Program Manager Vacancy at Population Foundation of India

Job Title: Program Manager, Population Foundation of India

Location: Delhi

Organization’s profile:

The Population Foundation of India (PFI) is a national non-government organization formulating and implementing programmes on reproductive and child health, family planning, adolescent health and other population issues with a gender sensitive and rights based approach. Details of PFI’s activities are available on our website – www.populationfoundation.in

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in 2005 focuses on enhancing the access of the rural population to safe, rational, effective, affordable and quality health care services including reproductive and family planning services. One of the key components of the mission’s community process intervention is the active involvement of communities in planning and monitoring to improve accountability and enable better health outcomes. .

The MoHFW constituted the Advisory Group on Community Action (AGCA) in 2005 to provide guidance and support for community action processes under NRHM at the national and state levels. The group consists of eminent public health professionals from prominent NGOs. The Population Foundation of India (PFI) hosts the Secretariat of the AGCA.

Under AGCAs guidance, the pilot phase of community based monitoring and planning (CBMP) was implemented across 36 districts in nine states (Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu) between 2007 to 2009. The pilot was supported by MoHFW.

Since the completion of the pilot phase, the AGCA has been supporting state governments in envisioning and planning of the CBMP processes. This includes support in formulating the Annual NRHM State Programme Implementation Plan (PIP).

In the current FY 2013-14 , plans from 15 States/ Union Territories have been approved by MoHFW.

Programme Rationale

The MoHFW has recently approved a technical support grant to the AGCA to strengthen implementation of the Community Action for Health (CAH) processes, especially at the state and district levels (focusing on the high priority districts).

Specific objectives of the grant include:

1. Building capacities of state level institutions such as State Health Society, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, State Health Resource Centre, ASHA Resource Centre, Regional Resource Centres, State Institute of Rural Development and NGOs to initiate and scale up CAH
2. Provide guidance and support to State Governments in the formulation of State PIPs for the CAH component
3. Development/ adaptation of guidelines, tools, and communication materials
4. Support states to establish institutional mechanisms to strengthen capacities of Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees, Rogi Kalyan Samitis and PRI members, and
5. Support states to initiate/strengthen accountability mechanisms such as grievance redressal, public display of health service guarantees and citizen’s health rights charters.
6. A team comprising of full and part time staff will lead the technical assistance processes. The team will be based at the AGCA Secretariat – PFI office in New Delhi. The team will work in close coordination with MoHFW, National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) and State Governments under the guidance of the AGCA.

Job Description:

The Programme Manager is a member of the national Technical Assistance (TA) team, which aims to provide support in ‘Strengthening Community Action under National Health Mission (NHM)’ in 15 priority states in 2013-14. The TA grant is supported by the MoHFW.

The incumbent will be responsible for overall implementation of the technical assistance in 3-4 priority states, working under the guidance of the Team Leader and PFI’s core team. She/he will work in coordination with State Government Nodal Officers (managing the Community Processes Units), State Training Institutions, State NGOs and other strategic partners and institutions.

Roles and Responsibilities:

1. Programme Planning: (a) Develop detailed work plan for technical assistance roll out in 3-4 priority states  (b) Identify and address areas which require mid-course corrections at the state level.
2. Programme management: (A) Manage overall delivery of key outputs in 3-4 priority states, such as – (a) Support State Governments in constituting State Advisory Group on Community Action (SAGCA) and facilitate orientation of members, (b) Support development/ adaptation of guidelines, tools, and communication materials at the national and state levels, (c) Facilitate trainings/ orientation of state-level institutions such as SHS, SIHFW, SHRC, ARC, RRC, SIRD and NGOs, (d) Facilitate state-level meetings, planning exercises to support State NRHM Programme Management Units in formulation of the State PIPs for the CAH component, (e) Support states to initiate/strengthen accountability mechanisms, (f) Contribute in thematic areas such as community led advocacy, communication and monitoring processes.
3. Performance Planning, Monitoring and Supervision:Oversee internal management of the project including the budget and performance monitoring, in the assigned states.
4. Coordination and linkages with government departments and other relevant stakeholders: (a) Work closely with key State Government stakeholders i.e. the departments of Health & Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, Panchayati Raj, Public Health Engineering, Housing, Poverty Alleviation etc, (b) Coordinate with state-level NGOs/CBOs, (c) Identify issues requiring immediate attention/ support of the PFI’s core team.
5. Reporting and donor compliance: (a) Ensure regular donor compliance, which includes both financial and programme reporting (b) Comply with contract delivery requirements, including all reports.

Eligibility:

1. A Master’s degree in Social work / Public Health/ Community Medicine
2. A minimum of 5-7 years of experience in managing health and development programmes, of which, 2 years are in managing a field based programme
3. Prior experience of working with the government is essential, especially at the state level
4. In depth understanding of community processes, community led advocacy, and participatory/ action research.
5. Experience in facilitating Training of Trainers (ToT), development of training modules and tools
6. Prior experience of working in a Technical Support Unit is highly desirable.

Essentials;

1. Ability to work under pressure and manage conflicting priorities
2. Problem solving skills
3. Willingness to travel (travel time 30-40%)

Compensation;

Compensation package offer will commensurate with qualification and experiences.

How to apply: Please send your updated CV with a covering letter describing your suitability for the position to hrpfi@populationfoundation.in latest by December 4, 2013. Please mention the position “Programme Manager” in the subject line of your e-mail.

Last date for the application: 4 Dec, 2013

Reference: PFI