Location: Ekiti, Nigeria

1. Purpose of the Role

The Programme Manager will provide day-to-day leadership for the planning, coordination and delivery of CeNHRI’s programmes, ensuring that activities across the Centre’s Core Mandates are delivered on time, within budget and to a high standard. The role translates the Institutional Strategic Plan and approved annual operational plan into coordinated workplans, clear accountabilities and measurable results.

As a centre focused on newborn health research and innovation, CeNHRI works across research, programme delivery and partnerships. The Programme Manager will work closely with the Executive Director, the Programme Management Office (PMO), technical teams, external partners, Finance and Grant Manager to ensure that programme delivery, budgets and grant requirements remain aligned, and with the Centre’s technical, operations, research, monitoring, evaluation, and learning, communications and knowledge management, Simulation Hub teams to ensure that implementation is coordinated, well documented and responsive to learning and knowledge products.

The role requires strong programme management, leadership, analytical and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple workstreams and donor-funded programmes within a growing institution.

• Scope of the Role

The role covers the coordination of CeNHRI’s projects from initiation to close-out. This includes project planning, overseeing projects, team and partners coordination, resource and budget alignment, tracking timelines and deliverables, performance monitoring, reporting and learning, risk and compliance management, assuring quality.

The Programme Manager may manage several project workstreams at different stages. The postholder will draw on appropriate workplan and subject matter specialists rather than being expected to personally lead each aspect of the workstream

• Authority

The Programme Manager is authorised to:

• Develop detailed workplans, schedules, responsibilities and hold teams accountable for agreed deliverable trackers.
• Lead and coordinate the delivery of approved programme workplan with staff, consultants and partners
• Convene programme planning and review meetings, and document agreed actions, timelines and responsibilities
• Provide day-to-day guidance and performance feedback to assigned programme staff.
• Monitor progress, identify risks and recommend corrective actions.
• Represent CeNHRI at assigned programme engagements, partner meetings and technical forums, as delegated by the Executive Director.

• Recommend adjustments to activities or timelines for management consideration.
• Escalate decisions concerning strategy, budgets, contractual commitments, or major changes in project scope to the Executive Director through the appropriate processes.
  

• Key Responsibilities

A. Programme Project Planning and Delivery

• Translate the Institutional Strategic Plan and annual operational plan into programme workplans, milestones and timelines.

• Develop and maintain project workplans that set out activities, milestones, timelines, responsibilities, budgets, dependencies and outcomes.
• Lead and coordinate day-to-day delivery of assigned projects workstreams across CeNHRI teams, sites and partners.
• Work closely with the PMO to align project deliverables with wider project plans, reporting cycles and coordination processes.
• Track progress against agreed plans, maintain action and risk logs, and follow up to keep work moving.
• Identify delays and operational challenges early, coordinate practical solutions and escalate issues that require management decisions.
• Oversee project documentation, reporting and close-out, ensuring that output is delivered and records are complete.

Deliverables:

• Approved project workplans and timelines.
• Updated project trackers.
• Progress activities reports
• Risk logs.
• Documented follow-up actions.

B. Team Leadership and Technical Coordination

• Provide day-to-day guidance, supervision and performance feedback to assigned programme staff
• Coordinate the work of research teams including MEL, communications, knowledge management, and operations team to ensure integrated delivery of projects.
• Clarify roles, priorities and deadlines, and resolve coordination challenges across teams
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.

• Oversee the work of Centre’s staff, consultants and data collection teams, including adherence to agreed procedures and timelines.
• Put appropriate quality assurance measures in place and address issues affecting data quality or work outputs.

Expected outputs

• Clear team workplans and role expectations.
• Staff performance inputs and feedback.
• Team coordination meeting records.

C. Budget, Resource and Grant Alignment

• Work with the Finance and Grant Manager to ensure programme workplans are costed and aligned with approved budgets and grant requirements.
• Support the preparation of programme operational budgets, budget revisions and reallocations.
• Ensure programme activities comply with donor requirements, reporting timelines and financial procedures.
• Provide programme inputs required for grant financial reports and donor submissions.

Deliverables

• Programme inputs to budget revisions and grant amendments.
• Grant-aligned programme workplans.

D. Stakeholder and Partnerships Coordination

• Maintain productive working relationships with government institutions, research counterparts, institutional partners, healthcare facilities and donors.
• Clarify partner roles, inputs and timelines, and follow up on shared commitments.
• Coordinate technical and equipment partners supporting programme delivery.
• Support the Executive Director in preparing programme updates and technical inputs for donors, the Board and other stakeholders.

• Mentor staff in project delivery, implementation practice and documentation
• Contribute to the development of new project concepts and proposals within CeNHRI’s newborn health mandate.

Deliverables:

• Partner coordination records
• Collaborative outputs
• Partnership implementation trackers
• Staff development activities report

E. Performance Monitoring, Reporting and Learning

• Work with the MEL team to track programme indicators, milestones and results against agreed targets
• Prepare timely programme progress reports, donor reports and management updates.
• Review programme performance regularly and recommend corrective actions where delivery is off track.
• Ensure lessons, good practices and implementation experience are documented and shared.
• Support the generation of evidence, publications and knowledge products from programme implementation.

Deliverables

• Programme progress and donor reports.
• Performance review summaries.
• Lessons learned and documentation of good practice.

5. Reporting Lines

The Programme Manager will report to the Executive Director and work closely with the PMO on project planning, coordination, progress tracking and reporting. The role will also work with CeNHRI’s technical, programme, monitoring and data teams, state teams; partner institutions; healthcare facilities; government counterparts; and other project partners

6. Qualifications & Requirements

Education

1. A clinical qualification in medicine
2. A master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, health services, maternal and newborn health or a related field.
3. Additional training in project management (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2) or health systems strengthening will be an added advantage.
4. A PhD or additional advanced training in research methods or project management is an advantage.

Experience

• At least 7 years of relevant experience, including substantial responsibility for managing health projects or implementation research components of health programmes, including at least 3 years in management or supervisory role
• Demonstrated experience managing donor-funded or multi-partner programmes
• Experience working with healthcare facilities, government institutions, academic partners or development organisations.
• Experience in programme monitoring, performance tracking, reporting and documentation.
• Experience working in an NGO, development organisation, research institution or other mission-driven organisation will be an advantage.
• Experience in maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) or health systems strengthening programmes

Skills & Competencies

• Strong project management, planning, organisation and follow-through
• Ability to coordinate multiple workstreams and multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify delivery gaps and propose practical solutions.
• Excellent report writing, documentation and communication skills.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and facilitation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Ability to balance research quality with practical delivery requirements.

7. Working Conditions

The role will be based at CeNHRI and will require travel to programme sites as necessary. The position will combine office-based coordination, stakeholder engagement and field-level programme activities. The role will involve regular interaction with the Executive Director, Finance and Grant Manager, multidisciplinary teams, government stakeholders, government institutions and programme partners.