ToR: Program Manager –Beginnings Fund–Supported Maternal and Newborn Health Program

Terms of Reference: Program Manager –Beginnings Fund–Supported Maternal and Newborn Health Program

Project Title: Strengthening Maternal and Newborn Health Systems in Ethiopia (Beginnings Fund–Supported MNH Program)

Position Title: Program Manager

Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with frequent travel to program implementation regions

Duration: One year, renewable annually subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding

Implementing Institution: International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia (IPHC-E)

Reporting Line: Reports to IPHC-E senior leadership or designated program lead

Background and Institutional Context

The International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia (IPHC-E) is a center of excellence and strategic thought partner dedicated to advancing Primary Health Care (PHC), with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. Established in 2016, IPHC-E builds on Ethiopia’s long-standing experience in community-based health delivery and innovation to support governments, institutions, and partners across Africa and beyond in achieving Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.

IPHC-E operates at the intersection of policy, systems design, innovation, capacity strengthening, evidence generation, and program implementation. Through its strategic pillars, the Institute provides technical advisory support, incubates scalable innovations, strengthens learning systems, generates implementation evidence, and supports the design of resilient PHC systems in partnership with ministries, professional associations, universities, and development partners.

Program Overview

Under the strategic direction and ownership of the Federal Ministry of Health, IPHC-E will serve as the prime national coordinating institution for a five-year Beginnings Fund–supported country investment to accelerate reductions in preventable maternal and neonatal mortality in Ethiopia. The program will operate in 46 high-burden woredas across eight regions and will support 210 health facilities, including 55 hospitals and 155 health centers.

The investment is designed as an integrated health systems strengthening program spanning human resources for health, service delivery, commodities and supply chain, infrastructure, and monitoring, evaluation, learning, and accountability. IPHC-E will coordinate implementation across these workstreams and convene the required national and regional stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Regional Health Bureaus, professional associations, universities, the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service, SLL360, CHAI as an infrastructure partner, and other technical and implementation partners. The program’s principal focus is to scale high-impact maternal and newborn health interventions, strengthen the health workforce, improve facility readiness and essential inputs, institutionalize monitoring and learning systems, and ensure coherent technical assistance across all components of the investment.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this Terms of Reference is to define the responsibilities, qualifications, reporting arrangements, and expected deliverables for the Program Manager position. The Program Manager will serve as IPHC-E’s prime national coordination lead for successful implementation of the Beginnings Fund–supported MNH program. The role will provide strategic, operational, and partner-coordination leadership across HRH, service delivery, commodities, infrastructure, and monitoring and evaluation, ensuring that implementation is aligned with national priorities, donor requirements, IPHC-E systems, and measurable program results.

Scope of Work

The Program Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day leadership, national coordination, performance management, risk oversight, and quality assurance of the integrated program. The role requires close collaboration with government counterparts, implementing partners, professional associations, Regional Health Bureaus, technical experts, donor representatives, EPSS, SLL360, and CHAI in its infrastructure partner role. The position is expected to keep all implementation streams synchronized, ensure timely resolution of bottlenecks, and maintain clear accountability for progress across HRH, service delivery, commodities, infrastructure, and monitoring and evaluation.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Program Leadership and Integrated Implementation Management

• Lead operational planning, implementation, and routine management of the integrated country investment across all implementation regions, woredas, facilities, and program workstreams.
• Maintain a consolidated national implementation workplan, milestone tracker, partner action matrix, and program dashboard to support timely decision-making and performance management.
• Ensure that program activities are implemented in accordance with approved workplans, budgets, donor requirements, and national policies and guidelines.
• Serve as the prime national coordination focal point for the integrated country investment, ensuring coherence across HRH, service delivery, commodities, infrastructure, and monitoring and evaluation workstreams.
• Identify implementation bottlenecks, escalate critical risks, and coordinate timely corrective actions with relevant stakeholders.

Partner, Consortium, and Stakeholder Coordination

• Coordinate program implementation with the Ministry of Health, Regional Health Bureaus, ESOG, EPS, universities, EPSS, SLL360, CHAI, donor representatives, and other relevant technical and implementation partners.
• Convene and facilitate regular national and regional coordination meetings, document decisions, track action points, and ensure follow-through across partner institutions.
• Promote alignment among technical, operational, financial, infrastructure, supply chain, and monitoring functions to ensure a coherent and integrated implementation approach.
• Represent the program in relevant technical, coordination, and review forums as delegated by IPHC-E leadership.

Technical Quality and Workstream Oversight

• Oversee timely development, review, approval, and implementation of key technical deliverables across HRH, service delivery, commodities, infrastructure, and monitoring and evaluation workstreams.
• Ensure that maternal and newborn health interventions are implemented with technical rigor and in alignment with national standards and evidence-based practice.
• Coordinate technical inputs from subject matter experts, professional associations, universities, government counterparts, EPSS, SLL360, CHAI, and other designated partners.
• Ensure that infrastructure, commodity, workforce, and service delivery inputs are sequenced and coordinated so that facilities are ready to deliver quality maternal and newborn health services.
• Support documentation and dissemination of lessons learned, implementation insights, promising practices, and program achievements.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, Accountability, and Reporting

• Work closely with the MEL team and implementing partners to ensure that indicators, data collection systems, reporting tools, dashboards, and learning processes are functional and consistently used across all workstreams.
• Review implementation data and progress reports to identify performance trends, gaps, risks, and opportunities for adaptive management.
• Coordinate the preparation of high-quality donor reports, management updates, technical briefs, executive summaries, and presentations for IPHC-E leadership, government counterparts, partners, and external audiences.
• Support routine review meetings, learning sessions, and evidence-informed decision-making at national and regional levels.

Financial, Compliance, and Risk Management

• Monitor program budget execution in collaboration with finance and operations teams, ensuring appropriate use of resources and timely financial forecasting.
• Support management of sub-grant agreements, milestone-based disbursements, partner performance reviews, and compliance documentation.
• Maintain an updated program risk register and coordinate mitigation measures for operational, technical, financial, and contextual risks.
• Ensure that program implementation complies with applicable donor requirements, institutional policies, and government regulations.

Expected Deliverables

• Approved annual and quarterly integrated implementation workplans covering HRH, service delivery, commodities, infrastructure, and monitoring and evaluation, with clear milestones, timelines, and responsible parties.
• Updated national program dashboard, implementation tracker, partner action matrix, and risk register.
• Periodic technical, management, and donor reports prepared in line with IPHC-E, Ministry of Health, and donor requirements.
• Documented partner coordination meetings, decisions, follow-up actions, and implementation updates.
• Timely review, coordination, and submission of key technical deliverables, training materials, infrastructure and facility-readiness inputs, tools, and implementation guidance documents.
• Quarterly budget execution updates and financial forecasting inputs prepared in coordination with finance and operations teams.

Reporting and Working Relationships

The Program Manager will report to IPHC-E senior leadership or a designated program lead and will function as the primary national coordination lead for the integrated investment. The position will work closely with technical leads, MEL specialists, finance and operations teams, professional associations, universities, Regional Health Bureaus, Ministry of Heal

Required Qualifications and Experience

•Master’s degree or higher in Public Health, Global Health, Health Systems Management, Health Policy, Project Management, or a related field.

•Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience managing large-scale, multi-partner health programs, preferably in maternal and newborn health, primary health care, or health systems strengthening.

•Demonstrated experience managing donor-funded programs, including work planning, budgeting, reporting, compliance, and performance monitoring.

•Strong experience coordinating national or consortium-based programs involving government institutions, professional associations, development partners, supply chain actors, infrastructure partners, and regional implementation structures.

•Sound understanding of Ethiopia’s health system, maternal and newborn health priorities, PHC reform agenda, health workforce challenges, commodity systems, infrastructure constraints, and public sector implementation environment.

•Proven experience in monitoring, evaluation, learning, data use, and preparation of high-quality donor and management reports.

•Experience leading complex coordination platforms, resolving implementation bottlenecks, and translating partner inputs into actionable national and regional implementation plans.

Core Competencies

•Strategic leadership, sound judgment, and the ability to manage complex national implementation environments involving multiple institutions and workstreams.

•Strong project management, planning, prioritization, and organizational skills.

•Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation, negotiation, convening, and relationship-management skills.

•Strong analytical skills, including the ability to interpret program data and translate findings into practical management actions.

•Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of donor reports, executive updates, presentations, policy briefs, and partner coordination records.

•Ability to build consensus, maintain accountability, and drive follow-through across diverse partners with different mandates and implementation responsibilities.

•Ability to work under pressure, manage competing priorities, and maintain attention to detail.

•High standards of integrity, accountability, professionalism, and respect for institutional and partner protocols.

•Willingness and ability to travel frequently to program regions and implementation sites.