Relief International (RI) is an international non-profit organization that partners with communities impacted by conflict, climate change and disaster to save lives, build greater resilience and promote long-term health and wellbeing.

Our team of more than 7,000 staff and local volunteers work in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, providing Health and Nutrition, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), Education and Livelihoods programming that creates the foundation for community resilience.

We do this by working with local actors to develop safe and inclusive local programming that is evidence based, conflict sensitive, climate smart, and reaches those in need.

Job Profile

The PHC/SHC Manager/Lead is the senior provincial program lead for Relief International's health portfolio in Nimroz. The postholder is accountable for the effective planning, implementation, technical quality, operational coordination, financial performance, reporting and continuous improvement of BPHS/EPHS services and other assigned health, emergency or vertical projects in the province.

The role leads and coordinates provincial program teams, ensures that RI-supported health facilities deliver safe, accessible and high-quality services in line with Ministry of Public Health standards, donor requirements and RI policies, and serves as RI's principal program representative with provincial health authorities and relevant partners. Reporting to the Program Director, the postholder maintains proactive and timely communication on program performance, risks, delays and sensitive issues, and works closely with the country-level technical and support departments to ensure timely decision-making, resource availability, risk management and achievement of project results.

Key Responsibilities

Program and Project Management

·         Provide overall leadership and accountability for implementation of RI's BPHS/EPHS and assigned health projects in Nimroz, ensuring delivery against approved scope, targets, timelines, budgets and quality standards.

·         Translate project agreements and program strategies into annual, quarterly and monthly implementation plans with clear responsibilities, milestones, resource requirements and monitoring arrangements.

·         Maintain effective management systems for workplans, action trackers, project risks, implementation issues, procurement follow-up, staffing gaps and reporting deadlines; clearly assign responsibilities and deadlines and ensure agreed actions are followed through and closed on time.

·         Lead regular provincial project review meetings and maintain active coordination with technical, MEAL, Finance, HR, Supply Chain/Operations and other relevant functions, ensuring requests are raised early, responsibilities are clear and cross-departmental bottlenecks are followed through to resolution.

·         Identify implementation bottlenecks early, make timely decisions within delegated authority and proactively inform the Program Director of significant developments, risks, delays, service disruptions, staffing gaps, authority issues and donor-sensitive matters before they escalate or affect service continuity or project performance.

·         Ensure orderly project start-up, amendment, transition and close-out processes, including documentation, handover, archiving and closure of outstanding program actions.

·         Support development of concept notes, proposals, budgets, implementation plans and technical inputs for continuation, expansion or new health programming in Nimroz.

 Technical Quality and Health Service Delivery

·         Ensure BPHS/EPHS and other supported health services are implemented in accordance with applicable MoPH policies, national clinical and public-health standards, donor requirements and RI technical guidance.

·         Provide managerial oversight of the full integrated service-delivery package, including primary and secondary health care, maternal and child health, immunization, nutrition, communicable disease services, MHPSS, referral systems, pharmacy, laboratory and other relevant components implemented by RI; work with the Nutrition Coordinator and other technical leads to ensure compliance with applicable technical standards.

·         Work with the team to establish and follow quality-improvement priorities and corrective action plans for health facilities with performance or quality gaps.

·         Conduct and ensure regular, structured and checklist-based supportive supervision across RI-supported health facilities, including the Provincial Hospital and priority facilities; document findings, debrief responsible teams, assign corrective actions and deadlines, and follow actions through to verified closure.

·         Maintain a regular field-visit plan based on facility performance, risk and service-quality priorities, and ensure management attention is directed to underperforming facilities and unresolved quality-of-care issues.

·         Monitor access, utilization, service coverage, referral pathways, patient safety, infection prevention and control, availability of essential inputs and other factors affecting quality and continuity of care.

·         Ensure technical concerns, adverse trends and deviations from standards are analyzed promptly and that practical corrective measures are implemented with the responsible teams.

·         Promote integrated, patient-centered and inclusive services that are responsive to women, children, persons with disabilities, returnees, displaced populations and other vulnerable groups.

Performance Monitoring, MEAL and Reporting

·         Review project indicators and facility performance routinely and use data to identify underperformance, service gaps, geographic disparities and priorities for management action.

·         Ensure timely, complete and accurate HMIS and project reporting, and support regular data verification and data-quality improvement in coordination with MEAL and technical teams.

·         Ensure weekly, monthly, quarterly, donor and government reports are complete, accurate and supported by verified data; review key submissions before onward sharing and ensure they are submitted within agreed deadlines.

·         Monitor progress against project targets and workplans and ensure corrective actions are developed and tracked where performance is below expectation.

·         Document key achievements, challenges, lessons learned, good practices and success stories, and ensure evidence from implementation informs program decisions and future design.

·         Maintain complete, organized and accessible program documentation, including approved plans, reports, meeting minutes, supervision records, correspondence, trackers, donor/government documents and evidence of completed actions, in line with RI filing and archiving requirements.

Budget, Grants and Resource Management

·         Manage assigned project budgets in coordination with Finance, including monthly budget-versus-actual review, expenditure forecasting, variance analysis and timely corrective action.

·         Ensure program expenditures are necessary, reasonable, allocable to the correct project and consistent with approved budgets, donor conditions and RI policies.

·         Prepare and regularly update procurement and operational requirement plans with Supply Chain/Operations and technical teams, and follow critical procurements through to delivery and use.

·         Ensure adequate planning and monitoring of medicines, medical supplies, equipment, fuel, oxygen, laboratory supplies, nutrition commodities and other essential inputs required for uninterrupted services.

·         Promote strong accountability for warehouses, pharmacies, program assets and distributed supplies, including accurate documentation, stock monitoring, reconciliation and timely reporting of losses or discrepancies.

·         Coordinate with Grants and country program leadership on donor compliance, amendments, reporting requirements, monitoring visits, audit follow-up and other grant-management obligations.

People Management and Team Leadership

·         Provide clear and consistent leadership to provincial program teams by setting weekly and monthly priorities, defining responsibilities, delegating appropriately, communicating expectations, monitoring completion and holding staff accountable for agreed results.

·         Conduct regular management meetings and structured one-to-one follow-up with key direct reports, ensuring decisions, responsibilities and action points are documented, tracked and followed through to completion.

·         Supervise staff performance through work objectives, probation reviews, performance appraisals, coaching and timely management of underperformance in coordination with HR.

·         Identify staffing and competency gaps and coordinate recruitment, induction, training, mentoring and succession planning for critical program positions.

·         Promote respectful teamwork, collaboration between program and support functions, staff wellbeing, safeguarding, accountability and a practical problem-solving culture.

·         Ensure attendance, duty schedules, leave planning and deployment of project staff support uninterrupted service delivery and comply with RI procedures.

 External Coordination and Representation

·         Establish strong coordination with UNICEF and relevant donors through regular meetings and visits at the provincial and hub levels.

·         Serve as RI's principal program focal point in Nimroz for provincial health authorities and maintain regular, professional and documented engagement with the MOE/PPHD/DoPH/LEAs, provincial authorities and other relevant government counterparts, with clear follow-up of commitments and agreed actions.

·         Represent RI in PHCC, PDC and other relevant provincial or regional coordination forums, and participate in donor, UN, NGO and government meetings as required.

·         Maintain constructive working relationships with health-facility leadership, provincial authorities, communities, UN agencies, donors and implementing partners, and follow agreed actions to completion.

·         Coordinate and facilitate joint monitoring visits, assessments, reviews and missions, ensuring that findings are documented and corrective actions are assigned and followed up.

·         Escalate sensitive government, access, reputational or partnership issues promptly through the appropriate RI management channels and support an agreed organizational response.

Risk, Compliance, Safeguarding and Accountability

·         Maintain active oversight of program, operational, financial, supply-chain, access, safety, safeguarding, fraud and reputational risks affecting the Nimroz health portfolio and ensure mitigation actions are implemented.

·         Ensure all program activities comply with RI policies, donor conditions, applicable laws and regulations, humanitarian principles, conflict-sensitivity requirements and established internal controls.

·         Ensure staff and communities understand RI safeguarding, PSEA, Code of Conduct, complaints and feedback mechanisms, and that concerns or allegations are reported immediately through the appropriate channels.

·         Support timely investigation and management follow-up on program incidents, losses, irregularities, complaints or quality failures within the postholder's authority while maintaining confidentiality and due process.

·         Ensure program decisions and resource allocation are transparent, evidence-based and consistent with accountability to affected populations and the principle of Do No Harm.

Other Duties

• Undertake other duties consistent with the purpose and level of the position, including surge support during emergencies or program transitions, as assigned by the Program Director.

Behavior and Conduct

•        Ensure the highest standards of professional behavior inside and outside work and promote RI's Code of Conduct, safeguarding policies and organizational values.

•        Model ethical, respectful, inclusive and accountable conduct for team members and ensure management decisions protect the safety and dignity of RI staff and the communities RI serves.

•        Ensure external stakeholders and communities are aware of RI conduct standards and available reporting and feedback mechanisms.

•        Report any concern, allegation or incident promptly through the appropriate RI reporting mechanism.

Person Specification

Skills, knowledge and expertise required for the role

Essential criteria

·         Medical Doctor (MD) degree or another relevant clinical/health professional qualification.

·         Master’s degree in public health (or a related field)

·         15 years of experience in Health Program Management in developing countries.

·         Familiarity with performance-based financing, quality-of-care mechanisms and national health-sector monitoring systems.

·         Demonstrated senior management experience in BPHS/EPHS or comparable large-scale primary and secondary health-care program, with accountability for multiple health facilities and multidisciplinary teams.

·         Strong knowledge of Afghanistan's public-health system, BPHS/EPHS standards, provincial health structures, health-facility management and relevant Ministry of Public Health policies and procedures.

·         Demonstrated experience in project-cycle management, including implementation planning, budget management, donor compliance, reporting, risk management, procurement planning and coordination with support departments.

·         Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, set priorities, delegate effectively, monitor performance, address underperformance and maintain accountability for results.

·         Strong experience in supportive supervision, quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation, HMIS data review and the use of evidence for management decisions.

·         Strong financial and operational management skills, including BVA/forecasting, expenditure follow-up, supply-chain coordination and oversight of medicines, supplies, assets and health-facility requirements.

·         Proven ability to represent an organization effectively with PPHD/DoPH, MoPH, UN agencies, donors, NGOs and other government or humanitarian stakeholders.

·         Excellent analytical, report-writing, presentation, communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills in complex program environments.

·         Fluency in written and spoken English, Dari and Pashto

·         Strong computer literacy, including Microsoft Office and routine use of program-management, reporting and health-information systems.

·         Commitment to humanitarian principles, safeguarding, PSEA, accountability, inclusion, and anti-fraud and anti-corruption standards.

Willingness and ability to travel regularly to health facilities and districts across Nimroz, subject to security and access conditions.

Email / Application Form: vacancies.afghanistan@ri.org