About the Foundation
We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: that people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. By building a global and cultural workplace that supports greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — together with our employees and partners, we can help all people improve their lives from poverty and health to education.
As an organization we offer full healthcare premiums coverage, generous paid time off, contribution to your retirement fund, several employee communities, and a commitment to embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into everything we do.
About the Team
The Global Development Program includes a diverse range of program areas aimed at finding creative ways to ensure solutions and products get into the hands of people in low-income countries who need them most. We focus on areas with the potential for high-impact, sustainable solutions that can reach millions of people. Our program strategies include: Emergency Response; Family Planning; Maternal Newborn & Child Health; Nutrition; Polio Eradication. A common theme across these programs is focus on innovative delivery, including an emphasis on strengthening primary health care systems. The Global Development Program also encompasses our India Country Office and Africa Team, with physical offices in Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, and Abuja. Our Program Strategy Teams work in close partnership with these Country Office Teams to align the foundation’s health and development equity agenda with the government’s broader priorities.
Our culture shapes our choices about what we do and how we do it. We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment can do extraordinary things. We expect foundation employees to intentionally and consistently embody our values of optimism, collaboration, rigor, innovation and inclusion.
With a particular focus on Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP), we work with partners to develop impactful and sustainable solutions to improve the quality and coverage of key services for the poor and vulnerable. We also work in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Maharashtra to support programs in urban sanitation, agricultural development, gender equality, and digital financial inclusion.
About Your Role
Under the leadership of the Deputy Director – State Health Systems Strengthening (State HSS), the New Delhi-based Program Officer – Strengthening Institutional Capacity is primarily responsible for ensuring that local institutions (government, quasi-government, NGOs and academia) in the states of UP and Bihar are well-capacitated to provide ongoing advice and support in design and implementation of health programs. Programming in this area is aimed at sustaining and growing the impact of health programs in UP and Bihar, even after the foundation’s exit from these states.
What You’ll Do
- Creating strategy for foundation’s Institution Building portfolio in UP and Bihar
- Manage the following workstreams in the state in close collaboration with the Bihar/UP Deal/Investment Team: a) Strengthen local institutional structures in UP; b) Strengthen local institutional structures in Bihar. These workstreams would include identifying a set of local academic/ research/ management institutions in both states to build their internal capacities in select thematic areas within health, and building the capacity of government health system institutes (vision and mission development, organizational structures, HR capacities) to take on key functions traditionally supported by external agencies (SIHFW, SHSRC-like institutes for capacity building initiatives in the areas of RMNCHA and HSS, Medical Supplies corporation for procurement and budgeting etc).
- Monitor and track the latest literature in Institution Building. Adapt the UP and Bihar portfolios of Institution Building grants based on the latest and most innovative thinking in the field.
- Jointly accountable, with the Bihar/UP Investment Teams, for ensuring the foundation’s goals related to health are met in a time-bound and sustainable manner in both states.
- Contribute as a Team Member in additional streams/bodies of work pertaining to building implementation capacity of the state and strategic partnerships with Indian philanthropies, among others.
- Define and implement all workstreams highlighted above in a creative, rigorous, data-centric, and analytical manner.
- Identify and select partner institutions; develop and manage a portfolio of grants and contracts to meet strategic objectives in strengthening Institutional Capacities in consultation with the Bihar/UP Deal/Investment Teams and oversee the roll out
- Identify and select partner institutions and shape scope and strategy for Institution Building grants and contracts to meet strategic objectives.
- Work with the broader UP and Bihar Investment Teams, Family Health Team and Seattle-based Program Strategy Teams in designing and implementing the Institution Building portfolio of investments in UP and Bihar.
- Oversee the roll out of identified establishment/ strengthening of key institutions.
- Review grant proposals and write proposal summaries; review interim and final reports; write final evaluation.
- Apply and evaluate milestone-based performance objectives to make go/no-go decisions about specific projects and product candidates.
- Jointly accountable with the state Deal/Investment Teams for effective engagement with all relevant internal Program Strategy Teams.
- Establish and nurture relationship with key institutions and key stakeholders
- Manage relationships with the relevant Institutions, relevant government structures, grantees, contractors and key partners to achieve the foundation’s desired impact, provide project briefings and updates to foundation leadership, and represent the foundation in meetings with external partners, as well as at scientific conferences and workshops.
- Ensure adherence to a cadence of engagement with key external partners – institutions, government, grantees and other partners.
- Help ensure opportunities such as Program Coordination Committee meetings are efficiently utilized and are productive for the health of the Institution Building portfolio.
- Ensure awareness of the quality of our external relationships in the HSS space.
- Identify and leverage emerging opportunities for increased external or internal engagement that could catalyze impact in UP and Bihar.
- Contribute to foundation knowledge capture, evaluation, learning, and dissemination
- Keep both the ICO and Seattle leadership informed of progress of both individual grants and sets of grants that aim to solve state team goals on institution building.
- Partner with MLE and other members of the State Deal/Investment Teams to implement a cross-state learning agenda.
- Synthesize and document lessons learned across all related grants and contracts; develop review materials, summaries and informative reports for team, program and foundation leadership (e.g. President, Co-Chairs and other foundation leadership) that summarize key activities, progress and issues around priority programs.
- Partner with other foundation teams as required to share lessons learned and expertise.
- Serve as an effective backup to other team members of HSS
- Partner with members of state Health Systems Strengthening team on a regular cadence to keep abreast of the latest development in the HSS portfolio.
- Be prepared to step in on short notice – should need arise on HSS grants, either in case of SPO/ PO – Health Systems Strengthening/ service delivery absence, or in case the team needs additional support on specific workstreams within HSS.
- Represent the foundation and program to the external world related to position responsibilities
- Speak and participate in public events, forums and meetings.
- Bring to bear opportunities to disseminate the knowledge and products developed by grantees in order to extend their impact.
Your Experience
We are looking for people who enjoy solving complex problems, using hypothesis, data-driven approaches and working through matrixed teams to deliver break-through solutions.
- Bachelor/Masters in business management, public policy, public administration. Experience in the development sector, particularly in health preferred.
- 5+ years of professional experience in management/strategy of public health program delivery in similar contexts to Bihar and UP.
- Experience in coordinating processes for institutional strengthening, including partnerships, and collaborations with clear and defined outcomes.
- Experience in program strategy, design, and implementation in public health.
- Demonstrated experience building and leading strategic partnerships with key partners from diverse sectors including NGOs, government, and the private sector in India.
- Knowledge of strategy development on various aspects in the development sector.
- Solid understanding of the ways of working of institutions supporting health systems in India.
- Analytical skills and proven success using evidence and data to inform policy, programming, and management decisions.
- Demonstrated curiosity and comfort in areas beyond current areas of expertise with proven ability to rapidly acquire knowledge and exercise good judgment in a variety of scientific and political areas.
- Strong ability to work with efficiency and diplomacy, particularly as part of a multi-disciplinary team effort.
- Demonstrated ability to work with diverse teams including scientists, business analysts, program implementers, and developing country partners, from various cultures, over multiple time zones. Experience working in a matrix environment preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to lead teams through a complex and ambiguous task with energy and optimism.
- Ability to organize/prioritize work and meet deadlines within a fast-paced environment with multiple and competing demands.
- Excellent oral, facilitation, and written communication skills.
- Excellent software skills with Microsoft Office applications. Ability to quickly learn new software.
Other Attributes
- Grace under fire, sense of humor, happy to take and give feedback.
- Commitment to the foundation’s core values, mission, and programs with an approach that is consistent with the foundation’s guiding principles and holding self to the highest ethical standards.
- Ability to travel locally and internationally, up to 50% of the time.
- Must be able to legally work in India where this position is located without visa sponsorship.
How to Apply
- CLICK HERE for the Official Notification & Application.
- Application deadline: 5 March 2023
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