Project Director, HIVST at Population Services International (PSI)

Department: HIV & TB

Based in Nairobi, Kenya OR Kampala, Uganda

Up to 25% regional travel (Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria)

Reports to the Vice President, HIV/TB

Join us!

Are you looking to be a transformational leader in private sector HIV self-testing (HIVST) and self care? PSI is looking for a Project Director for an exciting new project to oversee the project’s launch, inception phase, and scale up. Substantial evidence demonstrates that HIVST increases consumer demand for HIV testing, especially among populations at risk for HIV who are resistant to testing through more conventional routes. Nascent programs to distribute HIVST kits through pharmacies and drug shops have shown some success, but key questions remain about the capacity to achieve public health impact with HIVST in the private sector around effective use, price, demand, and quality. This project is designed to develop a roadmap for reaching a healthy private HIVST market, as well as the building the business case for donors, manufacturers, governments, and investors for investing to create that healthy market. Expected to launch in September/October 2020, this is a three-year project in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).

The Project Director should have significant leadership, program management, and development experience in Africa, with a demonstrated track record in successfully managing highly collaborative projects that engage multiple stakeholders. We’re looking for individuals with deep experience in the HIV response who are interested in evaluating and piloting innovative, market-based approaches to solving public health problems.

This position requires teamwork, coordination, creativity, flexibility, and emotional intelligence. We want someone who can manage multiple and competing priorities, solve problems collaboratively, enjoy their work, and liaise diplomatically and effectively with multiple stakeholders and diverse teams. You are able to see the big picture while understanding program details.

Your contribution

The Project Director will be the coordination point between PSI’s Global Services office (“headquarters”), our field-based teams, creative design agencies, in-country and global stakeholders, and our donors to ensure program design and implementation meet PSI and donor standards and follow global best practices. More specifically, the Project Director will:

• Oversee the establishment and support of ongoing stakeholder engagement processes in the three countries to guide the project’s activities and ensure full buy-in. Ensure constructive and collaborative relationships are established and maintained with partners.
•  Closely collaborate with this project’s sister projects: the STAR Project, focused on growing global markets for HIVST and the DISC project, aimed at developing self-care approaches in reproductive health.
•  Oversee and manage a rapid human-centered design process to develop testable demand-creation and service delivery models for private-sector based HIVST programs.
• Oversee the piloting of prototypes emerging from the design process with project partners, donors, and other key stakeholders.
• With project staff, ensure that lessons and insights emerging from the project are continuously evaluated, discussed, packaged and disseminated.
• Based on lessons emerging from the project’s pilots, manage the creation of a “Roadmap for Private Sector HIVST Investment” in collaboration with key stakeholders, technical working group, and steering committee. Ensure project deliverables are achieved on time and to the highest standard.
• Act as the donor focal point and ensure that a constructive and collaborative relationship is maintained at all times.
• Ensure the effective use and coordination of donor resources and the compliance of the financial systems and controls following the Foundation’s standards.
• Develop country specific implementation plans including timelines and assigned roles and responsibilities in partnership with country leads and local stakeholders that allow for an iterative approach to prototyping solutions, testing in market, and refining for scale.
• Lead internal and external program planning and reporting including annual work planning with sub award partners.
• Ensure the project is effectively set-up to enable programmatic and cost analyses
• Develop program approaches with replicability, scale, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability in mind.
• Provide effective management, guidance, and support to a core team of technical and country staff members.
• Identify opportunities for dissemination and replication of the approach both internal to PSI as well as within the broader HIV/global health community.
• Identify strategic and creative partnerships to expand programming.

What are we looking for?

The basics

• You have at least a masters degree in public health, international development, or related field.
• You have 10+ years of professional experience, with at least 4 years’ experience implementing HIV testing programs in one of the three project countries.
• You are well-versed in the HIV response, with the ability to clearly articulate and strategize around National, Global Fund and PEPFAR priorities.
• Exceptional managerial and operational experience, preferably managing complex multi-national, donor funded activities involving coordination with multiple program partner institutions.
• Experience testing innovative project interventions; experience in marketing and digital health interventions is a plus.
• You are fluent in English.
• You can use evidence effectively to tell compelling stories related to HIV and public health.
• Demonstrated ability to write manuscripts, technical reports, scientific articles
• You have strong facilitation, presentation, and public speaking skills.
• You are organized, have strong communication skills, and can manage multiple priorities.
• You are willing to travel* and get work done- sometimes on short notice.
• Familiarity with managing CIFF programming is preferred.

What would get us excited? 

• You are a “stakeholder whisperer” who is great at building and maintaining a wide range of relationships to facilitate buy-in and maintain momentum.
• You are serious and yet don’t not take yourself too seriously.
• You’ve demonstrated that you can manage a successful HIV program and meet tough donor standards, and you’re ready for something new and “outside the box.”
• You have experience with adaptive implementation.
• You are versatile and ready to jump right in, fill gaps when and where needed, and manage a full plate efficiently and effectively all while seeing the big picture.

STATUS:

• Exempt

PSI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of actual or perceived race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, matriculation, political affiliation, family status or responsibilities, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions or breastfeeding, genetic information, amnesty, veteran, special disabled veteran or uniform service member status or employment status.