Portfolio Director

Job Description

JOB SUMMARY

The Portfolio Director (PD-HQ) is the representative and champion of the project at the Home Office. S/he brings a strategic view, application of best practices in project management, and client relationship skills throughout the project cycle. With the Project Director, the PD-HQ leads assigned projects to ensure that the project team achieves stated objectives within budget and in compliance with contractual regulations and MSH policies. In partnership with the PD and TSL s/he ensures technical excellence in line with MSH’s standards, values, and mission. The PD-HQ reinforces a culture of data analysis and data use for decision-making. The Portfolio Director supervises and supports the Project Director. The PD-HQ focuses strategically on new business development initiatives primarily within his/her countries and liaises with corporate business development and strategy leadership.

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Oversight of Project Delivery (45%)

• Provides strategic leadership and management support to the Project Director to deliver high-quality results within budget and in accordance with MSH’s Standards of Technical Excellence.
• Remains informed and knowledgeable of the project environment, the network of stakeholders, constituents, and counterparts, and supports the Project Director in the management of these relationships.
• Facilitates internal coordination and linkages required to achieve technical and administrative management objectives.
• Establishes regular communication and relationships with clients to ensure MSH responsiveness to donor needs and requests.
• Ensures that project start-ups and closeouts are implemented efficiently, timely, and effectively
• Prioritizes data analysis and use of data for decision-making and adaptive project management. Guides the Project Director to lead a collaborative approach to develop, review, and monitor the annual work plan, budget, Performance Monitoring Plan, progress reports, Environmental Mitigation Plan, strategic communications plan, MSH Project Reviews, short term technical assistance plan, risk management plan and ad hoc reports.
• Ensures Project Director delivers timely and high-quality technical, financial, contractual, and other deliverables and sub-award monitoring and mitigation plans are developed and implemented. Provides guidance and oversight to Project Director for contractual compliance.
• Provides strategic support to the Project Director to develop cost-share plans and monitor cost-share contributions as part of routine project financial performance monitoring.
• Works closely with the Project Director to periodically review project staffing levels, internal relationships, and staff performance, advise on sensitive personnel issues and engage HR as warranted.
• Promotes the effective use of shared services among projects in the country and from corporate services to ensure operational efficiencies by actively engaging the Project Directors in finding solutions to challenges with shared and corporate services aspects of project success.
• Supports the Project Director to develop a comprehensive project risk management plan to ensure a strong control environment and that project risks are identified, assessed, prioritized, mitigated, and monitored.
• Works with the Project Director in the preparation and execution of internal audits and ensures timely resolution of issues identified.
• Provides guidance and support to the Project Director as s/he partners with client and donor for preparation and execution of external evaluations and audits.
• Oversees and ensures that compliant management and operations systems are in place to effectively support the project’s technical activities and safeguard MSH.
• Ensures the Project Director and the full project team are aware of and comply with all donor regulations, local laws, MSH policies, procedures, and personnel standards (technical, contractual, financial, business ethics, etc.).
• Conducts project management support and Project Director supervision visits, as needed, to observe and review project performance, systems, culture, and work environment.

Management of Project Director Performance (25%)

• Works with Project Director to develop clear Performance Objectives and Professional Development Goals (PDG) and actively monitor and discuss these objectives throughout the year and evaluate their attainment during the annual Performance Review.
• Orients Project Director to position responsibilities. Provide or organize any on-the-job or refresher training or orientation as needed.
• Coaches Project Director on issues pertaining to financial and risk management, donor relationship management, staff management, program design, and annual work planning and communications.
• Provides needed coaching/mentoring to assure continued high performance, leadership development, and succession planning based on PD’s PDGs and assessed performance.
• Supports the Project Director to create and foster a collaborative working environment within the project team including the home office support team.
  

Strategic Knowledge Exchange and Business Development (20%)

• Promotes knowledge exchange and lessons learned by working with the project team, Senior Manager, and TSL to identify and document challenges, solutions, innovations, best practices, and lessons learned.
• Provides strategic inputs to and liaises with a new business development organization, including identifying program opportunities, selecting strong program leadership and staff candidates, intelligence gathering, positioning, and contributing to proposals.

Contributions to Program Delivery and MSH (10%)

• Works closely with VP – Program Delivery as part of the Program Delivery leadership team.
• Actively participates in staff meetings, assigned working groups, information sessions, etc.
• Support the rollout and adherence to new policies and procedures
• Provide feedback to other managers on their supervisee’s performance in relation to their work on assigned projects (e.g. Senior Managers, TSLs, (S)PSOs, etc.).

LOCATION: US-MA-Medford, US-VA-Arlington, or Remote

REQUIRED MINIMUM EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• 12-15+ years of relevant and related work experience with international development project management and a Master’s degree or higher in a field of study relevant to job responsibility.
• At least 10 years of management experience managing health projects in developing countries.
• Demonstrated experience in the management of USAID and other donor-funded activities (e.g., CDC, World Bank, DFID, Gates Foundation, Global Fund, foreign governments, etc.) and new business development. Experience managing USAID contracts, familiar with contractual requirements and processes.
• Significant experience managing long-term projects and supervising professional staff and senior staff such as project directors and headquarters project management & support staff.
• Experience working in a developing country environment on a long-term assignment or multiple short-term assignments.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Strong interpersonal skills and a demonstrated capacity to lead a team and collaborate with colleagues and partner organizations to achieve results.
• Strong writing and oral presentation skills in English and a second language as appropriate for the portfolio of countries under supervision.
• Proven track record in the financial management of international projects.

• Understanding of USAID and field Missions; USG audiences, trends, and requirements.

COMPETENCIES: Functional and Technical Skills, Problem Solving & Decision Quality, Emotional Resilience, Integrity, Collaboration, Empowerment. Assessing, Managing, and Measuring Work.

About the Organization

Management Sciences for Health, an international nonprofit organization, is dedicated to closing the gap between what is known and what is done about public health problems. MSH saves lives and improves health by helping public and private organizations throughout the world to effectively manage people, medicines, money, and information. Working from more than 30 country offices and our US headquarters, our staff from 65 nations is highly regarded for its technical expertise, integrity, and commitment to making a lasting difference in health.

Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is a nonprofit international health organization composed of more than 2,000 people from 73 nations. Their mission is to save lives and improve the health of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health. Together with their partners, they are helping managers and leaders in developing countries to create stronger management systems that improve health services for the greatest health impact.

EXPERTISE

MSH takes an integrated approach to building high-impact sustainable programs that address critical challenges in leadership, health systems management, human resources, and medicines. Simply put, they support stronger health systems for greater health impact.

Their expertise in these areas falls into the broad categories of management functions—for example, leadership and governance or pharmaceutical management—and health areas like tuberculosis or maternal, newborn, and child health. They apply their expertise by

• Partnering with governments, local organizations, and communities in developing nations to build their own capacity for long-term health impact;
• Providing global leadership in critical areas of health management and health care delivery;
• Bringing the best of MSH from around the globe to the people we serve, working as One MSH with a focus on lasting health system improvements.

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Leadership, Governance, & Management

They work with in-country partners to build stronger health systems to improve:

• the management and leadership of priority health programs, health organizations, and multisectoral partnerships such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, developing a critical mass of managers at all levels of the health system who can lead and inspire teams to achieve results;
  
• the management systems of health organizations in the public and private sector, transferring practical approaches and skills to ensure that management structures contribute to sustainable organizational success;
  
• the governance and management of health organizations and multisectoral partnerships, facilitating change and transferring knowledge to enable organizations to administer their resources efficiently and scale up their services.

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Health Service Delivery

MSH combines extensive public health expertise, proven service delivery approaches, and evidence-based interventions in five critical areas:

• HIV & AIDS
• Tuberculosis
• Maternal, newborn, and child health
• Family planning and reproductive health
• Other communicable diseases, including malaria and pandemic and avian influenza

Human Resources for Health

MSH helps governments develop multisectoral strategies and policies to plan and manage their health workforces. We use a comprehensive approach that addresses all the facets of human resources for health needed to achieve an adequate supply of well-trained and motivated health workers. MSH offers capabilities in leadership, human resource management, education, partnerships, policy, and finance to achieve these goals.

Pharmaceutical Management

Vital to our success is a participatory approach to project design and implementation, which cultivates broad-based support from all stakeholders. We also build and improve infrastructure and local capacity to effectively purchase, store, deliver, and use quality essential medicines.

Health Care Financing

MSH helps governments and NGOs assess their current financial situation and systems, understand service costs, and develop initiatives to use existing funds more effectively and generate additional revenue—all with the goal of supporting a nation’s health priorities.

Health Information

MSH has developed proven methods for rapidly strengthening the analysis and use of existing health data—normally at the province, district, and facility levels—without revising existing recording and reporting requirements. With an emphasis on learning through action, district teams undertake assessments of health services, identify gaps in performance, and design solutions to support better decision-making and, therefore, better management of improved services.

MSH has worked closely with the Health Metrics Network of the WHO to develop a comprehensive approach for enhancing the performance of health information systems and data by employing a practical, strategic planning process that can be carried out by national working groups.