Program Officer PATH

PATH is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. With more than 40 years of experience forging multisector partnerships and with expertise in science, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales up innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing heath challenges.
Background of the Family Planning Program at PATH
Since 2014, PATH Uganda has been supporting the Ministry of Health in implementing the national family planning program with a focus on introducing and scaling up DMPA-SC (Sayana Press) including Self-Injection in the public health sector. Ministry of Health with support from PATH and other implementing partners has scaled up DMPA-SC including Self Injection in the public sector in the context of a full family planning method mix.
In close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, PATH is implementing the private sector project between 2023 to 2026 to strengthen the private sector market for Family Planning, paving the way for the introduction of more contraceptive methods in commercial outlets, providing clients more options for where and how to access Family Planning methods of choice. The objectives of the project include: institutionalizing the private sector data collection to capture Family Planning data from drug shops and pharmacies that are licensed, strengthen the governance systems, and support the successful delivery of high-quality Family Planning products and services in pharmacies and drug shops, develop a sustainable market for DMPA-SC in the private sector and also coordinate both the public and private stakeholders in support of a strong Total Market Approach (TMA) for Family Planning.
Position Summary
PATH Uganda is seeking to recruit a Private Sector Family Planning Program Officer to augment the project team’s efforts for technical assistance to the private (for-profit) sector in drug shops and pharmacies in the districts of Kampala, Mpigi, Wakiso, and Mukono. This will be with respect to introducing and scaling up Family Planning services including DMPA-SC and Self-Injection in drug shops and pharmacies and potentially also expanded access to contraceptive implants through the private sector. This role will include providing technical assistance in the implementation of the family planning activities in drug shops and pharmacies.
Location: Kampala

Key Duties and Responsibilities
• Work closely with the Ministry of Health, local governments, district health teams and partners to implement and scale up family planning activities in the private sector with a focus on drug shops and pharmacies.
• Support trainings on family planning including DMPA-SC and Self-Injection, quality counselling, supply chain and Monitoring and evaluation of drug shop and pharmacy operators.

Support district supportive supervision visits and onsite mentorship with the objective of quality improvement initiatives aimed at strengthening the integration of quality family planning counselling and service provision in drug shops and pharmacies.
• Contribute to the development of a detailed annual work plan and budget together with the family planning team at PATH.
• Work with a private sector commercial distributor to implement strategies for family planning to ensure availability of stock and supply of family planning commodities including DMPA-SC in drug shops and pharmacies.
• Work closely with the MEL team to implement HMIS strengthening activities for family planning including Family Planning documentation, data verification exercises, participating in district performance review meetings, and other activities aimed at increasing routine data utilization to guide the investment of efforts.
• Work with the PATH MEL team to establish systems for tracking progress, indicators, and deliverables according to agreed work plans to ensure state and donor requirements are met.
• Planning activities at relevant meetings or other events as may be appropriate.
• Provide technical assistance and guidance to public and private health sector stakeholders on best practices in family planning service delivery, including health financing and resource mobilization.
• Innovate different market-based solutions to address the needs and challenges of delivering effective comprehensive family planning services through the private sector.
• Contribute to policy advocacy that promote private sector engagement in family planning service delivery.
• Support documentation of project results, successes, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and learning exchanges between public and private health sector stakeholders to promote cross-sectoral collaboration and innovation in family planning service delivery.

Represent the project at national and sub-national-level meetings involving government, development partners, and private sector representatives. Perform other activities, as assigned by the supervisor to achieve organizational goals.

Required Qualifications, Skills, and Experience:
• The applicant should hold a master’s degree of Public Health, Social Sciences, Population studies or any health-related disciplines. An additional degree in nursing or midwifery is preferred but not required.
• A minimum of 5 years of proven experience in implementing family planning programming approaches to build capacity, provide technical and logistical support for improved access and utilization of family planning services in the private sector in Uganda.
• Preferred but not required: Experience offering family planning services, including contraceptive implants, as a nurse or midwife.
• Knowledge of the current national and international family planning policies and guidelines.
• Demonstrated experience as a trainer implementing/leading Family Planning trainings and providing health workers with mentorship and coaching.
• Prior experience in partnership building and networking in the private sector.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with various stakeholders towards the achievement of the objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish effective working relations with different stakeholders.
• Possess the ability to travel up to 40% of the time.
• Expertise preparing thorough, well-written, and concise documents and strong computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to conduct market analysis, policy analysis, and impact assessments in the health care sector is an added advantage.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders in the health sector.
• Fluency in English required.
• Ability to carry out responsibilities independently with minimal guidance.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by and agreed upon with the supervisor.