Project Director at Population Services International

Job description

What will you be doing

PSI and AVAC are collaborating on two, multi-million, multi-year projects. These ‘sister’ projects are developing human-centered approaches to HIV prevention and treatment targeting young men and adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa.

The young men project that will be led by PSI will focus on two objectives:

Improve program implementers’, policy makers and prevention technology developers understanding of high-risk young men between 18-29 at high risk of contracting HIV in South Africa, and in particular the high-prevalence areas of KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Guateng, with regards to factors that impact their HIV testing and treatment behaviors, such as lifestyle, health-seeking behaviors, perceptions of risk, and other aspects that will shed light on why and how they decide to get tested or not, and then what determines care-seeking follow up among those who test positive; and
Make this information actionable by using it to design a preliminary set of adaptations tailored to this population for HIV testing and treatment programs.

The AGYW project that will be led by AVAC will focus on two objectives:

Improve program implementers’, policy makers and prevention technology developers understanding of high-risk adolescent girls and young women in South Africa. Focused on the high-prevalence areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, the research will look at factors that impact their HIV prevention behaviors, such as lifestyle, health-seeking behaviors, perceptions of risk, motivations/drivers, and other aspects that will shed light on their enablers and barriers to use and adhere to HIV prevention; and
Make this information actionable by using it to design a preliminary set of potential HIV prevention programs tailored to this population and ensure learnings are shared with stakeholders.

PSI and AVAC are seeking an experienced Project Director who will lead stakeholder engagement, oversee project activities and manage collaboration between a number of partners. The Project Director should have: a track-record of building trust among diverse stakeholders to achieve complex outcomes in South Africa; significant management and leadership experience, preferably of large in-country projects with multiple sub-awardees; a history of successfully managing government and donor relations as well as community engagement in a project; a strong interest in private sector approaches to development; and experience successfully implementing health programs centered around HIV prevention, testing and treatment. The successful candidate will have extensive knowledge of the South African context and HIV epidemic as well as experience implementing studies, pilots or projects focused on end users and/or providers. Extensive knowledge of the relevant scientific literature and donors about HIV testing, prevention and treatment preferred. This leadership position will be based at Society for Family Health in Johannesburg, South Africa and will undertake high level coordination between the two workstreams.

This position is contingent on funding.

Sound like you? Read on.

Your contribution

• Ensure meaningful, extensive stakeholder engagement from across the spectrum in South Africa, including but not limited to government, donors, community organizations, implementing partners and academia.
• Serve as main point of contact/representative of the project to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other national and community stakeholders in South Africa.
• Develop project-wide implementation and work plans including timelines and assigned roles and responsibilities for all project partners; manage the roles of all project partners and sub-awardees including through appropriate delegation to other members of the management team.
• Serve as main point of contact with the South African government, working collaboratively with appropriate ministries, establishing and maintaining relationships and reporting results to inform national standards of prevention, testing, treatment and care
• Manage collaborative relationship between staff and stakeholders in these two ‘sister’ awards from BMGF, including management and oversight, participation in meetings, sharing strategies and results and coordinating efforts as appropriate
• Ensure the appropriate regulatory authorities (Institutional Review Boards) are an integral part of the planning and implementation process.
• Assist in design, implementation and oversight of research and pilot activities, working closely with research and implementing teams across the project.
• Ensure all project deliverables, as stated in the contract, are achieved on time and to the highest standard and ensure that project results are shared and viewed as a ‘public good’.
• Provide effective guidance and support to technical members of the in-country management teams and short–term technical consultants.
• Supervise staff responsible for the program and financial management of the award:
• Donor financial reports, project budgets, monitoring of project expenditure, compliance of financial systems and controls with donor standards;
• Tracking and achievement of all project deliverables per the contract;
• Sub-contract development and negotiations with partners.
• Oversee the design and implementation of the documentation and dissemination strategy of project research results and program learnings throughout the award. This ongoing dissemination will take place through workshops, working papers, online and other appriopriate channels.
• Ensure high-quality periodic reporting in line with the donor, PSI and AVAC requirements.

What are we looking for?

The basics

• The candidate should hold an advanced degree (MPH, PhD, MBA or equivalent education) in public health, epidemiology, social sciences, marketing, business or other related field, or equivalent extensive experience in these fields.
• At least 10 years of experience in programmatic and technical leadership of large, complex donor-funded health programs.
• Exceptional managerial and operational experience, preferably managing complex, projects involving coordination with multiple program partner institutions and experience with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Broad understanding of public health in South Africa with in-depth knowledge of HIV in the local context.
• Demonstrated willingness to learn human centered design approaches and their value to program design to advocate for approach to stakeholders and partners
• Comfortable representing the program vis-à-vis various audiences and stakeholders, including government, donors, sub-grantees, multilateral organizations, beneficiary communities, the media and civil society.
• Experience with advocacy and institutional development within government and non-government channels.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills in English, extensive computer skills, interpersonal and cross-cultural skills, and be highly motivated and organized.

What would get us excited?

• An established leader willing to challenge the status quo. You know the range of HIV interventions currently out there and you’re not satisfied. You want to see truly new approaches to improving HIV outcomes and you’re willing to challenge deeply held assumptions.
• Curiosity about and/or application of new disciplines. You’re open to insights beyond public health and willing to champion new strategies. You feel comfortable synthesizing and testing information that will lead to insights beyond what is already known. If you possess technical skills and knowledge in human centered design that you can apply across health areas, especially with HIV, all the better.
• A Connector. You have experience working with diverse stakeholders on a project, from Ministries of Health, to partners, to global health donors. You acknowledge and understand the viewpoints of each group yet are able to make tough calls and communicate constructive feedback, no matter the group.
• A Strategist and an Innovator. You are intrigued by the challenge of bringing together complementary disciplines and new thinking in practical ways. You have a desire to link research to actionable outcomes and want to kick start implementation on new approaches as we collect the data to back them up.

STATUS

Exempt

PSI and AVAC are Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of actual or perceived race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, matriculation, political affiliation, family status or responsibilities, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions or breastfeeding, genetic information, amnesty, veteran, special disabled veteran or uniform service member status or employment status.