TITLE: Associate II and Country Director
REPORTING TO: Vice President and Director, HIV and AIDS Program; and International Support Director
LOCATION: Lusaka, Zambia
ASSIGNMENT LENGTH: Two years, renewable by mutual consent and availability of funding.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
The Population Council is seeking a highly experienced health or social scientist to serve as Country Director for our office in Lusaka, Zambia. This position will provide substantive leadership, professional representation, and skillful management of the Council’s mission, resources, relationships and activities in Zambia. The Country Director will be responsible for oversight of the implementation and monitoring of all Population Council activities in the country, as well as for managing the administration and operations of the Council’s office, including financial and staff management.
The Zambia program has grown rapidly over the past several years, with an annual operating budget of more than $3 million and 22 staff. The current portfolio includes a large and diverse set of HIV prevention intervention and operations research activities, as well as technical assistance, research, and advocacy activities to address sexual and gender-based violence. In addition, the office supports a small but rapidly growing portfolio of research, programming, and capacity building to develop effective health, social, and economic asset-building programs for adolescent girls.
The successful candidate will oversee and support initiation, development, implementation, and monitoring of activities under all three of the Council’s programs: HIV and AIDS; Reproductive Health; and Poverty, Gender, and Youth. Because the principal programmatic work in Zambia is currently in HIV and AIDS, he/she will also directly engage in implementation of ongoing HIV and AIDS projects. In addition, the Country Director will undertake fundraising to build and diversify the Zambia office portfolio.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with key stakeholders in the Population Council’s mission and activities in Zambia by representing the Council to donors, development partners, policy makers, NGOs, private sector institutions, universities, and government institutions such as the Ministry of Health, National AIDS Control Committee, Gender and Development Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Ministry of Social Services.
- Develop and manage the Population Council's country office in Lusaka by advancing an overall country strategy to address needs and priorities of the country within the context of the Council’s three program areas.
- Provide intellectual leadership to all and management of selected HIV and AIDS activities, including operations research and program evaluation activities spanning most-at-risk populations, male circumcision, adolescent girls and vulnerable children, and community compacts (mobilization) to prevent HIV.
- Ensure quality, ethics, program relevance, and responsiveness to country needs in the design and implementation of programmatic research and other activities in Zambia.
- Develop and implement communication and dissemination plans to reach audiences of policy-makers, decision-makers, program managers, researchers, the media, and other stakeholders, including publication in Council and peer-reviewed publications.
- Raise funds from a diversity of sources (US Government, other bilaterals, multilaterals, and private foundations) for Population Council activities in Zambia in all three Council program areas.
- Supervise the financial and administrative management of the Council office in Zambia to comply with local laws, budgetary allocations, donor requirements, and Council policies and procedures.
- Supervise the development and monitoring of the program plan and budget for Zambia. Provide ongoing budget oversight and management in coordination with program financial managers and the International Support unit.
- Ensure the integration of program efforts on important and relevant issues by collaborating with program colleagues and other Council staff.
- Provide guidance, supervision, capacity building, and leadership to Council staff and consultants in Zambia. Oversee recruitment and hiring, and performance management.
Qualifications
- Doctoral degree in social science, medicine, public health, or related field, with relevant training and expertise and at least six years of relevant postdoctoral experience in a progressively senior capacity in successful management and implementation of HIV and AIDS research projects in low-resource settings. Strong technical knowledge of HIV and AIDS prevention research and structural approaches to addressing HIV and AIDS required; epidemiological expertise preferred. Experience in research and programs addressing vulnerabilities of adolescent girls and in sexual and reproductive health arena preferred. A satisfactory combination of experience and educational background will be considered.
- Proven ability to manage and administer a country-level program on HIV and AIDS; reproductive health; or poverty, gender, and youth. This qualification requires experience in recruiting, monitoring, evaluating, building capacity of, and supervising local staff; managing project resources; fundraising and donor reporting; as well as the ability to work well with all levels of national and international staff within a complex organization. Specific experience with the management of USAID/CDC/PEPFAR programs strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to design, implement, analyze, publish, and disseminate research in developing countries.
- Demonstrated ability to stimulate fundraising and secure funds for program activities.
- International reputation for excellence in developing HIV and AIDS; reproductive health; and/or poverty, gender, and youth programs, through past positions and publications record.
- Understanding of government systems and business practices in Zambia or a similar developing country, and a demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment.
- Superior diplomatic, representational, problem solving, management, and interpersonal skills.
- Excellent English written and oral communication skills.
- Willingness to travel within Zambia, regionally, and overseas on a regular basis.
Contact Details
- Contact:
- Benjamin Bilbao
- Telephone:
- 212-339-0545
- Email:
- bbilbao@popcouncil.org
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