Project Director, Pandemic Preparedness Accelerator Initiative

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is a global not-for-profit organization with a mission to prevent 100 million deaths from heart disease and to make the world safer from epidemics. We are led by Dr Tom Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2017, Resolve to Save Lives has partnered with low- and middle-income country governments, multi-lateral agencies, academic and other civil society partners, and communities to build capacity for and support implementation of enabling policies and effective programs to treat and control hypertension, reduce sodium intake, eliminate artificial trans fat, and strengthen systems to prevent, detect and respond to epidemic threats. To find out more about our work, visit: https://www.resolvetosavelives.org.

We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We encourage applications from and provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Resolve to Save Lives complies with all applicable US EEO laws.

Position summary:

RTSL seeks a Project Director for its Pandemic Preparedness Accelerator (PPA) initiative. PPA is a newly established initiative to pilot and innovate approaches to rapid quality improvement for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and support the global rollout of the 7-1-7 timeliness approach (https://resolvetosavelives.org/prevent-epidemics/7-1-7-early-disease-detection). The PPA will serve as a vehicle for countries, bilateral and philanthropic donors, and technical partners interested in advancing the use of RQI approaches to improve the global detection of and response to public health threats. Led by country partners and supported by RTSL, the PPA consortium will partner with countries to accelerate adoption of the 7-1-7 timeliness approach to inform rapid quality improvement of early detection and early response functions.

The PPA will form a technical secretariat hosted by RTSL for an initial 5-year period. During this initial project period, the PPA will focus on alliance building with countries, network creation, partnership development, implementation, and learning, with the goal of building the capacity of institutions at country level to address health security capacity gaps based on functional assessments. The approach will be adaptive and contribute to existing IHR ME (2005) monitoring and evaluation framework tools including the Joint External Evaluation, National Action Plan for Health Security and After-Action Review processes. In collaboration with partners, the PPA will establish a common learning agenda, offer technical assistance, support, and guidance to implement the 7-1-7 approach, as well as establish and run a rapid quality improvement grant program to support countries to address bottlenecks identified using the 7-1-7 metrics implement improvement measures.

The Project Director reports to the Senior Vice President (SVP), Prevent Epidemics and is responsible for establishing, driving, articulating, and implementing a strategic vision for the PPA within RTSL and across partners. This role will coordinate the provision of technical services, grants under contract, and all project activities including the establishment of a partnership network and dissemination of learning between implementing countries and beyond. The PD will also ensure that technical support and grants achieve their objectives; provide management oversight to project staff and subcontractors, and ensure quality control, financial management, and contractual compliance. The PD will manage a small team of technical advisors, communications, learning advisors and grant management staff focused on delivering the objectives of the PPA.

This full-time, remote position is for a fixed term of two years, with the possibility of renewal. The incumbent will be expected to convene periodically for in-person team meetings and to work during East Coast core working hours. The salary range for this role in the US is $140,000 to $160,000; outside the US, salaries are set according to national labor rates for the international NGO sector.

Core duties and responsibilities:

Program Leadership

• In collaboration with the SVP, Prevent Epidemics and RTSL task team, articulate the structure and function of the new partner platform, establishing standard operating procedures, and governance and accountability structures
• Lead innovation and translation of business process and systems thinking
• Manage prioritization and planning of actions in identified countries and regions to strengthen the implementation of rapid quality improvement approaches
• Represent RTSL in international fora; lead engagement with donors and support fundraising activities
• Manage and coordinate with relevant partners to support the strategic and programmatic aims of the PPA
• Foster thought leadership across the PPA Network, supporting the implementing partners and governance structure set the direction for annual work plan development, implementation, and learning
• In collaboration with the Learning Advisor, facilitate a process with partners to provide technical and contextual guidance for the creation of a learning agenda and ensure learning is captured and disseminated between project countries and beyond
• In collaboration with the Director for Global Preparedness and Response, oversee development of resources and guidelines related to implementation of 7-1-7 and performance improvement
• Support RTSL’s SVP, Prevent Epidemics and CEO in strategy development and translation of the approach in the global context
• Create reporting frameworks and communication products to periodically disseminate learning and outcomes

Financial and Administrative Management

• Work closely with the Senior Program Finance Manager and technical staff, as well as pertinent RTSL staff, to ensure project resources are effectively and efficiently budgeted, analyzed, disbursed, monitored, and reported in achieving project objectives
• Ensure compliance with RTSL and external donor procedures and policies
• Oversee project financial and administrative activities, requesting direction from RTSL Finance and Operational teams, as needed
• Ensure project resources are effectively and efficiently budgeted, analyzed, disbursed, monitored, and reported in achieving project objectives and results
• Seek solutions for issues that may affect the project timeline, costs, or quality of deliverables
• Directly supervise and mentor staff, including onboarding, career development, and performance management

Required qualifications:

Experience and Education

• 15 years’ experience in global public health, with some direct experience in health security
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience as lead or deputy lead for projects with similar scale, scope, and complexity
• PhD or Master’s in public health, epidemiology, or a related field, or a medical degree with 5 or more years of experience in public health practice

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated leadership in managing complex programs and ability to motivate multidisciplinary teams
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple partners across different countries/geographies
• Ability to establish and maintain collaborations with a variety of country stakeholders, center their challenges, and offer tailored support to overcome them
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of donors, technical and academic partners
• Experience in strategic planning, coordination, obtaining support for project design and carrying out project implementation
• Technical capacity to apply public health concepts and best practices to national strategies and effectively communicate these concepts and best practices to collaborators, stakeholders, and project beneficiaries
• Proven ability to work collaboratively across technical disciplines
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills; must be capable in oral and written English; professional proficiency in French is highly desirable
• Willing and able to travel internationally up to 30% of time.

How to apply

Please submit your resume and cover letter on our website here: Project Director – PPA Initiative