Programme Manager, HPV

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together implementing country and donor governments, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of more than 981 million children and the prevention of more than 16 million future deaths.

THE ROLE

The Vaccine Programmes team provides oversight and technical expertise to design and manage each of Gavi’s 19 supported vaccine programmes. As vaccine and disease subject matter experts, the team supports the introduction of new vaccines through routine immunisation, preventive and outbreak response campaigns as well as the strengthening of country diagnostic capacity to improve immunisation programme effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. Vaccine Programmes is the Secretariat team responsible for coordinating with global vaccine preventable disease-specific initiatives and works with Secretariat teams and Alliance stakeholders to ensure better prioritisation and optimisation of available vaccine products, presentations or schedules most appropriate for specific country contexts.

In 2016, the Gavi Board approved an acceleration of the HPV vaccine programme, allowing countries in the first year of their programme to scale up directly and vaccinate single age (9 years) and multi-age cohorts of girls (10–14 years). The programme has so far been introduced in 26 countries, with many more countries in the pipeline.

Coverage declines have been experienced due to underlying programme challenges and impact of C-19 however the recent SAGE 1 dose permissive off label recommendation offers a unique opportunity for renewed momentum along with the recently PPC/Board approved HPV programme relaunch.

Key functions and deliverables:

The HPV programme manager will provide day to day management and coordination support to the Senior Manager and Head, HPV programme on the HPV programme including application review, technical assistance and introduction implementation overview.

Programme management support (30%):
• Manage agendas, action items, minutes, virtual monitoring tools and virtual team space;
• Ensure that programmatic trackers are updated, stimulate review at team level, and dig into specific cases of strategic interest;
• Support drafting letters, presentations, briefing notes and other communication materials as needed;
• Support regular reporting on ongoing discussions, applications, and introduction status for leadership and key governance meetings (e.g., PPC updates/Board) and on request as required.

Grant management (40%):
• Monitor planning and implementation activities, tracking decision letters/memos/Pos/disbursements, shipments including doses at risk, coordinate alliance partner updates for HPV introductions;
• Contribute to the screening of the programmatic components of the applications and coordinate with partners for inputs including implementation plans and other supporting documents;
• Coordinate Alliance HPV sub team and programme-specific meetings with relevant experts and stakeholders from the Gavi Secretariat, WHO, UNICEF, donors and others, such as the HPV sub team;
• Analyse and coordinate with Senior Country Managers/HPV sub-team for technical assistance through PEF and ensuring that activities and the support required are included in targeted country assistance budgets;
• Management of expanded partners contracts in collaboration with PEF team – review deliverables and milestones ensuring high impact activities, aligning to country plans and targets.

Special projects (20%):
• Support design, operationalisation & implementation of the HPV programme relaunch;
• Support programmatic inputs into external requests e.g., publications;
• Consolidate & relay VP input as Vaccine Programmes gender focal point for Secretariat gender working group;
• Contribute and provide guidance to resource mobilisation partnership with Girl effect and other private sector engagements to ensure alignment with HPV programme objectives;
• Support inputs into other partner projects as required e.g., CHIC, CHOICE, HAPPI.

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Under the direction of the Senior Programme Manager and Head, support day-to-day grant management activities associated with the HPV vaccine programme including application requirements and guidelines development, coordination of technical assistance and support for vaccine implementation;
• Support cross-Secretariat and partner coordination and alignment on Gavi processes and policies related to HPV applications, monitoring, reporting and learning agenda priorities;
• With programmatic inputs, support strategic discussions for the HPV vaccine programme with internal and external stakeholders, including admin support to the Alliance’s HPV global Leadership Team;
• Support communication of HPV programme progress, challenges and risks to Secretariat and Alliance partner leadership;
• Travel may be expected to include participation to, at least 1-2 country visits per year, and two HPV sub-team live meetings at a minimum.

Note: The essential functions listed in this section are not exhaustive of the job responsibilities; other duties may be assigned consistently with the department needs.

QUALIFICATIONS

ACADEMIC

• University degree in Social Sciences, Public Health, Epidemiology, Development or related fields. Masters degree preferred.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience working in public health at national and international levels with vaccine preventable diseases or other adolescent health initiatives;
• Experience working in developing countries is required;
• Experience in bilateral and multilateral partnership environments is required;
• Demonstrable experience in HPV vaccination, cervical cancer prevention, adolescent health is highly desirable;
• Demonstrable experience in gender is desirable.

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

• Excellent management and coordination skills;
• Advanced command and proficient knowledge of MS Office and related applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, etc.,);
• Excellent communication, writing and presentation skills, good inter-personal skills and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and with developing countries;
• Ability to work with effectively in a team setting and under pressure;
• Excellent organisation skills and high sense of responsibility, efficiency, reliable and result;
• Good knowledge of institutional or organisation policies, systems and procedures;
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment;
• Proven ability to quickly and flexibly adapt to complex environments and solution orientated.

LANGUAGES

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required;
• Fluency in French is highly desirable.

CONTACTS

• Gavi Secretariat;
• Gavi Alliance partners;
• UN, Multilateral & bilateral donor agencies and civil society;
• Developing country governments;
• Global HPV and cervical cancer prevention community.