Position description

Department: Program
Reports to: Program Manager
Assignment type: Full-time
Location: Mwanza
Length: One year

Position summary

The Birth Companionship Project Manager provides overall leadership, technical direction, and management of the Birth Companionship scale-up project, ensuring effective planning, implementation, monitoring, and sustainability of the intervention across supported regions.

The role is responsible for integrating birth companionship within routine maternity care, strengthening respectful maternity care, and ensuring alignment with national priorities and program objectives. It oversees program performance, financial management, reporting, and quality improvement processes, while also contributing to advocacy, resource mobilization, and strategic development of subsequent phases of the project.

In addition, the role ensures strong stakeholder engagement, supports knowledge generation and dissemination, and promotes continuous learning and accountability across the project, including oversight of facility readiness assessments and minor infrastructure improvements to support quality service delivery.

Key responsibilities

I. Project management

• Lead end-to-end planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the Birth Companionship project across supported regions
• Manage resources, including budgeting, expenditure tracking, and financial accountability
• Develop annual and quarterly workplans, progress reports, and performance reviews
• Coordinate regular progress review meetings and ensure implementation of agreed action points
• Facilitate workshops, training, and engagement sessions for health providers and stakeholders
• Collaborate with RHMTs, CHMTs, and facility teams to develop and implement joint workplans
• Lead and oversee facility readiness assessments to identify gaps in infrastructure, privacy, and service environment for birth companionship
• Support planning and implementation of minor renovations and improvements in selected facilities to enhance quality and respectful maternity care
• Support integration of birth companionship within broader maternal and newborn health programming

II. Advocacy, strategic engagement, and business development

• Contribute to the development of proposals and concept notes on birth companionship and RMNCAH priorities
• Collaborate with MoH, PMORALG, RHMTs, CHMTs and HMTs to plan and conduct sustainability meetings
• Support the design of subsequent project phases and scale-up strategies
• Participate in fundraising and resource mobilization initiatives
• Provide technical advice on project positioning and business development
• Lead design and tracking of advocacy strategies for sustainability

III. Implementation and technical leadership

• Lead scale-up of birth companionship interventions across supported regions
• Ensure quality and fidelity of implementation across project sites
• Provide technical inputs into innovative and integrated interventions
• Promote uptake and completion of birth companionship CPD modules among healthcare providers
• Support clinical quality improvement, audits, and mentorship
• Ensure that facility improvements and service environment adjustments are aligned with respectful maternity care principles

IV. Monitoring, evaluation, and learning

• Ensure collection, validation, analysis, and use of program data
• Conduct routine data quality assessments and provide feedback
• Prepare monthly and quarterly reports and lead final project reporting
• Support the design and implementation of endline evaluations
• Promote data use for decision-making and adaptive programming
• Document best practices, lessons learned, and knowledge products

V. Supervision and team leadership

• Supervise project staff, including coordinators and officers
• Conduct regular performance review meetings
• Provide supportive supervision through field visits and virtual engagement
• Build capacity through coaching, mentorship, and continuous technical support
• Facilitate regular team coordination meetings
• Ensure staff accountability and adherence to project standards and timelines

VI. Supporting functions

• Support integration of birth companionship across program components
• Collaborate with procurement teams on project-related commodities and materials
• Support coordination of facility upgrades and minor renovations in collaboration with government teams and technical experts
• Support planning and coordination of internal and external evaluations and dissemination of findings
• Contribute to organizational reporting and annual reports

VII. Advisory role

• Advise on the integration of birth companionship into routine care
• Support the development of sustainability and scale-up strategies within government systems
• Provide input into advocacy and policy engagement efforts
• Support alignment with national guidelines and frameworks

Qualifications and experience

The role requires strong academic grounding and demonstrated experience in maternal and newborn health programming and project management.

• Doctor of Medicine (MD) or equivalent clinical qualification required
• A master’s degree in public health, Midwifery, Project Management, or a related field is an added advantage
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in MNH programming
• Hands-on experience of program coordination project implemented in more than one region
• Practical experience in managerial position at project capacity with engagement with Ministry of Health and PMO-RALG
• Experience in the implementation and scale-up of birth companionship or respectful maternity care
• Experience of working with government health systems
• Experience managing donor-funded programs
• Experience in training and mentorship of healthcare providers
• Experience in community mobilization interventions through outreaches and linkages

• Lead end-to-end planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the Birth Companionship project across supported regions
• Manage resources, including budgeting, expenditure tracking, and financial accountability
• Develop annual and quarterly workplans, progress reports, and performance reviews
• Coordinate regular progress review meetings and ensure implementation of agreed action points
• Facilitate workshops, training, and engagement sessions for health providers and stakeholders
• Collaborate with RHMTs, CHMTs, and facility teams to develop and implement joint workplans
• Lead and oversee facility readiness assessments to identify gaps in infrastructure, privacy, and service environment for birth companionship
• Support planning and implementation of minor renovations and improvements in selected facilities to enhance quality and respectful maternity care
• Support integration of birth companionship within broader maternal and newborn health programming
• Contribute to the development of proposals and concept notes on birth companionship and RMNCAH priorities
• Collaborate with MoH, PMORALG, RHMTs, CHMTs and HMTs to plan and conduct sustainability meetings
• Support the design of subsequent project phases and scale-up strategies
• Participate in fundraising and resource mobilization initiatives
• Provide technical advice on project positioning and business development
• Lead design and tracking of advocacy strategies for sustainability
• Lead scale-up of birth companionship interventions across supported regions
• Ensure quality and fidelity of implementation across project sites
• Provide technical inputs into innovative and integrated interventions
• Promote uptake and completion of birth companionship CPD modules among healthcare providers
• Support clinical quality improvement, audits, and mentorship
• Ensure that facility improvements and service environment adjustments are aligned with respectful maternity care principles
• Ensure collection, validation, analysis, and use of program data
• Conduct routine data quality assessments and provide feedback
• Prepare monthly and quarterly reports and lead final project reporting
• Support the design and implementation of endline evaluations
• Promote data use for decision-making and adaptive programming
• Document best practices, lessons learned, and knowledge products
• Supervise project staff, including coordinators and officers
• Conduct regular performance review meetings
• Provide supportive supervision through field visits and virtual engagement
• Build capacity through coaching, mentorship, and continuous technical support
• Facilitate regular team coordination meetings
• Ensure staff accountability and adherence to project standards and timelines
• Support integration of birth companionship across program components
• Collaborate with procurement teams on project-related commodities and materials
• Support coordination of facility upgrades and minor renovations in collaboration with government teams and technical experts
• Support planning and coordination of internal and external evaluations and dissemination of findings
• Contribute to organizational reporting and annual reports
• Advise on the integration of birth companionship into routine care
• Support the development of sustainability and scale-up strategies within government systems
• Provide input into advocacy and policy engagement efforts
• Support alignment with national guidelines and frameworks

• Doctor of Medicine (MD) or equivalent clinical qualification required
• A master’s degree in public health, Midwifery, Project Management, or a related field is an added advantage
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in MNH programming
• Hands-on experience of program coordination project implemented in more than one region
• Practical experience in managerial position at project capacity with engagement with Ministry of Health and PMO-RALG
• Experience in the implementation and scale-up of birth companionship or respectful maternity care
• Experience of working with government health systems
• Experience managing donor-funded programs
• Experience in training and mentorship of healthcare providers
• Experience in community mobilization interventions through outreaches and linkages