Vacancy Announcement

PIH currently has implementation programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Sierra Leone and Navajo Nation. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world.

Our Work In Sierra Leone:

Partners In Health (PIH) began supporting the government of Sierra Leone in response to the Ebola epidemic in October 2014. Recognizing the large need for continued investments in the health system after Ebola, PIH is committed to long-term health system strengthening in support of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), guided by the same principles as our emergency response and our work around the world: public sector accompaniment, integrated and comprehensive services, social justice, nimbleness and flexibility, partnership, community ownership, and evidence-based interventions. In the aftermath of the epidemic, PIH is committed to supporting the delivery of comprehensive health services in Sierra Leone, from the community level to the health center and to referral hospitals.

The Maternal Center of Excellence: At this critical juncture in the fight to end preventable maternal and child mortality, PIH will establish a Maternal Center of Excellence (MCOE) in rural Kono District, Sierra Leone—an epicenter of the world’s maternal health crisis. In Sierra Leone, a woman’s lifetime risk of dying prematurely from a maternal cause is one in 20—one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Twelve percent of children will also die before their fifth birthday in Sierra Leone—among the highest rates in the world. The MCOE will provide high-quality care to women and families who need it most, build local health capacity for sustained impact, and create a blueprint for scaling proven interventions in women’s health around the world.

The MCOE is PIH’s response to both the devastating circumstances and promising advancements we’ve seen in women’s health in Kono District, across Sierra Leone, and around the world. In partnership with the Ministry of Health of Sierra Leone, PIH will:

1. Construct, equip, and staff an estimated 166-bed national center of excellence for maternal and child health

1. Launch and scale services to improve and expand access to a comprehensive, advanced package of care for women and children

1. Establish the MCOE as a hub of innovation through the development of clinical training, mentorship, and research programs

1. Promote the scale and replication of the MCOE model in Sierra Leone and globally, through Ministry of Health accompaniment, advocacy, and the transfer of knowledge and innovation.

The Director of RMNH is managing relationships with stakeholders such as the local government and construction contractor, and the Chief of Party is accountable for the success of these relationships to move the initial phases of groundbreaking, construction, and planning forward. This position requires extensive coordination skills, program design and management skills, technical knowledge of hospital construction and operations, and experience in impoverished settings. Ability to thrive under tight deadlines and comfort with ambiguity is essential.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Ultimately “own” successful execution and planning of the Maternal Center of Excellence by translating the team’s vision into concrete action points, building alignment across stakeholders, unblocking obstacles, ensuring decisions are made, recorded and disseminated, and providing consistent strong follow-up to ensure steady progress for the project against timelines and deliverables.
• Oversee MCOE project planning, including the aspects of budget, operations, high-level workplan timelines, and cross-team collaboration
• Be the primary point of contact for MCOE planning and programs with PIH leadership in Sierra Leone and the Coordination site.
• Make recommendations to the Executive Director about what additional resources, staff, and skills are required to ensure the planning and implementation of the MCOE is a success and we are ready to operate the facility when it opens.
• Lead team planning efforts for the next 18-24 months (about 2 years), ensure the capture of all the deliverables required for the continued operational planning for the MCOE, and the ongoing construction phases of the MCOE.
• Understand the skills and contributions of the clinical, operations, finance, and policy and partnerships teams and then put together and execute the plan that drives progress towards achieving our MCOE deliverables.
• Ensure finance team members dedicated to the MCOE understand the ever-changing nature of the MCOE program, keeping them up to date on the latest program changes and ensuring all program components are fully costed.

Project Management

• Strengthen and maintain robust operational, financial and administrative planning systems to enable PIH to successfully oversee its mission of opening the MCOE on time, with the right staff, appropriate supplies, equipment, and pharmaceuticals, world-class design, and support structures.
• Compile from every technical group all of the policies, protocols planning documents that will be required to operate the MCOE. Keep an easy to access library of these protocols liaising with the Senior Director of Systems and Growth.
• Implement an effective project management system “to get things done,” and ensure that the team has a strong handle on program management tools, software, and other solutions to track and follow up on multiple levels of growing complexity across different technical departments.
• Promote and model tenets of PIH philosophy such as ‘the patients are our bosses’
• Provide supportive supervision and accompaniment to MCOE planning team staff on a regular basis

Stakeholder Management

• Ensure regular communication with the Finance Director to ensure there are strong links between the MCOE financial planning and analysis team and the overall financial oversight of the organization.
• Partner with the Executive Director and Director of RMNH in leading stakeholder engagement strategies across the country and internationally. Identify areas where there are ongoing gaps and work with the Executive Director and Director of RMNH to determine how those gaps might best be filled.
• Represent PIH-SL and the MCOE Team in critical high-level communication with construction partners, government entities and community stakeholders.

• Dedication to and passion for social justice and health equity
• 10 years of experience in management, program planning, including at least 3 years at the director level.
• Master’s Degree, or Bachelor’s Degree and equivalent experience
• Experience working in low resource settings similar to Sierra Leone
• Demonstrated knowledge of planning tools and procedures, best practices, and software packages
• Significant experience working on donor-funded projects (USAID, CDC, Global Fund, World Bank, Unitaid, etc.)
• Prior experience with large, multi-year projects with multiple stakeholders across regions
• Proven capability in managing people and projects, including developing and managing strategies, work plans, performance metrics and budgets.
• Demonstrated experience working with and mentoring a diverse team.
• Proven ability and inclination to lead collaboratively, yet able to make tough decisions as necessary;
• Demonstrated strategic thinking and analytical skills, good judgment, political astuteness and tact
• Creative problem-solving and flexibility and impeccable integrity
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills and humility

Strongly preferred

• Prior experience in large international NGOs, ideally in country offices with budgets $25m+/year and significant complexity
• Hospital construction and planning management experience
• Prior experience in organizations engaged in direct service delivery, ideally healthcare