Helen Keller Intl Job Announcement
Program Support Manager, Transforming Lives through Nutrition
Any country where Helen Keller has a presence will be considered; implementing country offices in
Francophone West Africa preferred.

Guided by the remarkable legacy of its co-founder, Helen Keller, Helen Keller Intl partners with
communities that are striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the
essential building blocks of good health, sound nutrition, and clear vision, we help millions of
people create lasting change in their own lives. Working in 20 countries – across Africa, Asia,
Europe, and the United States – and together with a global community of supporters, we ensure every
person has the opportunity – as Helen did – to reach their true potential.

We are seeking a Program Support Manager (PSM) to support program delivery for an assigned
portfolio of country offices in francophone West Africa implementing a suite of five lifesaving
health services: supplementing women with essential vitamins and minerals during pregnancy,
supporting optimal breastfeeding, improving diets for infants and young children, screening
children for acute malnutrition and getting treatment to them as early as possible and, delivering
vitamin A, under a multi-faceted program known as Transforming Lives through Nutrition. The key
objectives of the Transforming Lives Program are to:
• enhance the enabling environment for the delivery of an integrated nutrition program;
• strengthen health and food systems towards the delivery of integrated nutrition programming;
• increase and measure effective coverage of integrated nutrition programming and understand
complementarities across disciplines; and
• ensure the model is sustainable and scalable and that lessons are shared.

While in-country project teams spearhead program implementation, a core global team assumes
leadership responsibilities, providing strategic guidance, operational oversight, and a spectrum of
technical assistance to facilitate quality implementation. The PSM will:
• Provide comprehensive support to country teams, optimizing resource utilization and ensuring
timely program implementation;
• Facilitate regional and global coordination efforts, fostering synergy across diverse
operational domains; and
• Support smooth operation of the projects in each country to facilitate timely implementation
and decision making.

The position requires at least 30% travel within the designated countries, with a preference that
the incumbent be stationed in one of the countries in their assigned portfolio. The preliminary
portfolio of DR Congo, Mali and Senegal is expected to expand to five countries.

Functional Relationships
Reporting to the Program Director for the program consortium, the PSM will engage with and provide
guidance to Country Management Teams and their program teams and collaborate closely with both
finance and project teams to ensure seamless integration across functions with the common goal of
ensuring that project objectives are met. The position will also serve as a co-manager of relevant
staff in assigned country offices.

The PSM will serve as the liaison for each country office to the project’s Global Technical Team to
coordinate seamless technical support to country teams and with the Global Finance team to ensure
budget alignment with objectives, monitor burn rates and provide support for budget development for
subsequent years.

Regular communication and a spirit of teamwork are essential to make this complex structure thrive.

Helen Keller’s programs also require close relations with governments, partner NGOs, and donors,
including UN agencies. The PSM may contribute to cultivating some of these cooperative
relationships and may represent Helen Keller and/or the consortium to donors and the international
community.

Specific Responsibilities
For each supported country, the PSM will:
• Collaborate with Country Coordinator to support country office to develop robust, coordinated
project implementation plans and liaise with the Global Technical Team.
• Assist country project team to formulate budgets aligned with program priorities and target
demographics, in coordination with the project’s Global Finance Team.
• Support implementation of field activities in adherence to predetermined timelines.
• Identify technical support needs in tandem with country teams and liaise with the project’s
Global Technical Team to address these needs comprehensively.
• Convene project review sessions to evaluate activity statuses and proffer support as required.
• Contribute to routine budgetary monitoring exercises and support program evaluation
activities.
• Facilitate effective communication between the core global team and country offices, ensuring
seamless information dissemination.
• Participate in donor reporting, support data compilation and information gathering from
supported countries.
• Spearhead the identification of focal areas for learning and coordination workshops for
supported countries, as well as facilitate regional/global workshops.
• Cultivate strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders and governmental entities during
in-country engagements.
• Maintain vigilance over outstanding issues within country offices and facilitate regular
follow-up actions.
• Synthesize project-related insights from country offices and update the Program Director.• Promote intra-regional and inter-country coordination, fostering synergy and collaborations
across country project teams.
• Consult with and guide staff to achieve goals and contribute to an atmosphere conducive to
professional growth and development. Provide ongoing feedback in a context of mutual respect.
• Model collaboration for your matrixed team: effectively consult and inform colleagues to
maximize efficiency and knowledge sharing; and integrate guidance and direction from subject matter
experts in your team and elsewhere in the global organization to maximize performance.

Required Qualifications/Competencies
• Thorough understanding of maternal and child health and nutrition initiatives.
• Proficiency in planning, coordination, communication, and reporting.
o Understanding of the synergy between the programmatic, operational, and financial components of
public health initiatives.
o Experience collaborating across departments to integrate all aspects of finance and
administration with the work of program teams to meet program outcomes and fulfill objectives
established in awards.
• Very good oral and written English language skills, including the ability to quickly
synthesize complex technical and programmatic issues into concise communications.
• Ability to communicate verbally in French sufficient to provide guidance to country teams.
• Excellent networking and negotiation skills
• Strong interpersonal skills with high emotional intelligence, and the ability to communicate
effectively across language and culture barriers;
• Multi-country field experience is strongly valued; demonstrated knowledge of context for
assigned portfolio of countries strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and take initiative on multiple projects at any one
time.
• Ability to balance competing priorities and pivot to respond to time-sensitive requests and
needs.
• Collaborative, flexible and solution-oriented. An ability to maintain balance when under
stress.
• Proficiency in basic computer software.
• Ability and willingness to:
o Be located in one of the project countries;
o flex schedule to accommodate availability of colleagues in other time zones;
o travel at least 30% to project country offices and/or to meetings and conferences.
NOTE: All staff must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to travel internationally.
• Demonstrable respect for all persons regardless of religion, ethnicity, class or gender, with
a high comfort level working in a diverse environment with a demonstrated commitment to high
professional ethical standards.
• Personal commitment to Helen Keller’s mission and the values embodied by our namesake and
co-founder: courage, integrity, rigor, and compassion.
Qualifications
• Master's level degree in Public Health, Health Policy and Planning, or Program Management or a
related field, plus
• A minimum of 8 years of experience project management implementing public health programs, or
an equivalent combination of education and experience.

To Apply
Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to hki.recruitment@hki.org.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

In the spirit of our founder and namesake, Helen Keller is dedicated to building an inclusive workforce where diversity in all its forms is fully valued.