🇸🇱 Job Vacancy @ Last Mile Health – Project Coordinator

This role was posted on February 06, 2025. Please note that we will review applications on a rolling basis.

The Role

At Last Mile Health (LMH), we work to deploy a health worker within reach of everyone, everywhere. Are you a strong project manager with a deep understanding of Sierra Leone’s National Community Health Worker program?  If so then you may be our next Project Coordinator in Sierra Leone.

The Project Coordinator will support the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Sierra Leone with the rollout of the malaria vaccine by providing technical assistance to the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI), and the Directorate of Primary Health Care (DPHC). This includes facilitating a situation analysis, developing tools and checklists, coordinating stakeholder engagement, and ensuring effective data collection and analysis. The Coordinator will also lead report writing, prepare donor briefs and presentations, and support grant implementation planning. Additionally, they will oversee timely reporting to key stakeholders, including GSK and malaria vaccine partners, while managing donor site visits and government meetings.

The role requires close collaboration with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) team to monitor vaccine rollout progress and integrate malaria vaccine data into national health systems. The Coordinator will be based in Kambia District and alongside the Kambia District Coordinator to ensure smooth district operations and support training for Community Health Workers (CHWs) on malaria vaccine protocols. They will also organize consultative meetings, facilitate partnerships to enhance vaccine access and engage with national health stakeholders to inform policy decisions. By actively participating in technical working groups, the Project Coordinator will help strengthen malaria vaccine implementation at both district and national levels.

About the GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) Project

Since the introduction of the malaria vaccine into Sierra Leone in April 2024, routine vaccination of children has been going on with over 12,364 children having received at least one dose of the malaria vaccine. Vaccine rollout has been channelled through the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) primary health care system, leveraging health facilities and staff, with overall management support from the District Health Management (DHMT), EPI, and relevant directorates and program units within MOH.

Despite progress, Sierra Leone's malaria vaccine rollout faces challenges: declining subsequent doses, inadequate reporting and monitoring, and unclear CHW roles. This GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) funded activity leverages CHWs to accelerate rollout in the Kambia district, improving data collection, reporting, and CHW community engagement to boost vaccine uptake.

This position is project-funded in Kambia District in Sierra Leone and is open to Sierra Leone nationals. This position will be hired on a 1 year fixed-term renewable contract tied to project timelines.

What You'll Do

Project Management

• Coordinate with the MoH National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI), and the Directorate of Primary Health Care (DPHC) to provide technical support and facilitate planning for a situation analysis of the malaria vaccine rollout in Sierra Leone.
• Collaborate with the Kambia District Coordinator to ensure seamless district operations and the integration of malaria vaccine data into national health systems.
• Facilitate data collection and analysis, and take the lead on report writing.
• Develop briefs and presentations to provide updates to donors.
• Coordinate post-situation analysis work planning for grant implementation.
• Ensure timely reporting to GSK and other malaria vaccine stakeholders.
• Support donor site visits and meetings with government counterparts.
• Create and lead the implementation of district and national project work plans.
• Actively engage with the MERL team to monitor and evaluate progress.

Governance Systems

• Organize consultative meetings/workshops at national and district levels with stakeholders on malaria vaccine integration with the National CHW Program
• Jointly with NMCP, EPI, and DPHC team, provide technical support in the development/review of malaria vaccine training content for CHWs.
• Coordinate the training of CHWs on the malaria vaccine at district level
• Leverage LMH Kambia District implementation experience to inform national protocols on malaria vaccine
• Facilitate partnerships to enhance access and use of malaria vaccine protocols and tools to optimize national vaccine uptake
• Build and sustain close partnerships with MoH, its counterparts and other stakeholders through active sharing of information and active participation in technical working groups.
• Work closely with MOH and other national health stakeholders to inform malaria vaccine policies.

Demand Generation

• Conduct focus group discussions with community members, in partnership with LMH Kambia Office and DHMT (Malaria, EPI, and CHW focal persons), to understand community attitudes towards the malaria vaccine, as well as perceived barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake.
• Collaborate with MOH NMCP, EPI, DPHC/CHW Hub, and Health Education units to develop/review, print, and distribute Information, Education, and Communication and Behavior Change Communication (IEC/BCC) materials for the malaria vaccine, adapting them for CHWs and disseminating them across districts, primarily in health facilities and communities.
• Coordinate CHW training to ensure that they can lead community-level engagement and risk communication activities on malaria vaccine uptake, disseminate IEC/BCC materials (particularly in Hard-to-Reach communities >5km from health facilities), and adopt community-level initiatives to optimize vaccine uptake.
• Facilitate and technically support CHWs in conducting routine demand-generation activities for the malaria vaccine.
• Utilize existing CHW structures, such as National and District Technical Working Groups (TWG) and other partner forums, to share and discuss malaria vaccine-related materials and approaches with partners working in other districts.

Strengthening Data Systems

• Work with the NMCP, EPI, and relevant DHMT staff (M&E officers, CHW/Malaria focals, etc.) to evaluate malaria vaccine distribution and the strengths and weaknesses of data collection methods used for malaria vaccine data.
• Develop, procure, and distribute vaccine reporting tools, specifically to Kambia health facilities
• Coordinate training for health facility staff by developing malaria vaccine reporting training materials and conducting (pilot) training sessions for health facility staff, particularly in Kambia District
• Work with DHMTs, especially in Kambia, to organize data review sessions with stakeholders and facilitate malaria vaccine-related actions

District Coordination, Management, and Operational Support

• Coordinate with the Kambia District Coordinator to facilitate Last Mile Health representation in district-level events; coordinate with the Deputy Director before attending key events that would require LMH’s total participation
• Establish and sustain partnerships with MOH (national and district) counterparts and other stakeholders by facilitating stakeholder engagements (e.g. partner & community meetings, TWGs), ensuring active participation in CHW program activities, and maintaining sound knowledge management practices (document and share information)
• Provide technical support to the DHMT to strengthen integration among CHW and disease programs/locals in the district (foster collaboration with the CHW Hub, NMCP, and EPI)
• Work directly with the Operations and Finance Managers to maintain sound financial and operational management systems that align with Last Mile Health ops and Finance management processes and donor expectations through the grant period
• In consultation with the Finance and Operation Managers, oversee all GSK grant related interventions i.e. programs, operations, and financial transactions in the district (e.g. procurement, managing petty cash, payment requests, liquidations, documentation of Ops/Finance transactions)

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's or postgraduate degree in a relevant field (e.g., public health, social science, community development).
• Progressive experience in coordination and project management within the Sierra Leone health sector.
• Experience collaborating with government bodies, international organizations, NGOs, and donors at various levels.
• Strong understanding of the National CHW Program.
• Experience in capacity building for frontline health workers and community-level program coordination.
• Proven experience in primary health care interventions, particularly working in districts and with DHMTs.
• Excellent computer literacy and knowledge management skills, including proficiency in MS Office and Google Suite.

You’ll Impress Us If

• You have excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing and operate in a multicultural environment
• You have knowledge of malaria vaccine rollout in Sierra Leone
• You have experience navigating within MOH directorates and programs to ensure staff representation and participation in program implementation
• You have proven experience facilitating capacity-building initiatives for DHMT and frontline health workers
• You are fluent in Krio and any other local languages in Sierra Leone

Compensation Information

At Last Mile Health, we strive to reward our employees equitably and transparently. This means that we pay our employees based on a clear and consistent methodology and without regard to their identity or personal relationships. We have made this model fully transparent so that everyone has access to all information related to compensation. We hope this helps you better understand Last Mile Health’s values and commitments to our employees. We look forward to answering any questions you may have during the hiring process.

Before applying to this role, please take a moment to learn more about our approach to compensation and how compensation works in each of the countries where we operate. Please find the link to our compensation model and benefits overview below:

OVERVIEW OF LAST MILE HEALTH’S COMPENSATION MODEL

Compensation for this position:

The Band for this position: SLE-2

For Sierra Leone, the range is $5,350 - $10,106 USD per annum dependent upon experience doing an equivalent role. Please note that this compensation is subject to Sierra Leone taxes. Alongside the published salary range for this position, employees receive both government-mandated benefits (transportation & housing) and LMH benefits (paid time off, child school fee benefit, data/airtime benefits, health insurance, life insurance, and more).

About Last Mile Health

Last Mile Health partners with governments to design, scale, strengthen, and sustain high-quality community health systems, which empower teams of community and frontline health workers to bring life-saving primary healthcare to the world’s most remote communities. LMH is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information, visit www.lastmilehealth.org.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at LMH. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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