Project Director/ Principal Investigator

The Project Director (PD) will provide vision, leadership and direction to ensure the strategic, programmatic, technical, and financial integrity for an upcoming CDC-funded Global Health Security (GHS) and Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) activity in Liberia. The project aims to improve national-to-subnational coordination and to detect and manage responses to outbreaks earlier, provide expertise to develop and advance Liberia’s Emergency Response Framework (ERF), and develop a national emergency management training program to support country-level response capacity.

The PD will have the overall responsibility for leadership, management and reporting of all project activities. The PD will be responsible for achieving the planned results set out for the project, as well as project deliverables and reporting, and serves as the primary point of contact with the donor. The PD will be responsible for making key decisions and solving problems in short timeframes while ensuring operational and project quality and integrity. They will serve as the project’s main point of contact with CDC and the Liberian Government on routine and strategic matters.

The project is expected to operate over a five-year period.

This position is contingent upon award from CDC. Liberian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and strategic direction to ensure programmatic and financial integrity of the project and to achieve rapid and sustained goals, objectives and targets

Ensure the project is technically sound, evidence-based and responsive to the needs of countries, its people and donors

Advance goals of locally led development and work closely to strengthen capacities of local institutions

Ensure compliance with the terms of the award and organizational compliance and adherence to policies and guidelines

Represent Jhpiego and the project’s progress, achievements and lessons learned to donors, other key stakeholders, and through meetings, conferences, and presentations

Provide technical leadership and ensure the quality and sustainability of interventions

Ensure CDC guiding principles are woven into project implementation approaches

Lead the annual work planning process with the project team, and in close collaboration with CDC, MOH, and subnational offices, key stakeholders, partners, and ensure effective resource planning and utilization

Responsible for the overall management of the project budget and ensure the project delivers on time, on scope and on budget

With the Technical Director, oversee the preparation and timely submission of quality project reports to donor

Participate in relevant technical working groups and other knowledge exchange forums and provide technical leadership and guidance as required

Mentor, support, supervise and manage a team of highly qualified staff and align their efforts to ensure rapid and sustainable results

Lead and motivate the project team, ensuring high levels of performance across all areas, fostering a culture of critical problem solving, innovation and strategic thinking

Provide guidance, in collaboration with staff, to sub-grantees and partners to ensure they deliver on their scope

Support the development of local organization capacity development plans

Work with Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) staff to develop M&E frameworks and effectively track data/results, and provide strategic inputs to the project’s Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) agenda

Work with finance and project staff to develop and track project budgets

Coordinate efforts with the country team lead to ensure alignment with organizational strategy, mission and goals

Writes and/or reviews technical components of materials and publications related to the project and its development.

Ensures resources for program implementation are available.

Required Qualifications

Advanced degree in medicine, nursing, health sciences, epidemiology, public health or a related field

Demonstrated experience and knowledge in establishing project systems and overseeing project start-up and close-out

Experience working with sub-/grantees, local and international and knowledge of capacity development approaches for locally-led development

Previous experience working in Liberia with an intimate understanding of local health system gaps, opportunities, and outbreaks, with the expertise and ability to provide, develop, and advance Liberia’s Emergency Response Framework (ERF) and maintaining solid relationships with government agencies.

Strong analytical and critical thinking skills and ability to translate data into action, and communicate results to wide ranging audiences

Intimate understanding of local health system and gaps and opportunities in the mentioned technical areas

Experience hiring and supervising personnel and ensuring they acquire the necessary training and skills to meet evolving project needs

Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships with CDC, host-country counterparts and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs and CSOs

Previous experience working on CDC-funded projects, matched with an in-depth knowledge of CDC regulations, compliance and reporting requirements

Excellent verbal, written interpersonal and presentation skills in English

Ability to coach, mentor and develop technical capacity in regional and national projects and technical staff

Proficiency in word processing and Microsoft Office applications

Ability to travel nationally and internationally

Preferred Qualifications

Jhpiego offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive employee benefits package.

Please apply at

Applicants must submit a single document for upload to include: cover letter, resume, and references.

For further information about Jhpiego, visit our website at

Note: The successful candidate selected for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation.

Jhpiego is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins University affiliate, is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, other legally protected characteristics or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. Jhpiego promotes Affirmative Action for minorities, women, individuals who are disabled, and veterans.

EEO is the Law

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Full-Time