Project Director, CDC Sierra Leone

With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 34,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Key Responsibilities:

Job Purpose

World Vision is seeking a Project Director for an anticipated project titled, “Strengthening public health systems in Sierra Leone,” which is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to build and sustain a more resilient public health system to identify, respond and mitigate health threats. The Project Director will be responsible for the successful implementation of the CDC-funded project to build and improve country capacity and leadership in the prevention, early detection, and response to infectious disease threats, with an emphasis on data and surveillance, diagnostics, public health workforce and institutions, and prevention and response. The project budget is estimated to be $30 million.

The Project Director is responsible for providing overall strategic leadership, oversight, and coordination for project activities and staff. S/he will possess deep applied experience in disease surveillance, health system strengthening, public health agencies, and primary health care in contexts similar to Sierra Leone. S/he will have demonstrated abilities in leadership, strategic thinking, development of effective teams, and change management. S/he must also have a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively and efficiently with host country agencies, including central and local governments, development partners, civil society, and community-based organizations.

The Project Director will provide leadership in the design and implementation of the project to ensure effective and streamlined management of program operations that are in alignment with the CDC’s goals, objectives, and requirements. The Project Director will serve as a liaison between the CDC, project personnel, consortium partners, and key stakeholders; lead communications with supported countries and develop Country Operating Plans (COP); plan annual targets; ensure appropriate use of resources with the support of the Senior Management Team (SMT); and supervise and mentor interdisciplinary teams. S/he will lead the SMT to identify areas of concern within the project and work with the program team to find viable solutions. S/he will work with the MEL team to ensure continuous quality improvement. Across all efforts, s/he will set standards for an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect, and help carry out our Christian organization’s mission, vision, and strategies.

Recruitment is contingent upon successful award of the project. Selection of the final applicant is subject to CDC approval. The project is anticipated to begin in September 2025.

Major Responsibilities

• Keep Christ central in individual and corporate life. Actively participate in and contribute to the spiritual disciplines of the organization (Christian conduct, devotions, chapel, prayer, worship); incorporate WV Core Values into decisions within scope of role.
• Manage proactive and responsive relationship with grant donor in close collaboration with supported countries.
• Direct and oversee grant implementation, ensuring that all strategic objectives are met through proper design, staffing, implementation and quality assurance.
• Provide strategic and technical leadership and direction, defining and implementing activities to achieve the greatest impact toward project goals and objectives. Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs), including tools and templates, to guide effective, efficient, and compliant program administration.
• Research new funding opportunities and develop and write funding proposals, if second phase of the grant or cost extension is planned.
• Supervise a team of senior level international and national staff with skills across a diverse set of technical areas.
• Ensure proper technical capacity of staff to manage complex donor-funded projects.
• Lead grant staff and short-term consultants.
• Establish and maintain effective project reporting, evaluation, and communication systems. Submit timely accurate and professional reports that meet donor requirements.
• Manage grant/project budget within approved spending levels and ensure accurate and timely financial reports to donors and SO staff.
• Ensure grant/project expenses are reasonable, allocated as per assigned budget, prudent and spent in accordance with donor rules and regulations to ensure low risk audits.
• Liaise with local government officials, local communities, donor representatives and other stakeholders as appropriate.
• Consistently look for more effective and efficient implementation methods and opportunities to increase impact.
• Participate and conduct on-going lessons learned with key staff and partners/sub-grantees.
• Liaise with local government officials, local communities, donor representatives and other stakeholders as appropriate.
• Participate in and lead NGO – donor forum to represent WV, the project, and seek cooperation for joint advocacy opportunities.
• Escalate grant management issues early and openly; resolve grant management issues quickly and fully.
• Serve as primary liaison to the CDC, local and national governmental authorities, local NGOs, and community organizations. Facilitate learning of best practices on program’s technical areas and other donor organizations.
• Provide vision and strategic technical leadership for the project.
• Establish clear and frequent communication regarding program progress and oversight management with the donor.
• Provide spiritual leadership to the team. Attend and participate in weekly chapel services and daily devotional meetings.

Knowledge and qualifications for the role

Required Professional Experience:

Master’s degree in related field required. PhD degree preferred. In addition to education, requires a minimum of 10 years of experience in health program implementation in settings similar to Sierra Leone, including experience in health systems strengthening, disease surveillance, quality improvement, and health workforce capacity strengthening. Experience as a chief of party or senior project director required. Proven ability to manage highly complex grants. Requires knowledge of and familiarity with US Government international assistance program requirements, preferably CDC and/or other bilateral funding agencies. Requires experience managing sub-grants and contracts under grants for complex projects.

Language Requirements:

English required.

Travel and/or Work Environment Requirement

Travel within country required.

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local and International Applicants (IA's) Accepted