Project Coordinator, Sexual and Reproductive Health Access and Promotion of Empowerment (SHAPE) Full Time

Contract duration: Fixed-term contract (one-year renewable with the possibility of extension)

Type of contract: Full-time

Status: Opened to nationals and expatriates

Base of assignment: Freetown, Sierra Leone

Availability: January 6, 2025

ABOUT US:

Solthis (Therapeutic Solidarity and Initiatives in Health) is an international health NGO that contributes to the strengthening of health systems to improve access to quality care in countries with limited resources and/or with vulnerable populations. Solthis is registered and has been operating in Sierra Leone since 2011. Our teams have provided comprehensive technical support at both health facility, national, and community levels to improve the quality of HIV and TB care, and SRHR services. Solthis applies a policy of non-discrimination in recruitment based solely on the skills, experience, and interpersonal skills of its candidates, and under no circumstances bases its selection criteria on notions such as gender, age, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or state of health. We therefore encourage you all to apply.

BACKGROUND

In West Africa, and specifically in Sierra Leone, adolescents and young people’s (AY) access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and interventions adapted to their needs remains very limited, and a range of barriers hinder the exercise of their SRHR: the weight of socio-cultural determinants, gender inequalities and social norms often unfavourable to early sexuality or sexuality outside marriage, as well as AYs’ low decision-making power, weak health services, lack of access to information and financial barriers. Solthis has received funds from the French Development Agency (AFD) to implement the SHAPE project in partnership with Community Action for the Welfare of Children (CAWeC SL), a Sierra Leonan NGO. Solthis will be responsible for the overall coordination of activities and will operate capacity-building for health professionals and improve the quality of care offered in public health centers while the local partner will roll out all community interventions.

SPECIFIC TASKS

Under the supervision of the Program Coordinator, the Project Coordinator SHAPE oversees the proper execution of the SHAPE project according to Solthis’ quality standards, management of the project team, management of the partnership with CAWeC, donor accountability, and ensuring the feedback of information and project alerts.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE

Management, coordination, and monitoring of project activities, including budgets

• He/she is responsible for the overall management of the project.
• He/she coordinates the development of action plans for the project and specifies the responsibilities of each project team member and each project partner.
• He/she is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the project, including activities implemented by the local partner CAWeC. In particular, he/she will ensure that the objectives are achieved within the deadlines defined contractually with the donor.
• He/she will also be responsible for setting up mechanisms to monitor and ensure the quality of deliverables.
• He/she will be responsible for steering the project budget with support from the finance department both at HQ and at Country level
• He/she will ensure regular operational and budgetary reprogramming in line with the needs and results of operational research, particularly the evaluation of interventions.
• He/she will coordinate the development and implementation of the strategy for documenting and disseminating the project’s results and lessons learned, and more broadly, the advocacy strategy.
• He/she validates expenditure following the budget and participates in the monitoring of expenditure forecasts, ensuring that expenditure is allocated within the budget.
• He/she drafts narrative and financial reports relating to the project (internally and for donors) and participates in the preparation of monthly and annual reports in collaboration with the support of the Program Coordinator.

Supervising and leading the project team

• Works with the Program Coordinator to recruit and integrate the SHAPE project team, and set objectives to be achieved at the end of the trial period.
• Conducts regular individual reviews, providing honest, constructive, and benevolent feedback on performance.
• Supports the setting of annual objectives and assesses, once a year, the performance and skills of the employees under his/her direct supervision and proposes skills development actions.
• Identifies and addresses disciplinary problems in collaboration with the Program Coordinator and HR Management if necessary.
• Ensures that the teams concerned are involved in the decision-making process.

Representation and management of various partnerships

• Ensures commitments to the donors are met in terms of budget management and reporting schedules
• Organizes and leads quarterly review meetings with HQ, government agencies other technical and implementing partners
• Participates in the various SRHR thematics national Technical Working Groups and other national steering committees
• Liaises with and maintains good relations with DMHTs, the Directorate Reproductive Health and Family Planning Programme, the National Secretariat for the Reduction of Teenage Pregnancy, implementing partners, and other organizations involved in SRHR prevention in Sierra Leone

Advocacy / Capitalisation / Communication on projects

• Facilitates communication between operational and MEAL Coordinator
• Participates in national consultation frameworks on the various SRHR thematic
• Defines operational communication actions for projects, i.e. visibility, dissemination of results, closure, etc.
• Documents and disseminates lessons learned from projects
• Ensures that all project-related documents are archived on SharePoint.
• Participates in international conferences related to project themes (pending availability of funds)

PROFILE REQUIRED

Education :

• Degree or master’s degree in public health, health promotion, community development, social work, or a related field.

Experience :

• Minimum 3 years of experience in project and team management, implementation, budget management M&E, and team management in the context of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• Experience working collaboratively with DHMTs, Sexual Reproductive Health-related programs at MoHS, community-based organizations, and healthcare providers.

Tagged as: Sierra Leone, SOLTHIS