international conferences or forums.
• Represent the Secretariat Director in technical or programmatic meetings as appropriate.
• Meet monthly with CBO partners, in collaboration with the Finance Officer, to monitor and provide support for liquidation reporting processes.
• Serve as a liaison between the CGPP Secretariat and critical stakeholders at the sub-national level.
• Serve as a resource person for USAID’s Mission in Nigeria for technical/programmatic matters on polio, GHS, and other emerging infectious diseases.
• Support the gender lead to mainstream gender in all project activities.
• Support the MEAL lead in implementation of project monitoring and evaluation activities and the use of data for program decision making.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Very good relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally.
• Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams. Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented, and results-oriented.
• Very good communication and presentation skills especially presenting briefs to donors and representing an organization at conferences and other forums.

Preferred Qualifications

• Recognized technical experience and qualifications in Immunization specifically and Primary Health Care Systems strengthening in general.
• Demonstrated experience of successful management, including management of functions of complex, multi-activity projects.
• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.
• Experience with gender mainstreaming in health programs.
• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Required Languages – English language

Desired – Hausa, and any other local language (Fulfulde or Kanuri) as applicable is an added advantage.

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 30% to 50% of the time.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Supervises some of the secretariat staff as assigned.

Working Relationships

Internal: Secretariat Director, Secretariat staff, Team Leads, State Team Leads, PM-GHS, Surveillance Officer, MEAL Manager

External: USAID, WHO, UNICEF, CDC, Nigeria CDC, AFENET, Rotary, State Ministry of Health, State PHC Board, State EOC, State level partner Team Leads, FAO-ECTAD and Breakthrough ACTION.

Qualifications

• Medical Doctor, Master’s degree or Ph.D. degree in public health, infectious diseases, social sciences or related technical field.
• Minimum of 10 years’ working experience (with the last four years preferably in a management position) supervising senior staff in an international or multicultural environment.
• Relevant management and technical experience.
• Experience in managing donor funds.
• Knowledge and experience in budget management.
• Experience in polio eradication in Nigeria.
• Basic computer skills.
• Ability to use data to inform the program.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.