Options Consultancy Services Limited was established in 1992 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marie Stopes International. We are a consultancy organisation providing technical and management expertise in the health and social sectors to governments and international development partners to transform the health of women and children.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Team Lead – Demographic Dividend
Location: Abuja
Employment Type: Full time
Type of Contract: Fixed Term / Life of the programme
Report to: Options Director of Global Health
Responsible for: Programme and technical delivery for a portfolio of work across the region
Job Description
- The Team Lead (TL) will be responsible for the delivery of a donor-funded programme focused on public health, demographic transition and human capital development.
- The TL will be responsible for stewarding a regional programme, working with multi-sectoral actors in government, civil society and public and private sectors across sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen the evidence base, use of data and capacity of African stakeholders and institutions on current and projected population needs.
- The TL will be responsible for working with different teams to strengthen the case for investing in health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, as a necessity for achieving a demographic dividend.
Responsibilities
- The Team Leader is responsible for leading a programme of technical assistance (anticipating contract award) to support implementation of the programme, ensuring targets are met and exceeded and that there is a continuous cycle of learning and adaptation that also feeds more broadly into the sector.
The Team Leader will be responsible for the following
Strategic Leadership and People Management:
- Provide overall leadership, technical direction and management oversight to staff and the overall programme team including staff, consultants and consortium partners.
- Plan, direct and coordinate strategic plans, annual and quarterly workplans and overall management of the programme to achieve programme objectives in line with the donor requirements and Options policies.
Technical and Operational Oversight:
- Provide overall technical and administrative leadership to the programme implementation team, including development of strategies, theories of change, logframes, workplans, budgets and reporting.
- Responsible for meeting contractual obligations, producing deliverables and targets and achieving programme results.
Relationship Management:
- Primary point of contact with the donor, consortium implementing partners, and stakeholders at regional and national level including government ministries, civil society, private and public sector actors.
- Maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders, delegating country-level relationship management as and when appropriate.
Programme Delivery:
- Oversee development and revisions of theories of change, logframes, work plans, payment deliverables, and programme logframes for approval by the donor and other key stakeholders.
- Oversee the smooth implementation of the programme and ensure timely reporting and dissemination to Options (senior management, programme management and technical team), the donor and other external stakeholders.
- Provide technical expertise in demographic transition, research and / or health
- systems strengthening to guide delivery of the programme in line with best practice and the programme terms of reference.
- Oversee delivery of all programme deliverables, ensuring that deliverables are of high quality, timely and appropriately disseminating.
- Quality assurance of the programme with the support from Options’ Technical Team.
Team Leadership:
- Provide overall leadership and strategic guidance to the programme team ensuring the team are equipped with the skills, resources and support necessary to deliver.
- Act as line manager to staff as per the programme organogram, responsible for the hiring and induction and regular review processes.
- Identify short term technical assistance (STTA) inputs required to deliver the programme work plan and deliverable schedule and oversee the development of terms of reference for all STTA in line with plans.
- Represent and promote the programme’s vision and results in high level policy and advocacy forums such as conferences and international platforms.
- Support leveraging of additional resources for the programme and areas of work
Client and Partner Relations:
- Serve as the key point of contact for the donor and other key stakeholders, maintaining regular and positive communications.
- Ensure programme stakeholders are fully apprised of programme objectives, activities and progress.
- Coordinate the preparation and submission of detailed quarterly and annual technical, financial and administrative reports to the donor that demonstrate delivery and progress of the programme as a whole against the logframe.
Programme Management Oversight:
- Oversee financial management and reporting of the programme.
- Work closely with the Programme Manager to regularly coordinate and update the work plan and ensure adherence to the programme budget.
- Trouble shoot to support the smooth implementation of the programme including timely reporting.
- Ensure adherence to Options policies and templates on:
- Procurement of goods and services
- Contract development and approval
- Reporting of programme to the donor
- Financial reporting and planning
- Risk identification and management
- All other agreed protocols
Consortium Management:
- Coordinate, oversee and manage inputs from consortium members.
- Participate in consortium meetings and report on technical, managerial and policy issues and ensure that consortium members are kept up to date with programme and sector developments.
Security:
- Ensure security systems are effective and adhered to by all staff and consultants, in collaboration with the programme security focal point.
- Be available to respond to emergency calls in case of security incidents.
Person Specification
Qualifications:
- Professional qualification or Degree in Public Health, Demography, Social Development or equivalent.
- Postgraduate qualification in Public Health, Demography, or equivalent.
Knowledge and Experience:
- Minimum of ten (10) years experience providing technical assistance, including long-term, embedded technical assistance to government ministries/departments
- Significant knowledge and experience in government health systems in sub-Saharan Africa, including fragile states.
- Specialist knowledge in demographic transition and expertise in ensuring demographic data informs policy, planning and budgeting at national and sub-national levels.
- The specialist knowledge of one or more aspects of health systems strengthening, including data for decision-making, leadership and governance, planning and budgeting etc.
- Strong experience in managing international donor-funded technical assistance projects, ideally in a Team Lead or programme leadership role
- Strong knowledge of good practices in capacity building and experience of applying in the design and delivery of technical assistance
- Specialist knowledge RMNCAH, including family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights
- Proven experience in mixed-methods research, including analysing large-volume quantitative data sets and distilling key insights into accessible formats to influence policy
- Proven ability to represent organisations and programmes at the highest levels internationally, regionally and nationally.
Skills and Attributes:
- Excellent planning and management skills, able to develop and review project plans, manage team work loads
- Excellent leadership qualities and people management skills, ability to inspire high levels of performance, provide supportive supervision, set targets and review performance
- Strong diplomacy skills and awareness of cultural differences.
- Excellent verbal communication skills, with strong ability to influence and negotiate, and build consensus.
- Excellent written communication skills, with strong report writing and presentation skills
- Excellent research skills, including mixed-methods researchand analysis of large volumes of quantitative data.
- Self-starter; excellent organisation, coordination and planning skills
- Strong ability to manage multiple work streams simultaneously and manage conflicting priorities
- Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure.
- Advanced ability in using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Other Requirements:
- Fluency in written and spoken English
- Fluency in written and spoken French
- Commitment to equal opportunities.
- A commitment to the programme’s and Options’ principles of Safeguarding, Do No Harm, and to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and right.
Benefits
- Salary: TBD
- Options offers a competitive, comprehensive benefits package specific to each country.
Application Closing Date
15th June, 2023.
Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
CLICK HERE TO APPLY
Click here for more information (PDF)
Note
- Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview.
- Please note that this role will be subject to full pre-employment background checks including criminal record check, identification check, employment references and right to work verification (where appropriate).
- For further information please contact HR at opportunities@options.co.uk.
- As an equal opportunity employer, Options Consultancy Services is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage or civil partnership. We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join Options Consultancy Services.
- Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and postholders to share this commitment.
- We seek people who are pro-choice, promote diversity and inclusion, are energetic and enthusiastic about Options’ vision.
- Applicants must have the right to work in any of the following countries Nigeria, Kenya or UK.