MediFIKIA Project Manager At Touch Foundation, Inc. Mwanza

Overview of the MediFIKIA program

From Medicine + Kufikia (= “To Reach” in Swahili, Tanzania’s national language)

Noncommunicable diseases cause a significant and growing proportion of the burden of disease in Tanzania, accounting for between 15% and 28% of all Years of Life Lost. There is therefore a need to address NCDs before they will take unaffordable epidemic proportion. The rapid increase in prevalence of NCDs is attributed to the demographic change with longer life span and to changes in lifestyle specifically concerning diet, level of physical activity, alcohol and tobacco usage which are common risk factors shared by several NCDs. Medicines play a crucial role in fighting disease burden, however consistent access to critical drugs remains a challenge, particularly in rural areas which are home to the most vulnerable patients.

Touch “Strengthening Supply Chain for NCD Medicines in Tanzania” (MediFIKIA) program proposes to leverage the ongoing work from the NCD Alliance in Tanzania, currently expanding NCD clinics at more than 600health centers in the country, and implement a focused intervention to address the two systemic bottlenecks that continue to restrict access to NCD treatment for many segments of the population: drug availability in rural areas, and patient tracking.

Objective 1 : Improve availability of drugs at the last mile:

Existing NCD clinics lose patients when they experience stock-outs of essential medicines. In the best-case scenario, patients venture out and seek care at other facilities or institutions, having to endure additional financial and time burdens. In the more common scenario, patients drop out of the system entirely. Touch will support NCD clinics to manage inventory and procurement processes accurately, based on patient forecast and coordination across other functions of the health facility (e.g., pharmacy, procurement, finance).

Objective 2: Improve patient tracking across the continuum of care:

When an NCD clinic diagnoses a patient, the next phase is to initiate and monitor the patient treatment, and the patient’s adherence to it. NCD clinics experience significant issues in tracking patients as current systems are not tailored to the specific NCD care requirements and patients continuing their journey across different levels of care are lost in the transition between different patient data systems that do not link to each other. The result is a limited ability for the health system to track and monitor patients and intervene before patients drop out of the system entirely.

To achieve the objectives above with the program’s 2-year timeframe, Touch will work in close collaboration with the President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG), the Ministry of Health (MOH), Tanzania’s NCD Alliance and their experts, and with a number of facilities in the Lake Zone where we have long lasting relationships and almost two decades of experience implementing health system interventions.

POSITION SUMMARYWe are seeking a Project Manager to lead the implementation of the 2-year MediFIKIA pilot.

The Project Manager will lead a lean, high-impact team, managing a local Operations Expert and collaborating closely with Touch’s Program Team and Medical Specialist in Tanzania. The Project Manager will report to Touch’s Program Director. Responsibilities of the role may be adapted based upon the experience of the successful candidate. The full-time role will be based in Mwanza, Tanzania, with regular travel to health facilities in surrounding regions.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

• Responsible for overall leadership, management, and implementation of the MediFIKIA program in Tanzania’s Lake Zone

• Line-manage the Touch Operations Expert for the MediFIKIA program

• Manage and coordinate all elements of effective program implementation, including budgeting, on-the-ground implementation, and oversight to ensure delivery of quality outputs on time and within budget.

• Work directly with NCD clinics staff at target facilities to assess operations, develop solutions, and implement interventions on a daily basis, including regular visits and audits at the facilities, with support from Touch’s Operations Expert

• Build strong and collaborative working relationships with key stakeholders including Government of Tanzania (MOH, President’s Office), NCD Alliance, and Medical Officer’s in Charge (MOICs) of Health Facilities

• Lead the program team, in collaboration with M&E experts, to undertake effective monitoring and evaluation of the program

• Conduct stakeholder meetings with funder and/or program partners to ensure communication regarding program progress, key decisions, and issues

• Participate in decision-making and problem-solving with program leadership to develop and plan the MediFIKIA interventions on the ground

• Conduct data analyses and prepare reports on program implementation progress and impact for management, donors or other stakeholders

• Assist with compliance with donor requirements, Government of Tanzania relevant regulations, and organizational policies and procedures

• Contribute to strengthening Touch’s profile with major donors and implementing partners, including Government of Tanzania’s central authorities, international organizations and prospective funders

• Contribute to expanding Touch’s knowledge of the Tanzanian health system and international public health issues, including relationships with main stakeholders

• Assist with preparation of funding proposals to expand or continue program activities

• Contribute to suite of communication vehicles, including conference presentations, articles, and marketing materials

• Communicate regularly and effectively with various program partners

As job vacancy announcements cannot be exhaustive, the Project Manager may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.