Program Manager II- HMIS, Guinea

Job Description

Job Title: Program Manager II- Health Mgmt Info Systems Strengthening

Job Location: Conakry, Guinea

Job Type: Regular, Full Time

Reports to: Global Fund Malaria Project Director

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary:

CRS has operated in Guinea since 2000 supporting relief and development operations with programs focused on health, governance, education and institutional capacity building with OCPH-Caritas Guinea (Organisation pour la promotion humaine-Caritas Guinea) and other local organizations. CRS has also developed strong relationships with government line ministries, partners and communities we serve in the country. Since 2013, CRS has served as Principal Recipient for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (Global Fund) grant for malaria and health system strengthening in Guinea. In the Global Fund New Financing Mechanism 2021-2023 (NFM3), CRS will continue to support the Ministry of Health malaria control strategic plan with the goal of leading the country towards pre-elimination by 2023 by reducing malaria-related morbidity and mortality by 50% compared to 2016 rates.

As Program Manager II - HMIS (Health Management Information Systems) you will manage and provide technical oversight of the development and implementation of Country Program (CP) HMIS and MEAL portfolio, particularly for large and complex projects, ensuring effective systems and processes are in place that support high-quality programming advancing Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work in serving the poor and vulnerable. Your management skills and knowledge will ensure that the CP delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving the impact of its HMIS programming.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

As Program Manager II you will provide technical support, mentoring, and capacity building with Ministry of Health units tasked with managing the national health management information system (HMIS) at both national and district levels. You will collaborate with the malaria, TB, HIV and COVID 19 sectors to strengthen HMIS collaboration. You will provide support in the areas of malaria prevention, malaria case management, COVID 19 prevention and MEAL (monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning) with ICT4D activities at both health facility and community levels, ensuring that activities are implemented with high quality and according to WHO recommendations.

Key tasks of this role will include, but are not limited to:

• Work closely with the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) and other branches of the Ministry of Health (MOH) responsible for HMIS, as well as with WHO, USAID, UNICEF, UNAIDS, the European Union, GAVI, the Roll Back Malaria and Stop TB partnerships and other institutions involved in malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV prevention and management and HMIS.
• Provide management, guidance, and technical oversight of HMIS and MEAL unit within the Guinea Global Fund Malaria and health Systems Strengthening project throughout the project cycle to ensure project design, start-up, implementation and close-out are in line with CRS quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices
• Effectively manage talent for HMIS and MEAL and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, and complete performance management for direct reports
• Lead the digitalization of SMC and LLIN campaigns in line with the agency’s ambition to stand as the leader of ICT4D for malaria activities in West Africa region
• Lead the development of program learning - identify opportunities for learning, research and publications in the area of malaria and health systems strengthening and implementation of MEAL policy. Facilitate the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned to contribute to the agency knowledge management agenda. Ensure integration of innovations and best practices.
• Contribute to the proactive pursuit of opportunities for new funding to ensure growth of the Country Program HMIS and MEAL portfolio in line with agency, regional, and CP malaria and health systems strengthening sector strategic priorities. Serve as the technical lead and technical writer to ensure quality proposals per agency and donor standards. Contribute to budgeting and staffing plans and activities for proposals.
• In collaboration with MOH HMIS:
  • Contribute to defining strategic priorities for HMIS
  • Support functionality and use of DHIS2 and maintain contribution among all stakeholder
  • Ensure the interoperability between the data collection tools and the national data base (DHIS2)
  • Support the decentralization of HMIS database to district and health facility levels
  • Train national, regional, district and health facility level teams in HMIS
  • Support development, adaptation, and dissemination of HMIS data collection tools
  • Support activities to improve completeness and timeliness of health facility monthly reports
  • Support Global Fund malaria grant implementation activities related to case management, vector control through Long Lasting Insecticidal Net distribution, and social behavior change communication

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Public Health, Health Informatics, or field related to Epidemiology or Statistics required. Additional experience may substitute for some education.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in relevant field-based health information system project management experience required, with preferably at least 2-3 years working in the area of malaria, TB and HIV.
• Experience in managing highly complex projects preferably with an international NGO in West Africa.

Required Languages : French fluency (oral and written) and English professional proficiency (oral and written) required.

Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 40%.

Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

About the Organization

Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States. Our mission is to assist the poor and disadvantaged, leveraging the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to alleviate human suffering, promote development of all people, and to foster charity and justice throughout the world. Working through local offices and an extensive network of partners, CRS operates on five continents and in 98 countries. We aid the poor by first providing direct assistance where needed, then encouraging people to help with their own development. Together, these approaches foster secure, productive, just communities that enable people to realize their potential. As the official international relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic community, CRS is also committed to educating the people of the United States to fulfill their moral responsibilities toward our global brothers and sisters by helping the poor, working to remove the causes of poverty, and promoting social justice.