State Manager (Project SPARK – Kaduna) at Solina Centre for International Development and Research (SCIDaR)

Description and Objectives

• The State Manager is a senior technical assistant on the state team and will provide direct support to the leadership of the state primary healthcare board leading stakeholder engagement at these critical levels to ensure the adoption and implementation of relevant reforms for an efficient PHC program.

Technical Responsibilities

Project strategy implementation/technical assistance

• Support the strengthening/revitalization of the existing state coordination platforms including STF, RIWG/SERICC and other TWGs to effectively function as the execution platform for implementing high-impact interventions;
• Provide embedded advisory and technical support to the EPI and PHC program managers, including RIWG PMs, ES/DG SPHCMB and other health and PHC leaders;
• Develop/deepen excellent working relationships with senior state and health government officials within the state, and other partner organization leads;
• Advocate for the implementation of requisite reforms in program governance, coordination, linkages between state and LGA coordination units and performance management with senior state leadership to drive PHC system strengthening and immunization coverage acceleration efforts;
• Develop, plan, monitor and learn from ongoing strategies to address zero-dose burden in collaboration with the coordination and execution platforms in the state and supporting partners;
• Lead strategic thinking for the state to identify and understand issues, break down problems and identify root causes and different dimensions; use data and other information for analysis and decision-making purposes;
• Design and implement new systems and optimize existing ones to improve project outcomes;
• Lead and guide state leads and the state team to deliver on the project deliverables;
• Lead and mentor junior and senior associates and provide overall direction and advisory to the project leads to scale promising solutions;
• Other relevant duties as assigned.

Other responsibilities

• Participate in problem-solving and learning sessions to share knowledge, best practices, challenges and progress on program implementation;
• Provide weekly updates on implementation activities to the project manager;
• Engage actively with relevant stakeholders to foster good relationships with the organization;
• Support any other tasks as may be required by the central project management team.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Medicine, Health Administration, or related fields. Master’s degree preferred;
• At least 10 years of experience in healthcare management with strong knowledge of the primary healthcare landscape/sector;
• Experience with capacity building and quality improvement initiatives;
• Experience working with/as part of government systems.

Competencies required

• Strong stakeholder engagement and coordination skills
• Computer literacy and competency using the MS suite of programs
• Fluency in spoken and written English
• Fluency in the local dialect – Hausa, is an added advantage
• Excellent report-writing skills
• Ability to perform multiple tasks, and adjust work pace and direction to emerging realities
• Ability to work well with others and to develop and maintain positive working relationships
• Resourceful in resolving problems and initiating effective solutions