Health Technical Specialist & Programs Officer

Program Management Maternal and Child Health Global Public Health

Issues Strategic Planning and Implementation Database Administration

Staff Supervision and Development Cross-functional Collaboration

Qualifications Profile

Highly analytical and results-driven professional with extensive experience

in global health programs planning and management. Equipped with excellent

communication skills necessary in cultivating positive relationships with

clients, stakeholders, staff, peers, and management. Expert in federal,

bilateral, and foundation grant rules, regulations and systems to ensure

program compliance. Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel,

PowerPoint, and Access), MS Project, SAS, and R statistical software.

Bilingual in English and Amharic. Due for Project Management Professional

(PMP) Certificate.

Work Experience

Africare Washington, DC (2012-Present)

Senior Health Technical Specialist 2015-Present

Directly supervise five Africa-based senior staff members, which include

officers-in-charge, country directors, and project leads across four

Southern African countries; and ensure all their in-country operations

adhere to organizational policies and standards.

Oversee a portfolio of 14 projects in 4 countries worth more than $25M,

conducting daily duties, periodic calls, and site visits to ensure project

performance is in accordance with allocated timeline, scope, and budget.

Ensure quality deliverables to donors by developing and utilizing detailed

implementation plans; M&E plans; determining financial and programmatic

risks; performing periodic performance and report reviews; and creating and

carrying out focused mitigation plans, including provision of technical

assistance.

Serve as point of contact at Headquarters for high profile MCH and other

projects by communicating routinely with stakeholders, such as partners and

donors to establish project goals, duties, and roles; report progress; and

realign plans, thereby promoting continued partnership. Donor groups

included: Merck for Mothers, the ELMA Foundation, the Bill and Melinda

Gates Foundation, UNICEF, Global Fund, USAID, CDC, and PEPFAR.

Render assistance during all stages of new business development process by

seeking organizational partnerships; developing capacity statements; and

leading the drafting and review of teaming agreements, technical proposals

and budgets.

Support the chief of programs and the director of health in a programmatic

and technical capacity towards critical and routine organizational decision-

making by conducting detailed analysis of portfolio.

Perform project startup and closeout activities to accomplish full cycle

management, such as orientation workshops for country project teams

regarding organizational procedures and policies, as well as project goals

and technical approaches, which led to the creation of detailed execution

and tracking plans for projects at the outset.

Contribute on the development, standardization, and utilization of multiple

systems and tools, which optimized compliance and monitoring of various

grants and sub-grantees, including reporting calendars, closeout calendars,

and checklists.

Health Technical Specialist 2012-2015

Functioned as the health programs technical backstop in Malawi, Mozambique,

Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, ensuring quality deliverables for

programs in various sectors including maternal and child health (MCH);

HIV/AIDS; Nutrition; and, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects,

which valued over $35M.

Assumed the role of lead specialist, in charge of supporting Africare-wide

orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) projects including the Pamoja Tuwalee

$17M USAID/PEPFAR funded Tanzania project through the following:

Writing and editing programmatic reports, briefs, proposals, and capacity

statements;

Development of OVC project proposals with sum value of over $100M; and

Assistance in cultivating partnerships, setting technical direction, and

drafting concepts and proposals in response to RFAs and unsolicited

opportunities.

Served as the HQ program manager for South Africa CDC/PEPFAR comprehensive

HIV/AIDS project ($20.1M) ensuring HQ-field efficient administration of HR,

finance, and procurement compliance issues.

Led the 2-phased design and implementation of a highly visible Zambia MNCH

project, involving social mobilization and self-sustaining maternity

waiting homes model development to improve access to skilled birth

attendance.

Successfully secured support of different private donors, including Gates

Foundations, ELMA, and Merck for Mothers, leading to the formation of a

strong alliance to increase adoption of maternity homes strategy in Zambia,

in collaboration with USAID's Saving Mothers Giving Life program, Zambia

MoH and other implementing partners.

Earned the first Africare 'Ubuntu' Spirit Award, in 2014, signifying peer

assessment of 'humanity to others' in the areas of trust, respect,

collaboration, or community within Africare.

Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA

Research Assistant - Women's Health Unit, Part-time 2012

Fulfilled duties in the company's Health Navigation program by determining

women overdue for breast exam using the electronic medical database,

identifying and resolving barriers to seeking care for individual women,

and making arrangements for screening.

Maintained database with information on completion of mammography screening

and subsequent referral for care.

Whittier Street Health Center, Boston, MA

CenteringPregnancy Program Data Analysis Intern - OB-GYN Department, Part-

time 2011-2012

Extracted 5-year data from a Microsoft Access-based pregnancy registration

database at a Boston community health center.

Collaborated with case managers in updating missing data, and performed

data cleanup.

Analyzed data to set a baseline of care and outcomes in evaluating the new

antenatal care model - CenteringPregnancy .

Managed data upkeep for the new program, including antenatal care program,

clinical information, and participant and staff evaluation.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) Foundation,

Washington, DC

Services Coordinator 2009-2010

Provided essential communication and administrative support within the

company's five affiliate organizations.

Organized logistical support for different on- and off-site conferences and

advocacy events.

Supported fulfillment of public's literature requests on health and

nutrition topics.

Executed office service requests from staff by liaising with different

vendors.

Tracked, researched, and purchased supplies needed throughout organization

on a weekly basis.

Save the Children, Washington, DC

HIV and AIDS Program Management Intern Summer 2009

Prepared HIV and AIDS program materials to update the SharePoint internal

website.

Rendered assistance to the International Technical Management Team in

coordinating programs, which focused on maternal health, nutrition, child

health, and orphans and vulnerable children.

Provided proposal development support to technical staff.

Led the update of HIV and AIDS program capacity statements for the

organization.

Provided support in tracking and managing grant mapping and AIDS fund

Authorization datasheet.

Education and Credentials

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certificate, In Progress (Expected

Dec 2016)

Project Management Institute

Master of Public Health (MPH) in Maternal and Child Health, 2012

Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA

Rising Star Award, May 2012

Relevant Coursework: Planning and Managing MCH programs in Developing

Countries; Program Monitoring and Evaluation; Qualitative Methods for

program Evaluation; International Health Consulting; and Poverty Health and

Development

Bachelor of Science, Double Major in Biology and Sociology, 2009

St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY

Graduated magna cum laude honors Excellence in Research and Scholarship

in Sociology, May 2009 Dean's List, 2005-2009

Study Abroad: Medical Practice and Policy, Fall 2007

Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen, Denmark

Professional Development Training

Practical Tools in Project Management (Towards PMP Certification): Sep 2016

Federal Rules and Regulations: Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Jun 2016

Fundamentals of Project Management: A Critical Approach (Towards PMP

Certification): Mar 2016

Proposal/Grant Writing, Grant Training Center: Oct 2012

Various Courses, USAID Global Health e-Learning: 2012-Current

Protecting Human Research Participants, NIH: Jan 2012

Peer Pre-conception Educator, US Office of Minority Health: Aug 2011

Professional Affiliations

Project Management Institute Global Health Council Society for

International Development CORE-Group Devex

Publications

Lori, J.R., Munro M.L., Ahmed Mdluli, E., Musonda G.K., Boyd, C.J. (2016).

Developing a community driven sustainable model of maternity waiting homes

for rural Zambia. Midwifery, 41, 89-95. DOI:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2016.08.005

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