Director of Regional Programs Implementation (DRP)

Job Description

Position Title:  Director of Regional Programs Implementation (DRP)

Duty Station:  Addis Ababa, with frequent travel to regional offices and project sites

Reports To:  Chief of Party/ Project Director

Reporting to this position:  Regional Managers and other regional program staff as assigned

Code of Conduct 

It is our shared responsibility and obligation to treat each other with respect, take affirmative steps to prevent matters involving Sexual Exploitation & Abuse and Trafficking in Persons, and to disclose all potential and actual violations of our Code of Conduct, which may include Conflicts of Interest, Fraud, Corruption, Discrimination or Harassment. Together, we can reinforce a culture of respect, integrity, accountability, and transparency.

Background

Project HOPE is an international NGO of more than 500 engaged employees and hundreds of volunteers who work in more than 25 countries, responding to the world’s most pressing global health challenges.

Activity Overview

Sustaining Lifesaving HIV/AIDS and Health Security Activities Through Integrated Country-Led Intervention: Ethiopia Transition Award is U.S. Department of State (DoS)-funded Transition Activity in Ethiopia that focuses on triple elimination of HIV/Syphilis/Hepatitis B and integration with health security activities. This project focuses on driving local ownership to sustain HIV epidemic control, accelerating the Federal Ministry of Health's (MOH) Triple Elimination framework (preventing vertical transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B), and integrating these services into Ethiopia's overarching health security and pandemic preparedness infrastructure.

 Position Summary

The Director of Regional Programs Implementation (DRP) provides strategic and operational leadership for the coordination and implementation of the integrated HIV and Health Security activities at regional and site levels under the integrated project.

The position serves as the primary link between the project's central technical leadership and Project HOPE's regional offices and regional implementation sites, ensuring that priorities, strategies, workplans, technical guidance, resources, and performance expectations from the HIV and Health Security pillars are effectively translated into coordinated implementation at the regional level.

The integrated project will have a Project Director/ Chief of Party (CoP) providing overall project leadership and two Executive Directors providing leadership for the HIV and Health Security pillars, respectively. The DRP will work closely with both Executive Directors and their respective technical teams to coordinate the implementation of the two pillars through Project HOPE's regional offices and other regional implementation structures.

The DRP will focus primarily on ensuring that regional implementation is well coordinated, integrated, timely, efficient, responsive to regional priorities, and aligned with approved project workplans and donor requirements. The DRP will oversee coordination among Project HOPE's regional offices and ensure effective implementation of activities at regional, zonal, district, facility, and other designated project sites. The position holder will facilitate coordination between regional teams and central technical teams, identify implementation bottlenecks, promote cross-pillar integration, and ensure timely resolution of operational issues.

The DRP will also serve as a key organizational interface with regional government structures, including Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs), Regional Public Health Institutes (RPHIs), and other relevant regional stakeholders, while ensuring that technical direction remains appropriately led by the respective HIV and Health Security leadership.

2. Key Responsibilities

2.1 Regional Implementation Leadership and Coordination

• Provide overall coordination and operational leadership for implementation of the HIV and Health Security pillars across Project HOPE regional offices and project sites.
• Translate centrally approved project strategies, technical priorities, workplans, budgets, and implementation guidance into coordinated regional implementation plans.
• Coordinate with the two Executive Directors and their respective technical teams to ensure that HIV and Health Security activities are appropriately sequenced, integrated, and implemented at regional level.
• Lead the consolidation and coordination of regional implementation plans across the two pillars, ensuring alignment with approved project objectives, targets, timelines, and available resources.
• Ensure that regional implementation activities are coordinated across Project HOPE regional offices and that there is no duplication, fragmentation, or competing demands on regional teams and government counterparts.
• Establish effective mechanisms for regular coordination between central technical teams and regional offices.
• Identify regional implementation bottlenecks and facilitate timely resolution with the relevant technical, operational, finance, procurement, MEL, and leadership teams.
• Ensure that regional offices have the necessary information, technical guidance, resources, and implementation support to execute approved activities effectively.
• Promote cross-regional learning and sharing of implementation experience, innovations, and solutions.

2.2 Coordination with Project HOPE Regional Offices

• Serve as the central coordination point for Project HOPE regional offices for implementation of the integrated HIV and Health Security project.
• Provide strategic direction and coordination to Regional Managers program and admin staffs in collaboration with the relevant central technical teams.
• Ensure that regional offices develop and implement integrated workplans that appropriately capture activities from both the HIV and Health Security pillars.
• Coordinate the deployment and utilization of regional technical and program staff in accordance with approved project structures and priorities.
• Monitor regional office implementation capacity, workload, staffing requirements, operational challenges, and resource needs.
• Facilitate regular regional office performance reviews and ensure that agreed actions are followed through.
• Strengthen communication between Project HOPE central office and regional offices to ensure consistent interpretation and implementation of project priorities.
• Ensure that regional offices operate within approved project policies, procedures, workplans, budgets, and donor requirements.

2.3 Integrated HIV and Health Security Implementation

• Facilitate the integration of HIV and Health Security interventions at regional and site levels, where technically and operationally appropriate.
• Work with the Executive Directors and technical teams to identify opportunities for integrated implementation, including shared platforms, coordinated field activities, joint engagement with government structures, and efficient use of regional resources.
• Ensure that regional teams understand the respective technical objectives, deliverables, and implementation requirements of both pillars.
• Coordinate joint planning between HIV and Health Security teams where activities intersect at regional, facility, community, laboratory, surveillance, or other implementation levels.
• Support coordinated implementation of activities related to HIV, infectious disease prevention and control, surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response, laboratory systems, One Health, primary health care linkages, and other approved project priorities.
• Facilitate escalation of technical issues to the appropriate Executive Director or central technical lead rather than independently providing technical direction outside the DRP's mandate.

2.4 Regional Government and Stakeholder Coordination

• Coordinate Project HOPE's engagement with Regional Health Bureaus, Regional Public Health Institutes, zonal health departments, health offices, health facilities, and other relevant regional government structures in relation to project implementation.
• Facilitate joint planning and review meetings with regional government counterparts and Project HOPE regional offices.
• Support effective government ownership and institutionalization of project interventions at regional and sub-regional levels.
• Coordinate with sub-partners and other implementing organizations to ensure complementarity and avoid duplication of activities.
• Represent the project in regional coordination platforms as delegated by the CoP or relevant Executive Director.
• Escalate significant technical, strategic, financial, contractual, or reputational issues to the appropriate central leadership.

2.5 Regional Work Planning and Implementation Management

• Lead the coordination and consolidation of regional inputs to annual and periodic project workplans.
• Ensure that regional activities are clearly linked to approved objectives, indicators, milestones, budgets, and implementation timelines.
• Coordinate the translation of central pillar workplans into practical regional implementation schedules.
• Monitor implementation of approved workplans and identify delays, gaps, resource constraints, and emerging implementation risks.
• Coordinate corrective action plans with regional offices and relevant central technical teams.
• Ensure timely implementation and completion of approved regional activities.
• Support adaptive management when changes in regional context, epidemiology, government priorities, or operational conditions require adjustments to implementation.
• Ensure effective documentation of regional implementation progress, challenges, solutions, and lessons learned.

2.6 Performance Monitoring, Data Use and Reporting

• Coordinate regional performance monitoring across the HIV and Health Security pillars.
• Work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team and technical teams to ensure timely availability and use of regional performance data.
• Review regional performance against approved targets, milestones, workplans, and deliverables.
• Facilitate regular regional performance review meetings and ensure that agreed corrective actions are implemented.
• Identify underperforming areas and coordinate targeted technical or operational support.
• Ensure timely submission of quality regional implementation updates to central project leadership.
• Contribute to project performance reports, donor reports, annual reviews, and other project reporting requirements.
• Promote the use of regional data and evidence to inform implementation decisions and resource prioritization.

2.7 Resource, Operations and Supply Coordination

• Coordinate with finance, procurement, supply chain, human resources, administration, and technical teams to ensure that regional offices have the resources required for implementation.
• Consolidate regional resource requirements and communicate them to relevant central teams.
• Monitor implementation-related resource constraints and facilitate timely resolution.
• Ensure that regional implementation remains within approved budgets and resource allocations.
• Coordinate with relevant technical and operational teams to address delays in procurement, distribution of commodities and equipment, recruitment, deployment, travel, training, and other operational requirements.
• Promote efficient utilization of shared resources across HIV and Health Security activities.

2.8 Regional Team Leadership and Capacity Strengthening

• Provide leadership and coordination to Regional Coordinators, Regional/Area Program Managers, and other regional program staff.
• Establish clear coordination mechanisms, roles, responsibilities, and accountability between regional and central teams.
• Facilitate regular communication and performance management of regional implementation teams.
• Identify regional capacity gaps and coordinate appropriate technical assistance and capacity strengthening with the relevant central teams.
• Promote a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to implementation across HIV and Health Security teams.
• Support regional teams to strengthen problem-solving, adaptive management, documentation, and learning.
• Promote a culture of accountability, teamwork, professionalism, safeguarding, and continuous improvement.

2.9 Risk Management, Transition and Sustainability

• Identify and monitor operational and implementation risks affecting regional program delivery.
• Coordinate appropriate mitigation measures with regional and central teams.
• Ensure that regional teams are prepared to operate effectively in complex, emergency, conflict-affected, or rapidly changing environments.
• Support continuity of essential program activities during transitions or changes in operating context.
• Promote government ownership, capacity strengthening, sustainability, and transition of appropriate interventions to regional structures.
• Contribute to project transition and closeout planning, including regional handover and documentation of lessons learned.
• Perform all other duties assigned by immediate supervisor or the Senior Management team member

Education

• Advanced university degree in a relevant health, public health, or health-related field, including Public Health, Medicine, Nursing, Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Global Health, Health Systems, Health Security, One Health, Laboratory Sciences, or another closely related discipline.
• A Master's degree in Public Health (MPH), Epidemiology, Global Health, Health Systems, Health Security, or a related field is strongly preferred.

Professional Experience

• Minimum of 15 years of professional work experience in a field relevant to the position.
• At least 7 years of experience in a managerial or senior-level role, with responsibility for program management and staff supervision.
• Demonstrated experience in managing or coordinating large-scale, multi-regional, or complex health programs, including oversight of program implementation, resource management, stakeholder engagement, and team leadership.
• Demonstrated experience in public health, health program implementation, health systems strengthening, or other related health-sector programs.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating implementation across multiple regions, decentralized structures, or geographically dispersed project sites.
• Demonstrated experience in one or more of the following areas: HIV, health security, infectious disease prevention and control, surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response, One Health, health systems strengthening, laboratory systems, primary health care, or other major public health programs.
• Demonstrated experience working with regional government health structures and decentralized health systems in Ethiopia.
• Demonstrated experience managing or coordinating donor-funded health programs, including experience with U.S. Government and/or other bilateral or multilateral donors.
• Experience with U.S. Department of State (DoS), PEPFAR, CDC, USAID, Global Fund, World Bank, or other major international health donors is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams and multiple program components across geographic areas.
• Experience working with international NGOs, local organizations, government institutions, and sub-partners.
• Experience working in complex, emergency, conflict-affected, or rapidly changing environments is highly desirable.

1. Technical and Management Competencies

• Strong understanding of Ethiopia's health system and decentralized regional implementation structures.
• Strong program management and regional coordination skills.
• Demonstrated understanding of human health, HIV, Global Health Security, infectious disease prevention and control, One Health, and health systems strengthening.
• Ability to translate central strategies and technical plans into practical regional implementation arrangements.
• Strong ability to coordinate across multiple technical pillars without duplicating technical leadership functions.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, coordination, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving and implementation management skills.
• Ability to identify operational bottlenecks and facilitate solutions across organizational functions.
• Strong understanding of donor compliance, work planning, budgeting, performance management, and reporting.
• Ability to manage multidisciplinary teams and geographically dispersed operations.
• Strong data-use and performance-monitoring skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Willingness and ability to undertake frequent travel to regional offices and project sites across Ethiopia.
• Willingness to undertake any additional tasks as assigned by the CoP and/or the respective Executive Directors.

How to Apply

Interested applicants can send their CV and cover letter through ethiojobs ONLY on or before September 28, 2026, by 5:00 PM.

Application Instructions:

•  Submit your cover letter and resume in one PDF or Word document.

Qualified female applicants are highly encouraged to apply.

Due to the large number of inquiries, we receive, only candidates who have met the required experience & qualifications for this position will be considered. No phone calls please.

However, since we are active around the world in the field of public health, we may wish to retain your CV in our database for other/future opportunities, unless you direct us otherwise.

Thank you very much for your interest in Project HOPE