Clinton Health Access Initiative - Program Officer - Planning & Coordination/Immunization

Program Officer, Planning & Coordination, Immunization

Overview:

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance.

CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture.

CHAI in partnership with its India affiliate, William J. Clinton Foundation's (WJCF) has been working in India since 2004 in close partnership with and under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) at the central and state levels on an array of high priority initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes. Currently, WJCF programs support government initiatives on HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis, vector borne diseases, COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance, cancer and non-communicable diseases, sexual and reproductive health, family planning, immunization, malnutrition, anaemia, childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia, oxygen, access to safe drinking water, diagnostics and surveillance, health financing, and digital health.

Talent is the fundamental driver of WJCF's success in helping save lives and reduce the burden of disease. WJCF's organizational values reflect its relentless endeavour of hiring, nurturing, empowering, and celebrating diverse and high calibre individuals who come together to work as cohesive teams. WJCF places a high premium on providing its staff with an enabling environment that encourages entrepreneurship, humility, respect, equal share of voice and fosters high impact innovation to address some of the most challenging healthcare issues.

Programme Overview:

- India's Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is one of the largest public immunization programmes in the world. It caters to 27 million infants and 30 million pregnant women. The programme provides access to vaccines against 11 Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs) at the national level and against one VPD at the sub-national level.

- Under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and state governments, the immunization ecosystem has demonstrated a proactive commitment to achieving universal immunization coverage in the country in recent years. This includes health system strengthening efforts towards the introduction of new vaccines, rolling out of data systems, digitization of vaccine cold chain and inventory management, and health worker capacity building. MoHFW plans to scale up a digitized beneficiary management system (UWIN) for Routine Immunization, introduce new vaccines in the UIP, and reduce Zero-dose children.

Project Background:

- WJCF's immunization program supports the MoHFW's UIP at the national level and in the focus states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. The programme also supports national and state governments on broader operational aspects such as planning, capacity building and systems improvements for immunization service delivery.

- In Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, the programme provides catalytic support for achieving and sustaining 90% FIC. The programme focuses on setting up effective program management & review mechanisms, identifying pressing challenges as well as best practices in RI, enhancing impact of well performing interventions, developing & deploying effective solutions to pressing challenges and undertaking multi-year planning for long term immunization systems strengthening.

- In Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the programme provides support to strengthen urban immunization systems and improve urban coverage in select cities in collaboration with the MoHFW and the state governments. Guided by the MoHFW's City Embrace Model, the programme focuses on solving for systemic and hyperlocal challenges by conceptualizing and implementing contextual solutions.

Position Summary:

- The Program Officer, Planning & Coordination (Immunization) will be responsible to support the development of programme strategy and operational plan at the state level with the programme leadership and support the management of implementation progress of the RI Strengthening project in the 100 Aspirational Blocks and respective districts in Uttar Pradesh.

- In addition, they will play a pivotal role in orchestrating the successful execution of an implementation research project. Based out of Lucknow, they will report to the Senior Associate, Routine Immunization and will support the program management, development of project deliverables, conduct planning and data analysis, and the publication and dissemination initiatives.

- The role entails a combination of planning, tracking project's progress, stakeholder engagement, and other management practices to ensure that the project objectives are met with high quality and on a timely basis.

- We seek a highly qualified and motivated individual with strong analytical, quantitative, and strategy development skills and an exemplary record of leadership and management. The successful candidate will have excellent communications skills, be able to function independently with flexibility in a dynamic and often uncertain situation, be self-motivated, can thrive in challenging environments, and have a strong commitment to excellence. The successful candidate will also to be adept at coordinating the operations of cross-functional and multi-location teams and have a strong commitment to excellence. We place great value on relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, energy, and work ethic.

Responsibilities:

- Support the development of program strategy, craft comprehensive project plans, define project milestones and timelines to ensure efficient progress and deliverables for the UP-RI Strengthening project.

- Support the Senior Associate, Routine Immunization in implementing strategies for effective program execution and delivery and collaborate closely with team members to facilitate seamless coordination and workflow efficiency.

- Develop questionnaires for qualitative and quantitative data collection along with templates and planning aids that support in program management and progress tracking.

- Conduct thorough desk reviews and utilize analytical tools and methodologies to interpret data, identify trends, and derive actionable insights to improve immunization program implementation.

- Prepare comprehensive reports, impactful presentations, and documentation effectively communicating project progress and recommendations for stakeholders and donor.

- Generate concise and accurate minutes of meetings, maintaining a record of discussions, decisions, and action items.

- Support the Senior Associate, Routine Immunization in comprehensively executing planned immunization support interventions, stepping in to handle delegated tasks efficiently.

- Travel on short notice to various parts of the state and often to national destinations as well.

- Undertake any other duties as requested by the programme leadership.

Qualifications:

- Master's degree in management, economics, operations research, economics, public health, or allied areas.

- Work experience of at least 2 years of experience in a result-driven environment, in the public and/or private sector, with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership.

- Exceptional diplomacy and interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to build strong professional relationships with a range of stakeholders in a challenging, multi-cultural environment.

- Demonstrated analytical abilities and an aptitude for problem solving.

- Understanding of ethical considerations in research and data collection practices.

- Excellent oral and written communication skills, including ability to create persuasive presentations, written reports, and budgets.

- Ability to thrive in dynamic, fast paced environments, independently managing multiple tasks with precision.

- High emotional intelligence, patience, and thoughtfulness even in high-pressure, stressful situations.

- Entrepreneurial mindset, including the ability to work independently, self-motivate, and propose and implement new initiatives.

- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

- Fluency in English and Hindi.

Preferred:

- Prior experience of working in immunization related projects or public health interventions across diverse contexts, especially governance, systems strengthening, financing and /or management of operations at sub- national level, or similar fast-paced, output-oriented environments.

- Proficiency in statistical software for robust data analysis.

- Strong experience engaging with government officials and multilateral organizations.

- Prior experience in leading and publishing qualitative and quantitative research.