Program Officer (Consultant) - NGO Job in Kaduna

If you have experience leading public health interventions at the local government level and are passionate about malaria prevention, this consultancy role as a Program Officer with Malaria Consortium offers a unique opportunity. The position involves coordinating Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) activities across LGAs in Kaduna, ensuring the smooth implementation of treatment cycles and maintaining close collaboration with local stakeholders.

Job Title: Program Officer (Consultant)
Location: Kaduna
Employment Type: Short-term Consultancy
Application Closing Date: 12th August, 2025 (5:00 PM)

About the Company

Malaria Consortium, founded in 2003, is a globally recognized non-profit organization focused on the control and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases. Through evidence-based interventions and strategic partnerships, the organization works across Africa and Asia to improve health systems and deliver life-saving services to vulnerable populations.

Job Description / Purpose

• The job purpose is to work with the State Project Manager (SPM) to effectively manage project activities and resources, provide leadership and stewardship to the project team and maintain collaborative links with the project’s key stakeholders at the LGA level.

Scope of work:

• The Program Officer (PO), while reporting to the State Project Manager (SPM) and based at the state office, will line manage the LGA Field Assistants across the state.

Key working relationships:

• The PO would be line managed by the SPM and would line manage the LGA Field Assistants in-charge of the assigned LGAs. S/he would also maintain relationships with the country office departments, including Finance and Logistics.
• Key external relationships would be with staff at the LGA and State Malaria Elimination Programme (SMEP), LGA health staff and leading community members and gatekeepers.
• S/he would lead training and coordination, through drug administration and supportive supervision, to reporting of activities at the LGA level. S/he would maintain close communication with stakeholders and influential persons in the assigned LGAs through the agreed frameworks.

Responsibilities
Programme Management (70%):

• Support the SPM and the state management team to lead activities for smooth programme management in the assigned LGAs in the following areas:
• Line management – build and performance manage an effective and technically fit SMC project team in the assigned LGAs. Be conversant with and guided by Malaria Consortium, policies, guidelines and the SMC Handbook towards the delivery of SMC in assigned LGAs. Planning (microplanning, selection of implementers at the local levels, training, database finalization, last mile distribution, SPAQ admin and reverse logistics);
• Engagement of stakeholders including government, communities and beneficiaries.
• Implementation (SPAQ admin) including QA and innovations, including the use of technology.
• General management including security, HR including line management, risk management, work planning and budgeting, VFM, optimization of grant, etc.;
• Risk Free operations including ensuring that all staff comply with MC values and start-to-finish (SFG) policies; and
• Coordination with other levels of government and internally, all MC functions.

Technical (20%):

• Support M&E activities, including reporting of SPAQ admin and Support programme review including end of cycle (EoC) reviews, end of round (EoR) reviews and EoR coverage survey.

Representations & Knowledge Management (10%):

• Lesson identification and use including adaptive management;
• Harmonisation with other partners; and
• Representation especially at the LGA levels.

Requirements
Essential:

• Training in Nursing or Public Health;
• Five years’ experience of working in the Public Health sector;
• Experience in programme management at the LGA/state level;
• Excellent project planning, management and monitoring & evaluation skills.
• Experience managing project budgets;
• Experience in using digital data collection tools in SMC campaigns and other health programmes;
• Some practical experience in Health Information and Disease Surveillance Systems, interoperability, and international standards; open Global Health Information System software and open data sources, such as, but not limited to, DHIS2, ODK, KoboCollect;
• Experience working at the LGA and community levels;
• Experience working on campaign style interventions (delivery of interventions or social mobilization and SMC would be an added advantage).

Work-based skills and competencies:

• Good understanding of the Nigeria health system;
• Understanding of communication for behaviour change and social mobilisation;
• Team player and demonstrated ability to work within a team as well as individually;
• Ability to travel to LGAs outside of state capital at least 80% of the time;
• Ability to perform under pressure;
• Excellent communication skills in English and the dominant local language in assigned state.
• Evidence of being resident in state of assignment.

Note: For this position, previous working experience with MC and in SMC are added advantages.

Application Closing Date: 12th August, 2025 (5:00pm).

How to Apply: Interested and qualified candidates should: Click here to apply online

Note

• Kindly note that applicants who do not follow this specification will be disqualified.
• Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• Kindly note that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and as a result, the process may conclude before the advertised deadline. Therefore, early applications are highly encouraged.
• Malaria Consortium does not accept or ask for payment during recruitment. We also would not accept hardcopy CVs; all applications should be sent through the above link.

Tips to Land the Role

Highlight your past experience managing public health programs at the LGA or state level, especially if you’ve worked on campaign-style interventions like SMC. Detail your responsibilities in areas like stakeholder engagement, last-mile delivery, microplanning, and staff supervision.

Demonstrate your ability to use digital tools like KoboCollect, DHIS2, or ODK. Practical experience with health data platforms is highly valued in this role.

Showcase your knowledge of the local health system in Kaduna, including relationships with SMEP and LGA health staff. Residency in the state is preferred, so be sure to state your current location in your application.

Make your CV easy to scan by organizing it around the required competencies—team leadership, digital health tools, planning and budgeting, and stakeholder engagement.

If you've previously worked with Malaria Consortium or have SMC implementation experience, be sure to clearly indicate this—it’s a strong advantage.