Chief of Party, REACH Malaria

The Organization for Innovation in Public Health (OIPH, PATH’s local affiliate in Nigeria) seeks a Chief of Party for the USAID-funded “Reaching Every At-risk Community and Household with Malaria Services” (PMI REACH Malaria) global project. REACH aims to provide implementation support services and technical assistance to countries to accelerate progress in comprehensive delivery of facility and community-based malaria services, including malaria case management, prevention of malaria in pregnancy (MiP), seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC), health systems strengthening, data collection and use for service delivery, and other malaria prevention interventions. 

The Chief of Party (CoP) will report to the Deputy Project Director for PMI REACH Malaria and is responsible for coordinating and supporting implementation of all key project activities, with emphasis on high-quality outputs and compliance with USAID requests. The CoP is also responsible for overall strategic development and oversight, project monitoring and evaluation, and general program management. The CoP will also provide oversight and management leadership for OIPH, coordinating efforts with other PATH-supported project teams in Nigeria to ensure alignment, representing PATH with government institutions, donors, international and local NGOs, and coordinating with PATH’s Africa Regional leadership. These duties will comprise up to 20% LOE. 

Responsibilities: 

• Serve as the project's primary liaison with the USG Mission in Nigeria, international and regional partners in Nigeria, and host-country government officials. 

• Supervise project staff, including e.g. the Nigeria Senior Technical Advisor(s) and the MEL Manager, ensuring that they are successfully managing project activities and achieving deliverables. 

• Initiate and manage effective collaborative partnerships. 

• Oversee annual country project work planning and periodic reporting to ensure high quality and timely delivery of products. 

• Contribute to the design of project monitoring and evaluation systems and to regular project evaluations to assess progress and recommend solutions. 

• Represent the project at periodic meetings with stakeholders to report on planned activities and actions, including implementation status. 

• Ensure proper financial management of PMI REACH Malaria activities in country, working with country office teams through analyzing financial data, monitoring project expenses against budgets, and forecasting, with support from the Finance and Administration Staff.  

• Monitor and ensure compliance with PMI REACH Malaria contract and PATH policies, identify and effectively communicate any compliance risks.  

• Liaise with PATH Security Lead to monitor and ensure security of project staff and operations 

• Collaborate with the PMI REACH Malaria Senior Technical Advisor and other team members with expertise in diagnostics, maternal, newborn and child health, data and digital health, for their technical inputs into project deliverables and activity plans.  

• Partner with relevant stakeholders, including ministries of health, universities, NGOs, civil society, and private sector partners in coordinating activity implementation. 

• Coordinate the development of technical documents, such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), tools, checklists, guidelines for training and capacity building of staff as needed. 

• Coordinate country buy-in planning and review meetings to track progress of implementation of interventions and ensure coordination between program team and external stakeholders. 

• Support in the creation of presentations for updates and meetings.  

• Represent OIPH and PATH in externally facing spaces; manage relationships with government officials and other stakeholders.  

• Coordinate efforts with other PATH-supported projects in Nigeria to ensure alignment across the PATH portfolio.  

• Provide oversight to the overall operations and financial management of the office. 

• Ensure compliance with all host country legal, contractual, labour and statutory requirements. 

• Ensure that country operations are consistent with OIPH and PATH values and management policies and guidelines, and that functions are operated to guarantee timely and cost-effective execution. 

Required skills and experience: 

• Master's degree with fifteen (15) years of work experience in public health, international development or a related field. 

• At least ten (10) years of experience in managing multi-million-dollar health programs in Nigeria and/or developing countries, including experience and technical knowledge in malaria. 

• At least five (5) years of experience (out of 10 years) should be as a COP or senior field management experience such as Project Director, Regional Director, or Country Director roles. 

• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage technical teams and multi-partner collaborative projects, with in-depth knowledge of developing country government systems. 

• Familiarity with stakeholders in the malaria services space, including malaria case management, prevention of MiP, SMC, surveillance, data collection and use for service delivery. 

• Demonstrated success working with USG, implementing partners, institutions at the national and regional level, local nongovernmental organizations, and community-based organizations and structures in Nigeria. 

• Strong problem-solving, organizational skills, and a positive, solution-oriented approach to challenges. 

• Strong financial management skills, including experience in budgeting and tracking financials.  

• Excellent analytical, presentation, and report writing skills.  

• Excellent skills in facilitation, team building, and coordination.  

• Extremely detail-oriented, with the ability to communicate effectively and concisely, both orally and in writing. 

• Strong work ethic, resourcefulness, integrity, credibility, and dedication to PATH’s mission.  

• Professional proficiency in English required.  

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) required. 

• Candidates must be based in and qualified to work in Nigeria. 

• Ability to travel up to 30 percent in-country; limited international travel expected. 

Preferred skills and experience: 

• USAID contract management experience preferred. 

• Fluency or knowledge in local languages preferred.