Job Description

About MCA

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. government corporation focused on assisting countries dedicated to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in people. In May 2022, MCC signed a five-year agreement (“compact”) with the government of Lesotho (GoL) aimed at poverty reduction through inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country. The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA- Lesotho II), is an entity established by the Government to act as the accountable entity to implement the Compact, with the authority to bind the Government with regard to all Program activities.

Lesotho Compact

The Lesotho Health and Horticulture Compact aims to benefit 2.5 million people by growing, strengthening, and organizing the private sector in Lesotho and improving the government’s coordination to deliver critical services necessary to support private sector development. It will achieve this goal through investments in Health System Strengthening, strengthening of the business environment and Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture, providing sustainable income for smallholders and increasing climate resilience by replacing rain-fed subsistence farming with irrigated commercial horticulture in select locations. The GoL is committed to passing several key reforms that will help make this compact successful, including reforms that address gender equality, working conditions and worker safety, as well as land and water rights. All of the compact’s projects focus on overcoming barriers to the economic inclusion of women, youth, and the rural poor.

Digital Health Activity Manager Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) Project

The objective of the HSS Project is to improve health outcomes by strengthening Lesotho’s primary health care system. This $75 million project will improve primary healthcare services, including gender-based violence services, expand health financial systems and management capacity, and invest in digital health management services.

MCC will create and staff an MCA in Lesotho to provide management oversight to its Health System Strengthening (HSS) Project within the Lesotho Health and Horticulture Compact, which will run from 2024-2029.

Objective of this position The Digital Health Activity Manager is accountable for the successful implementation of high quality HSS digital health activities, from initiation to execution to completion from initiation to execution to completion. The Digital Health Activity Manager is responsible to build collaborative relationships with project stakeholders, partners, and will oversee project budgets, contracts, and grants. The Manager ensures the alignment of activity execution with the overall HSS project objectives and the judicious management of its resources. The Manager has responsibility for monitoring, tracking and reporting on the progress of all digital health activities undertaken and the related contractors or grantees. The Digital Health Activity Manager reports directly to the Director, Health Systems Strengthening. 

Primary responsibilities

• Provide technical advice and guidance with regards to digital health and IT delivery and capacity building, as well as ensuring implementation of digital health solutions services in collaboration with the assigned contractors and grantees.
• Monitor progress and manage health system strengthening activities of the compact to ensure digital health and IT goals, objectives, targets and activities are met, as stated in the compacts’ agreed project work plans and log frames for all contractors and grantees.
• Based upon assessments of project progress, recommend remedial approaches to better advance and sustain project quality and impact.
• Assess the quality of deliverables for all assigned contracts or grants and recommend them for approval or remediation.
• Participate in and provide guidance and feedback to contractor(s) for development of all workplans and M&E frameworks in coordination with the HSS Director and other team co-workers. Recommend for approval all digital health and IT workplans and M&E frameworks for assigned contracts or grants.
• Actively participates and ensure all required reports are completed on time and to a high standards and data is analyzed in collaboration with M&E unit to discuss progress on indicators, define action points for how to stay on track with grant requirements, and follow up with those points
• Support development and maintenance of effective and efficient oversight, support, quality control and reporting systems and processes for the HSS Digital health and IT component.
• Provide required reporting to the MCA HSS Director and MCC for all assigned activities, contracts or grants and develop periodic (Monthly/ quarterly) project reports as necessary for the HSS component of the compact.
• Provide leadership and coordinate relevant project technical working groups as established for assigned procurements/contracts.
• Coordinate periodic performance review platforms for all the assigned contractors and grantees and other stakeholders on a monthly basis.
• Conduct regular monitoring visits to the various project sites, ensuring that projects utilize standardized protocols, policies and guidelines, as outlined by the MCC policies and guidelines.
• Identify technical quality and/or other implementation issues, and provide solutions and follow-up to ensure projects are on track to meet goals and are consistent with established best practices.
• Based upon financial analyses, track (in collaboration with MCA procurement and finance officer(s) financial reporting for assigned contracts or grants and recommend for approval all invoices.
• Liaise with other MCA managed HSS compact projects/procurements to ensure their technical integration as appropriate to achieve results.
• Ensure communication and liaison with relevant GoL agencies/entities, development partners and stakeholders.
• Participate in/report to the project steering committee meetings and activities.
• Assist in development and implementation of risk management strategies, referral development and systems for assigned contracts and grants.
• Coordinate effectively with other MCA staff; exchange relevant information; properly identify and manage risks; comply with MCC’s requirements, standards, policies, and guidelines; and incorporate good practices and lessons learned into work.
• Assess the capacity development needs of counterpart ministries or agencies, and support/implement an agreed upon capacity development and knowledge transfer strategy
• Ensure compliance with MCC's Gender Policy, MCA's Social and Gender Integration Plan, Counter-Trafficking Policy, MCC's Sexual Abuse and Harassment in the Workplace Policy, MCA’s Environment and Social Protection Plan and all relevant MCA Policy or Plans in Compact project implementation and monitoring.   

Required Competencies

Education

• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Information Technology
• Master’s degree will be an added advantage

Experience

• A minimum of 7 years of experience working in IT systems development, design, or support. (Experience does not have to be specific to Health IT Systems.)
• A minimum of 5 years of experience designing, implementing or architecting digital Health solutions and information systems. (Experience does not have to be specific to Health Digital Information Systems.)
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience identifying problems or risks in any aspect of a health system and self-identifying and initiating effective solutions to mitigate risk or resolve a problem.
• A minimum of 3 years of successful technical contract or grant management experience, as evidenced by at least one example of how the candidate managed a contract or grant (with a minimum value of at least $25K per annum) to successfully produce deliverables or outcomes within a specified period of time.

Skills

• Demonstrated ability to successfully manage digital platforms (such as IFMIS, EMIS, DHIS2, OHIE, OpenMRS, etc.).
• Ability to develop IT systems and documentation.
• Basic knowledge of health systems business processes at any level of care – Primary to tertiary and associated health solutions to improve efficiency.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize issues, direct conversation toward solutions and address concerns in a limited time frame, considering compact development timelines.
• Ability to write quickly, clearly and succinctly in English (reports, emails, presentations) and present information in public forums.
• Experience working in Lesotho, Southern Africa or low-middle income countries.
• Experience working in health information systems and health informatics (e.g. DHIS2, Electronic Medical Registers, etc.)

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