Program Associate Urgently Needed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Job Title:    Program Associate
Tracking Code:    6087
Job Location:    Dar es Salaam , Tanzania
Job Type:    Full-Time/Regular
Employer:    PATH

About Us
PATH is an international organization that drives transformative innovation to save lives and improve health, especially among women and children. We accelerate innovation across five platforms—vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, devices, and system and service innovations—that harness our entrepreneurial insight, scientific and public health expertise, and passion for health equity. By mobilizing partners around the world, we take innovation to scale, working alongside countries primarily in Africa and Asia to tackle their greatest health needs. Together, we deliver measurable results that disrupt the cycle of poor health.

The Better Immunization Data (BID) Initiative’s strategy is based on the premise that better data, plus better decisions, will lead to better health outcomes. Its vision is to empower countries to enhance immunization and overall health service delivery through improved data collection, quality, and use. The BID Initiative will shine a light on the challenges surrounding data collection, quality, and use, and identify practical, country-owned, country-led solutions in immunization that could spread to other health interventions. The Initiative will partner with countries and global health stakeholders to develop and deploy a holistic and scalable approach that focuses on information system products, data management policies, and the practices of people that use them in order to enable evidence-based decision making. These components will be packaged into a replicable solution that can be easily and cost-effectively adapted by additional countries interested in using it to improve their immunization management. If successful, a true tipping point will occur—one in which countries can access, analyze, and act upon accurate immunization data—anytime, anywhere, resulting in improved immunization outcomes.

Job Overview:
The BID Initiative Program Associate will play an important role in supporting the overall activities of the initiative in Tanzania. The Program Associate will work closely with the Senior Program Administrator and provide key support to the BID Initiative Deputy Director and technical leads. This position will both provide the ongoing administrative support for the BID Tanzania team, as well as have the specific responsibility to manage the project timeline and integrated work plan.

Job Duties:

•     Assist in the creation of and provide management of the project timeline and integrated work plan, including tracking of various team activities, key resource allocations, critical-path management, and parallel track planning to ensure milestones and deliverables are constantly defined and monitored across the initiative within Tanzania.
•     Identify, implement, and manage team tools to improve communication, work efficiency, and collaboration within the Tanzania BID Initiative team, as well as with team members in other countries as needed through virtual teaming practices.
•     Responsible to ensure proper planning, completion, and dissemination of deliverables in coordination with Tanzania leadership team; develop and maintain tracking systems for project implementation.
•     Draft correspondence to partners and collaborators, including cover and thank-you letters and general email correspondence.
•     Support activities led by initiative technical staff by helping to plan events, logistics, basic information gathering, and support with overall coordination of activities.
•     Serve as project point person for email, faxes, and other correspondence; alert appropriate individuals regarding necessary action items and gather information to draft responses to routine incoming correspondence.
•     Maintain appropriate electronic and paper information management systems, including maintenance of Tanzania SharePoint site on BID Initiative central site.
•     Maintain project calendars and travel schedules and coordinate with Seattle-based BID Program Assistant on BID-related international travel and meetings.
•     Schedule and assist with team meetings, including making all arrangements for rooms and equipment, compiling and organizing relevant background materials, preparing agendas, drafting meeting minutes, and monitoring follow-up activities.
•     Coordinate arrangements for conferences, workshops, meetings, and other events, including liaising with procurement and addressing equipment needs, catering, travel arrangements, hotel suggestions, taxicabs, and other necessary details for staff, guests, and project consultants. Assist with post-travel expenses and invoices as needed.
•     Coordinate with other PATH departments as needed on communications, travel, and accounting activities.
•     Assist with completion of administrative forms as required, including procurement request forms, check requests, meal conference forms, etc.
•     Assist Project Administrator with contracts monitoring, including submission and follow-up of agreement requests to relevant PATH departments, expiration reports, and payment processing.
•     Assist in coordinating initiative team's work with other PATH programs. Liaise with the Seattle-based BID Initiative Program Assistant and other project support staff in other countries on cross-collaboration activities.

Required Skills:

•         Advanced computer skills using Microsoft Office Suite.
•         Demonstrated administrative and project management skills.
•         Excellent oral and written communications skills, including proofreading and editing.
•         Strong interpersonal and critical thinking skills.
•         Excellent organization, attention to detail, and ability to appropriately prioritize competing tasks.
•         Effective time management and able to work under time pressures.
•         Fluency in English required.

Required Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree,
• A minimum of two to five years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, experience with immunization-related terminology and concepts preferred,experience in an international organization or in a multicultural environment, preferably with a health or development focus, is desired.

You must currently have legal authorization to work in Tanzania

    PATH is dedicated to diversity and is an equal opportunity employer.

    
Deadline Date: 31/05/2014

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