Program Manager
The STRengthening Infectious disease DEtection Systems (STRIDES) Activity builds upon the U.S. Government's Global Health Security (GHS) and other global health investments to enhance diagnostic networks and surveillance capabilities in partner countries. Through STRIDES, the United States extends its support for life-saving activities to address the urgent need to improve infectious disease detection, surveillance, and data systems for priority diseases that pose public health risks for outbreaks, while also providing emergency response support when outbreaks occur. In doing so, STRIDES aims to halt outbreaks before they spread by supporting human and animal health systems to provide quality, sustainable services. STRIDES also advances cross-sectoral efforts to identify, manage, and respond to infectious disease threats; detect and prevent further outbreaks; and build trust in a country's disease detection and surveillance structures.
STRIDES Guatemala is seeking a qualified Program Manager to support the implementation of activities. The Program Manager coordinates the entire project lifecycle, from initiation to closure, ensuring that all project goals are met on time and within budget. This role involves comprehensive oversight and collaboration of project planning, budgeting, resource allocation, and risk management. The Program Manager is responsible for overseeing sub-award execution, ensuring compliance, and maintaining strong relationships with sub-awardees. They coordinate the project team, provide strategic guidance, and ensure effective communication with all stakeholders. The Program Manager also ensures adherence to organizational policies, donor requirements, and legal standards, while overseeing monitoring and evaluation to incorporate lessons learned into future projects and plans. A key aspect of this role is proactive risk management to ensure the project's success.
Accountabilities
Project Management
- Develops and manages the project workplan, assigns tasks in accordance with established project RASCI, and ensures overall progress.
- Coordinates team's input and submission of reports and project deliverables to project stakeholders and funder.
- Updates the overall project work plan encompassing all the details of a project for the team members, including a project RASCI that clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of every function within the project.
- Coordinates project team members to ensure project objectives and deliverables are met, fostering a collaborative work environment.
- Provides guidance and monitoring for project staff, ensuring clarity over project plans and priorities, and encouraging effective teamwork.
- Develops best practices and tools for project execution, communication, teamwork, and management.
- Evaluates the progress of the project on a regular basis.
- Ensures budgets reflect the activities in the project work plan and reforecast as changes are made to the work plan, and in alignment with the scope of work.
- Keeps abreast of the latest strategies, tools and terminologies used in project management worldwide to adopt and increase productivity.
- Ensure proper donor and organizational approvals are obtained prior to work being completed.
Risk Management
Proactively identify potential risks that could impact project successes, including financial, operational, technical and external risks.Evaluate the likelihood and impact of identified risks and prioritize them based on severity.Develop and implement risk mitigation strategies, including contingency plans to address potential issues before they arise.Continuously monitor risks throughout the project lifecycle, updating the risk management plan and tracker as needed, and reporting on risk status to stakeholders.Manages overall project risks and resolves any issues or risks that materialize, minimizing their impact on the project, and reporting on the risk status to stakeholders.Project Administration and Procurement
Establish a communication schedule to update stakeholders on the projects progress.Develop a schedule for project completion that effectively allocates the resources to the activities.Leads the identification of project vendors through competitive selection, taking into consideration all USG regulations and requirements.Keeps procurement, personnel recruitment, and consultant trackers updated and proactively communicates with Project Director and Finance Manager.Coordinates all project procurement in close communication with the project Finance Manager and with the support of the People and Culture Associate.Supports the People and Culture to coordinate logistics for travel and internal transportation for staff members and consultants.Provides support to project management, to arrange meetings and conference room setup, and taking on sub-task assignments.Coordinates a project calendar to ensure completion of project milestones and deadlines.Ensures adequate documentation and electronic filing of all project activities.Financial Management
Collaborate with the finance manager to determine the resources (time, money, equipment, etc.) required to complete all project activities.Collaborate with the finance manager to monitor and approve all budgeted project expenditures in accordance with the workplan and what has been budgeted / forecasted; serves as backstop for approving financial expenditures.Collaborates with the Finance Manager to ensure that all financial records for the project are up to date.Personnel Management
Oversees recruitment processes from requisition approval to onboarding.Maintains HRIS data integrity and generates standard People and Culture reports.Coaches, mentors project staff to ensure quality, efficiency, and compliance with project.Coordinates learning activities and training for all project staff in collaboration with the People and Culture Associate.Develops tools and techniques for delegating tasks and evaluates the performance of project management office team members.Ensure that all project personnel receive an appropriate orientation to the organization and the project.Applied Knowledge & Skills
Works independently and with other agencies to build local community acceptance.Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, practices, and procedures with project management, process development and execution.Strong knowledge of project management software and other technologies.Strong negotiator and problem solver.Excellent oral and written communication skills in English required.Proficiency in Spanish is required.Demonstrated project and personnel management skills.Ability to influence, motivate, and collaborate with others.Ability to adapt and resolve problems / issues to bring the project to completion.Creating and Managing Systems and Processes.Recognizes the need for standardization and balances client and organization needs in systems design.Anticipates the effects of process change on people while optimizing task efficiency and simplicity.Problem Solving & Impact
Decisions and actions have serious implications with delays in project schedules and operations and may affect overall business activities.Problems are complex and require analysis of situations and data with evaluation of a range of factors.Exercises judgment within broadly defined practices and policies to select methods and techniques to obtain results.Supervision Given / Received
Coordinates project plans, training, and resources with management to achieve strategic goals.Reports to country Project Director.Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree or its International Equivalent in Civil Society, Communication and Social Marketing, Economic Development, Education, the Environment, Gender, Health, Nutrition, Research, Technology and Youth or a Related Fields.Project Management (PM) Certification preferred or equivalent work experience.Minimum of 8+ years of relevant experience with projects management principles and practices, 2+ years of line management experience required.Prior work experience in a non-governmental organization (NGO), government agency, or private organization, and experience managing United States government (USG) funded awards.Experience managing and / or supporting complex USG contract / acquisition mechanisms required.Familiarity with USG rules and regulations.Typical Physical Demands
Typical office environment.Ability to spend long hours looking at computer screen and doing repetitive work on a keyboard.Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time.Ability to lift or move up to 5 lbs.Technology to be Used
Computer / Laptop, Microsoft applications (i.e., Office 365