Job Description
Chief of Party – Health Systems Strengthening in the Democratic Republic of Congo
General Summary
The Chief of Party (COP) for an upcoming health system strengthening project in the DRC is a senior technical and management position. The competencies required to be successful in this position include a theoretical and practical understanding of global health practice areas; personnel and project management skills; the ability to lead or contribute to the technical approach on new business; the ability to motivate and lead teams; and the demonstrated ability to operate at advanced levels of authority and accountability for achieving results. The COP supervises the day-to-day work of staff, oversees project implementation to ensure quality of health programming, provides technical input to program and new business development through TDY support, and contributes to departmental, regional, and corporate strategies.
The position will be based in Kinshasa, DRC and will report to the Country Director. Actual hiring is contingent upon successful contract award.
Representative Duties and Responsibilities
- Provide technical direction and strategic oversight of the project.
- Oversee all technical and management aspects of the project.
- Lead all project planning responsibilities, including the production of annual workplans and budgets and performance monitoring plans (PMPs), ensuring alignment of the budget to expected results and ensuring cost-effective use of resources.
- Ensure high-quality, results-oriented technical programming through hands-on guidance and support grounded in the program’s strategic objectives and approved annual workplans, while adhering to expected technical quality and reporting requirements.
- Serve as the primary point of contact with the donor, project partners, and key stakeholders.
- Supervise responses to donor reporting requirements, including quarterly and annual program reports and other deliverables, as specified in the project contract.
- Represent the organization to the donor, implementing partners, host country governments, project stakeholders, and counterparts in the public and private sectors.
- Deliver high-level presentations to government and donors on the project.
- Act as a liaison to, and ensure effective relationships with, relevant donors, the Ministry of Health, sub-partners, and other key stakeholders, such as education institutions, youth groups, and demand-side private sector entities (e.g., employers and industry leaders), ensuring strong cooperation and collaboration.
- Review and approve annual budgets and quarterly reports, ensuring they are completed and submitted in a timely manner.
- Ensure compliance with the donor and IMA HQ requirements, policies, and regulations.
- As relevant, manage all local grantmaking mechanisms, ensuring compliance with donor regulations and IMA policies; coordinate and/or conduct monitoring visits to grantee programs.
- Provide and/or ensure the provision of training and mentoring to partners to strengthen their capacity for technical service delivery and compliance with donor rules and regulations.
- Recruit and directly supervise local and international project staff in line with IMA human resource (HR) policies; oversee the management and development of project office HR to ensure a diverse, skilled, and productive workforce, an effective leadership team, and an organizational culture where IMA’s values are practiced.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, the incumbent must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Doctor of Medicine (MD) or equivalent, and/or advanced degree in public health or a closely related field.
- Minimum of 10 years of professional experience managing large, donor-funded health projects in developing countries.
- At least five years of experience managing an international development team with at least five staff, with previous experience as a Chief of Party or Deputy Chief of Party preferred.
- Established track record of progressively responsible leading of diverse, multi-cultural teams and managing international health programs that achieve results.
- Demonstrated experience managing programmatic and financial reporting requirements.
- Demonstrated experience leading successful international health proposal design and development.
- Strong working knowledge of donor priorities and regulations; demonstrated experience managing to donor regulations; experience working with other health donors is an asset.
- Demonstrated representational skills in fostering relationships with partner governments, donors, and national and international NGOs and partners.
- Demonstrated ability to solve complex technical, managerial, and/or operational problems in a timely and successful manner.
- Experience developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and knowledge management strategies relevant to international public health programs.
- Demonstrated versatility and integrity, as well as leadership, mentorship, management, organizational, and decision-making skills.
- Demonstrated leadership skills in recruiting, developing, and managing staff and teams.
- Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills.
- Fluent French and English oral and written communication skills is required.
About the Organization
IMA World Health is a non-profit, faith-based organization that offers extensive expertise implementing programs to address integrated health systems strengthening, maternal and child health, neglected tropical diseases, malaria, HIV, non-communicable diseases, and sexual and gender based violence programs in some of the most challenging and post-conflict settings throughout Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
IMA World Health, in a merger with Lutheran World Relief, is becoming Corus International. Corus International is a family of organizations that believes that those who were born into impossible circumstances deserve the possibility of a better life. Corus International’s dedicated experts around the globe work together to bring life-saving aid and long-term hope to even the most fragile corners of the world and in the most challenging of circumstances. We connect disciplines, approaches and people because we know that the more collaboration we can efficiently achieve, the wider, more systemic impact we can create.
