Jhpiego seeks a Country Director/Project Director (CD/PD) in Ghana. The CD/PD provides vision, leadership and direction to ensure the strategic, programmatic, technical, and financial integrity of Jhpiego’s programs in Ghana. This includes guiding the strategic planning, design and implementation for country programs and achieving the planned results.

The Country Director will likely also serve as the Project Director for one of Jhpiego’s ongoing projects, and be responsible for the day-to-day management of the project, will ensure the project is progressing appropriately, and will serve as the principal liaison to USAID. S/he will play a key role in ensuring the award meets its objectives on time and on budget. This will be accomplished through the use of adaptive management across the organization, at all levels. The Project Director will be an effective manager and will lead his/her team through changes to business processes, systems and technology, job roles and organization structures. A high degree of demonstrated technical expertise combined with excellent communication and management skills are essential for this position.

The CD/PD works closely with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ghana Health Service (GHS) to streamline efforts and ensure complementarities of projects, serves as the primary point of contact for donors, stakeholders and partners and is responsible for managing relationships and collaboration with international and local partners. The CD/PD also ensures timely and cost-effective project implementation, reporting of activities, and project deliverables.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Project Director for USAID-funded project(s) and ensure compliance with the terms of the award/contract
• Ensure high-quality delivery on the contract/agreement, working closely with the team to ensure projects are technically sound, evidence-based, deliver on target, on time and on budget, and are responsive to the needs of the country and donors
• Provide leadership and strategic direction to ensure programmatic and financial integrity of the project and to achieve rapid and sustained goals, objectives and targets
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with USAID, the MOH, GHS as well as implementing partners and other key stakeholders in Ghana to maximize resources and avoid duplication of effort
• Represent Jhpiego’s interests and present progress, achievements and lessons learned to donors and other key stakeholders in public and professional circles through meetings, conferences, and presentations
• Provide technical leadership and ensure the quality and sustainability of interventions
• Lead annual work planning process in close collaboration with USAID, MOH, GHS and project teams
• Oversee the quality, preparation, and timely submission of project reports to donors
• Take concrete steps to create or promote a safe, respectful and harassment-free work environment to all Jhpiego staff and consultants and others who will be engaged by Jhpiego
• Mentor, support, supervise and manage a team of highly-qualified staff and align their efforts to ensure rapid and sustainable results
• Ensure that annual staff evaluations are conducted timely and support professional development for staff
• Provide guidance and oversight, in collaboration with staff, to subcontractors and sub-grantees with a strong focus on organizational capacity building of local organizations
• Work with finance and project staff to develop and track project budgets, expenditure analysis, and budget reallocations
• Work with Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) staff to effectively track data/results, and ensure timely donor reporting
• Work closely with Jhpiego Home Office/HQ staff to ensure effective, timely and coordinated project implementation
• Ensure compliance with operational policies and regulations of USAID and other donors
• Ensure that Jhpiego Country Office is:
• Compliant with all local laws including labour laws
• Registration is current
• Annual statutory audits and financial reports have been completed and filed with the appropriate agencies
• Met all legal requirements for filing reports, withholding and remitting income taxes for all local staff, expat staff, TCNs, consultants and vendors, and work permits for expats and TCNs retained by the Field Office
• All findings from prior audits/reviews have been corrected or are in the process of being corrected according to the timeline in the action plans
• Has complied with Jhpiego’s policies, procedures and practices related to the financial reporting and internal controls
• All deficiencies in the design or operation of, or any weaknesses or non-compliance in internal controls in the Field Office have been corrected or are in the process of being corrected
• Has complied with donor policies and procedures applicable to management, technical, programmatic, financial and human resources
• Report to HQ any communications regarding:
• Violations or possible violations of laws or regulations by the Field Office.
• Legal actions against the Field Office or Jhpiego
• Promote a culture of meritocracy and high performance amongst staff
• Promote cost efficiency and cost effectiveness across programmatic and operations areas
• Identify opportunities for new program development and lead efforts to respond to solicitations
• Ensure visibility of Jhpiego’s technical expertise and program capabilities with key stakeholders, including MOH, GHS, partners and donors

Required Qualifications

• Advanced degree – MD, Masters in Public Health, Health Administration, International Health or a related field at the minimum;
• Previous experience serving as COP/Project Director or DCOP/senior level management
• 10+ years’ experience successfully managing large, multi-partner, multi-year international health sector development projects (approximately $10M per year) that have implemented successful activities in health system strengthening
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge in establishing project systems and overseeing project start-up and close-out
• Experience working on USAID programs and in-depth knowledge of USAID projects, regulations, compliance and reporting requirements
• Progressively responsible professional development experience, a significant portion must include managing international health projects in a developing country, with several years including general management experience
• Demonstrated experience in institutional capacity development/systems strengthening in public health and in working effectively with a broad range of counterparts, including high level government officials and organizations
• Previous experience working in Ghana, with intimate understanding of the local health system and health systems strengthening gaps and opportunities, and solid relationships at government agency and related levels, preferred
• Experience hiring and supervising personnel and ensuring they acquire the necessary training and skills to meet evolving project needs
• Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships with USAID, host-country counterparts and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs, CSOs, and the private sector
• Demonstrated outstanding leadership, strategic thinking, organizational, team-building, and representational skills
• Capacity for analyzing technical and programmatic challenges that impede efforts to provide improved health care to populations, and building skills of staff to do the same
• Ability to develop technical solutions to these challenges and assisting in the design of operational research that could yield appropriate solutions
• Ability to work in a complex environment charged with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to deliver
• Excellent communications (written and oral English), interpersonal, presentation, and coordination skills to fulfill the diverse technical and managerial requirements of the activity and to coordinate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders
• Excellent skills in facilitation and team building
• A team player accustomed to building team capacity, delegating working teams, and developing communities of learning among host country partners and counterparts
• Proficiency in word processing and Microsoft Office
• Ability to travel in Ghana and internationally up to 30% of the time