Program Officer - Jhpiego (Apply by: November 20, 2015)

Program Officer
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

Jhpiego is an international, non-profit health organization affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University. For 40 years and in over 155 countries, Jhpiego has worked to prevent the needless deaths of women and their families. Jhpiego works with health experts, governments and community leaders to develop strategies that help countries care for themselves by training health care workers, strengthening health systems and improving delivery of care.

Jhpiego designs innovative, effective and low-cost health care solutions that are breaking down barriers to high-quality health care for the world’s most vulnerable populations. Jhpiego uses its global presence and technical leadership to develop technology-based innovations and systems for significant global health impact.

In India, Jhpiego works across various states - in close collaboration with national and state governments, providing technical assistance in the areas of family planning, maternal and child health, and pre-service nursing midwifery education. These projects are funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI), David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), MacArthur Foundation, Department for International Development (DFID), Merck for Mothers, Large Anonymous Donor and others.

Jhpiego is hiring for the positions of Program Officer (PO) for the family planning (FP) program based at districts of Bihar and UP. The PO will report to the State Team Leader (STL) /State Program Manager (SPM) / Senior Program Officer (SPO).

Responsibilities 

• Implement the program in the assigned districts of the respective state as per the project work plan and as communicated by the STL/SPM/SPO.
• Assist supervisor by working with the district health officials to implement, monitor and report on all project activities.
• Support and provide technical inputs for the implementation of all project activities to timely achieve project deliverables and outcomes.
• Meet regularly with district government counterparts, especially National Health Mission (NHM) and Department of Health officials for effective project management and respond in a timely manner to requests for meetings, reports, etc.
• Work with the state program team to plan work-plan budgets, develop activity budgets, review expenditure, and ensure efficient use of available resources.
• Under supervision of the supervisor, establish systems for tracking progress, indicators and deliverables according to agreed work-plans and prepare program reports to ensure that state, donor and headquarter reporting needs are met.
• Facilitate clinical trainings, workshops and provide on-site technical support during visits as needed, as part of a broad strategy of strengthening Post-partum Family Planning services. This would include preparing training schedules, identifying trainers, monitoring trainings and post-training supportive supervision follow-up visits.
• Work closely with the supervisor/ programmatic linkage on setting program priorities and responding to requests for technical support from local counterparts. Contribute to strong and innovative technical leadership and set priorities for all assigned duties.
• Stay updated on technical programmatic priorities and approaches through self-study.
• Travel within the assigned districts of responsibility, state and India to support project activities.
• Keep the concerned program staff/ supervisor informed of successes, challenges and lessons learned.
• Perform or assume other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Abilities/Skills:
• Ability to develop productive working relationships with other agencies, stakeholders and other organizations including government counterparts.
• Ability to work within an international program team and communicate regularly with various team members across multiple locations.
• Proficiency in writing technical and programmatic documents such as training materials and reports.
• Experience and demonstrated ability in working on donor supported projects.
• Ability to handle a variety of assignments under pressure of deadlines.
• Ability to multi task and work in a multi-cultural team.
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English, Hindi and local language.
• Proficiency in computers - Microsoft Office.
• Ability to travel for up to 50-60% of her/his time.

Qualifications/Knowledge and Experience:
• MBBS with Indian / state council registration is a must. Post Graduate Degree or Diploma in Public Health desirable.
• 2-3 years of experience in working with government public health programs and various counterparts.
• Technical knowledge and field experience in public health programs particularly FP/ Reproductive Health (RH)/ Maternal and newborn Health (MNH) in India.
• Familiarity with the Indian health system, key stakeholders and relevant government policies/ strategies, particularly National Health Mission and State Health Societies.

Jhpiego is an equal opportunity employer and offers highly dynamic and enabling work environment. Jhpiego provides competitive compensation based on experience and background. Interested candidates should submit their application with a covering note clearly stating the position and location to jhpiegoindiahr@jhpiego.net .

Due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted applicants will receive a response from Jhpiego HR.