Program Manager, Speech and Psychosocial Care

Department: Global Programs

Travel: The position requires international travel

Direct Reports: Yes

General Description:

The Program Manager, Speech and Psychosocial Care will be responsible for implementing and advancing Operation Smile’s organizational speech language pathology and psychosocial support statement and strategy, while supporting the development, provision, and monitoring of active speech and psychosocial programs in Operation Smile’s current and future program countries.

The Program Manager, Speech and Psychosocial Care will serve as the focal point for program countries supporting the advancement and management of global tools for speech language pathology and psychosocial support including Operation Smile standard speech language pathology and psychosocial support guidance and resources, managing internal strategic initiatives, supporting quality monitoring and evaluation, and synthesizing data and lessons learned. Key objectives for this role are outlined below.

Essential Functions: 

Program Implementation

• Monitor global speech language pathology (SLP) and psychosocial support (PSP) programs through field visits, reporting, budget forecasting, and ongoing evaluation.
• Develop work plans and support implementation of SLP and PSP activities.
• Collaborate with in-country teams to design and expand SLP and PSP programs, aligned with Operation Smile Foundation needs and existing infrastructure (e.g. Ministries of Health), including training of local teams and volunteers.
• Mentor local teams to promote high-quality SLP and PSP program delivery.
• Conduct training and provide supportive supervision on SLP and PSP protocols at country and regional levels.
• Support development of country-specific and consolidated global budgets for SLP and PSP programming.
• Advance development of the SLP and PSP Volunteer role, including pathways and professional growth.
• Enhance integration of SLP and PSP activities with broader health initiatives, including behavior change communication and community outreach.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Collaborate with the Metrics and Evaluation team to establish regular monitoring metrics for SLP and PSP programs.
• Support the Research team in conducting impact evaluations to assess effectiveness of SLP and PSP efforts on surgical outcomes.
• Assist country teams in tracking and achieving Key Performance Indicators and outcome metrics for SLP and PSP programs.

Education & Training

• Partner with Regional Education Program Managers to implement training pathways for local SLP and PSP volunteers.
• Onboard educators and trainees to ensure proper rollout of training programs.
• Support development of training modules and social behavior change content in collaboration with technical advisors, consultants, and the Global Programs team.
• Coordinate and manage logistics for regional SLP and PSP trainings.
• Facilitate communication with working groups and technical advisors to develop educational resources.
• Participate in the peer review and ongoing development of SLP and PSP curriculum alongside Global Programs and Medical Oversight teams.

Advocacy & Communication

• Lead communication efforts with SLP and PSP volunteer groups to support development of resources, tools, and volunteer roles.
• Collaborate with partner countries and the development team to identify corporate sponsors and funding opportunities.
• Assist in drafting proposals and grant requests to fund SLP and PSP programs.
• Organize and lead quarterly regional calls with country points of contact.
• Prepare regular updates and briefing notes for management and donors on program progress.

 Qualifications:

• Advanced computer skills, especially in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook).
• Academic degrees/certificates, research, programmatic experience, and interest in speech language pathology and psychosocial support.
• Experience working within health systems and at the population level in LMIC’s.
• Excellent project management experience and associated skills.
• Experience with managing budgets and reports.
• Strong writing skills with experience assembling reports, proposals, and grants.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, especially with global teams.
• Open to flexible working hours.
• Ability to work in resource constrained environments.

Preferred:

• Master’s level degree in development studies, public health, speech therapy, or a related field.
• Knowledge of foreign languages preferred (Spanish).