Download Principal Program Manager

Principal Program Manager – Rockville, MD
The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is a scientific nonprofit organization that sets
standards for the identity, strength, quality, and purity of medicines, food ingredients, and
dietary supplements manufactured, distributed and consumed worldwide. USP’s drug standards
are enforceable in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration, and these standards
are used in more than 140 countries.
Summary of the Position:
This is a program management position that works as part of a team to design and manage the
implementation of specific pharmaceutical quality systems interventions under USP's United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) Cooperative Agreement for Promoting
the Quality of Medicines (PQM) program. Specifically, the Principal Program Manager is
responsible for backstopping Program Managers and Regional Program Managers and
supports multiple concurrent PQM portfolios for timely accomplishment of work plan objectives.
S/He leads the deployment of project management tools and resources to enhance the delivery
of PQM programmatic priorities identified by the Deputy Director, Country and Core Programs
(DD/CCP). The Principal Program Manager has both technical and program management skills
to serve as the liaison between the PQM Technical Support Team (TST) and the Country and
Core Program (CCP) Team.
Roles and Responsibilities:
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Provides programmatic support in ensuring regional managers, program managers and
the entire CCP team have additional guidance to effectively implement work plans.
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Develop guidelines and procedures to support the design, development, implementation,
and evaluation of work plans to ensure improvements in quantity and quality of technical
reports and the documentation of lesson learned.
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Responsible for monitoring PQM targets with regards to timely implementation of work
plan deliverables.
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Backstops the DD/CCP and provide overarching support to the CCP team working as
utility contributor as well as directly managing programs as needed.
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Leads portfolio review meetings, and liaise with the TST to monitor the quality of work
plan deliverables.
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Monitors progress of all work plans and lead strategic planning to guide PQM program in
selected countries.
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Develops innovative approaches to collect and use data and in collaboration with the
Technical Writer and Knowledge Management Specialist work with publish articles on
topics related to pharmaceutical quality.
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Delivers timely and quality donor reporting; works with the M&E Manager to ensure that
data is regularly collected and documented; and works with other program staff,
including field staff, to develop global reports that demonstrate progress towards
achieving specific targets by health element funding stream (both centrally funded and
USAID Mission funded).
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Performs other duties as assigned.
Minimum Requirements
Education:
• Master's degree or higher degree in a health related field required; physician, pharmacist,
or other health profession qualification highly desirable.
Experience:
• Demonstrated experience in project management as it relates to Global Health technical
assistance provision required. Previous experiences managing multiple projects
simultaneously, working in multisector environment, and coordination of concurrent priority
activities very essential.
•
At least 8 years of experience in the provision of technical assistance to low and middle
income countries in health systems strengthening focusing on pharmaceutical
management, regulatory systems strengthening, and supply chain security required.
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International health or development experience required; experience in working with
international development organizations preferred.
•
Extensive experience of programming work in the implementation of USAID cooperative
agreements required.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA’s):
• Knowledge of public health and pharmaceutical issues in developing countries.
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Knowledge of USAID programs and experience in the area of program management.
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Knowledge of principles of controlling diseases of priority public health importance is a plus.
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Experience of working with WHO and/or other international organizations is a plus.
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Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage multiple work flows while
effectively managing project timelines and deliverable schedules.
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Demonstrated experience in quality assurance and quality control of medicines.
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Program management certification is a plus
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Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
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Expertise in options analysis for pharmaceutical quality systems interventions, developing
regulatory frameworks, applying risk-based approaches, and guiding the development of
strong and sustainable systems
•
Competence in word processing programs required, additional skills in presentation
(PowerPoint) and knowledge of spreadsheet (Excel) programs preferred.
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Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
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Demonstrated ability to effectively work with medical and pharmaceutical expert reviewers
in the text revision process.
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Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team, meet deadlines, and handle several tasks
simultaneously.
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Firm understanding and sense of the importance of paying attention to detail.
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Ability to network with professionals from USAID and other international organizations, as
well as local in-country representatives and government officials.
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Ability to work in cross-cultural settings.
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Ability to demonstrate highest degree of ethics and integrity.
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Ability to travel up to 30% time.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
None.
Interested candidates should submit cover letter, CV or resume to www.usp.org