Senior Manager, Portfolio Strategy and Operations

Job Description

Position title:

Senior Manager, Portfolio Strategy and Operations

Location:

Geneva

Purpose of the position:

Provide strategic advice and analysis across the country portfolio and optimise portfolio management operational guidelines, processes and performance.

Department:

Country Programmes (CP)

Team:

Country Programmes, Management

Reports to:

Managing Director, Country Programmes

N° of positions supervised:

N/A

Career step level:

4

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of nearly 700 million children and the prevention of more than 10 million future deaths.

BACKGROUND

The Country Programmes department works in close liaison and coordination with national counterparts, Alliance partners, Civil Society Organisations and other relevant stakeholders, in order to achieve maximum impact through Gavi’s vaccine implementation, better results in vaccine coverage and equity and long-term sustainability of interventions. The department supports Gavi eligible countries through the entire portfolio management process from applying for support to implementation, evaluation, monitoring, and risk mitigation. The department consists of three teams: Country Support, Health Systems and Immunisation Strengthening, and a Programme Finance unit.

Cutting across and underlying the work of the Country Programmes team are several key country portfolio management processes that are critical to achieving the goals of Gavi. Given the cross-cutting nature of portfolio management, the incumbent will therefore also serve to facilitate cross-CP collaboration and initiatives. The Senior Manager, Portfolio Strategy and Operations is responsible for monitoring country portfolio performance and providing strategic advice to the Managing Director of Country programmes and Management team, to support and lead strategic and operational initiatives that cut across the entire country portfolio, and to ensure operational guidelines of portfolio management are up-to-date and adhered to. The incumbent will also contribute to several core work streams relating to the strengthening and streamlining of Gavi’s country engagement model that involves other Secretariat technical teams and

Alliance partners. He/she will also provide support during critical Board and Programme and Policy Committee (PPC) periods.

KEY FUNCTIONS AND DELIVERABLES

• Ensure effective performance monitoring and tracking tools in place and used to provide strategic advice and guidance to the Managing Director and the CP management team;
• Support and/or lead, as appropriate, specific strategic and operational initiatives that cut across country portfolio management;
• Input and support are provided to the change effort relating to the streamlining and strengthening of the country engagement model and portfolio management, in particular within the context of Gavi 5.0;
• Processes and operational policies requiring better alignment and coordination are identified and, where relevant, are drafted as Operational Guidelines (OGs) and updated in a timely manner;
• CP Management more generally and CP Managing Director more specifically are efficiently supported in all relevant tasks during critical PPC and Board periods, including drafting of key papers.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Portfolio Performance Management:

• Ensure effective portfolio performance management tools are in place and effective;
• Provide regular strategic reports and analysis on portfolio performance with recommendations for improvement;
• Support Gavi’s efforts to better manage knowledge, share best practices across CP and with other teams within the Secretariat and the Alliance.

Operational Guidelines Responsibilities:

• From an operational process perspective, identify issues, processes and policies that require better alignment and coordination with regards to portfolio management;
• Engage with content owners to define, write, and gain consensus on operational guidelines to achieve an internal agreement on programmatic processes, roles and responsibilities; he/she will need to manage the process of amending existing OGs;
• Manage the review and approval process of OGs through the Country Programmes management team, the Operational Guidelines Steering Committee and Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

Support Secretariat’s work stream on strengthening and streamlining Gavi’s country engagement model and portfolio management review:

• Support Managing Director CP in leading key strategic initiatives needed to continuously improve portfolio management processes;
• Participate in relevant cross-Secretariat initiatives relevant to portfolio management, and contribute to key deliverables as appropriate;
• In context of Gavi 5.0 operationalisation, in close collaboration with Country Programmes Management team, ensure adequate links between CP/CS work steams and other 0 operationalisation workstreams.

Country Programmes Management Responsibilities:

• Support cross-cutting issue resolution across Country Programmes Department;
• Work with the CP department to collate technical/policy related and other contextual information in response to external enquiries to the Country Programmes department.

Note: The essential functions listed in this section are not limited only to the tasks listed and may include other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Academic:

• Advanced university degree in public health, business administration or equivalent.

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 8 years of professional experience in the development, public health or other relevant field, with ideally experience in developing countries;
• Demonstrable experience in project management, managing partnerships and multi-stakeholder task forces ideally in both a private and public environment, including management consulting;
• Previous experience working on vaccine programme management, health systems, research, evidence-based planning, and/or internal policy development;
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships, both within and outside the Alliance;
• Previous experience working in or with large international agencies like Gavi, WHO or UNICEF;
• Strong identification with Gavi’s mission and a convincing familiarity with global public health/immunisation issues.

Skills/Competencies:

• Excellent analytical skills and writing ability with experience driving evidence-based decisions;
• Proven problem-solving skills, with the ability to think strategically;
• Prioritisation, planning, and project coordination/management skills;
• Demonstrated capacity to manage a variety of activities simultaneously and take initiative;
• Excellent oral communication, writing and presentational skills, diplomacy and tact;
• Ability to work with minimum supervision;
• Orientation toward action, continuous improvement and results, coupled with pragmatism;
• Ability to build productive relationships in an international, multicultural, multi-partner environment;
• Collaborate effectively and build consensus with a range of internal and external stakeholders;
• High proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
• Knowledge/understanding of immunisation, health or international development issues and procedures an asset.

Languages:

• Fluent English;
• French is an asset.

Contacts:

• Gavi Secretariat;
• Gavi-eligible countries;
• WHO, UNICEF, WB, CDC; and other NGOs;
• Bilateral Donors and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;
• The Global Fund.

Gavi is committed to diversity within its workforce and encourages applications from all qualified candidates.

If you wish to apply, please provide your cover letter and resume by visiting our Careers webpage and apply by clicking on “Senior Manager, Portfolio Strategy and Operations”. Applications deadline is 11 December 2019

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About the Organization

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children's lives and protecting people's health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of nearly 700 million children and the prevention of more than 10 million future deaths.

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