PROJECT COORDINATOR

CARE Nigeria is seeking a Project Coordinator / Medical Officer to provide overall day-to-day leadership, coordination and clinical/technical oversight of SAREN. The SAREN Project in Katsina State is aimed to reduce anaemia and improve nutrition outcomes among approximately 50,000 people from 10,000 households, with priority given to pregnant and breastfeeding women, adolescent girls and children under five. The project combines early identification, confirmatory testing, treatment, prevention, referral and follow-up with household and community nutrition interventions and health-system strengthening.

SAREN will be implemented over 18 months and will work through 30 participating primary health-care facilities and surrounding communities. It will also localise Monere-enabled non-invasive anaemia screening functionality to the Katsina context and, where technically feasible, integrate the agreed functionality with CARE’s existing Digital Learning Platform in collaboration with the State Government and a local technology partner.

The incumbent will ensure that project activities are delivered safely, on time and to the required quality; lead government and partner coordination; supervise the project team; oversee clinical governance, screening and referral pathways; coordinate digital localisation/integration work; and ensure that evidence, risks, budgets and donor commitments are actively managed throughout the project cycle.

Responsibilities

SCOPE:

Employment Type: Contract - Full-Time

Job Status: Nationals only.

Slots: 1

Location: Katsina, Katsina State.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

Job Responsibility #1: Project Implementation, Coordination & Clinical Oversight

• Lead detailed planning, start-up, coordination and implementation of SAREN across the three LGAs, ensuring alignment with the approved proposal, work plan, budget, donor requirements and CARE policies.
• Provide medical and clinical oversight for anaemia screening, confirmatory testing, treatment initiation, referral, follow-up and danger-sign management, ensuring that non-invasive screening is not used as a substitute for approved clinical diagnosis.
• Coordinate implementation across participating PHCs, community screening locations, referral facilities and community structures, resolving operational bottlenecks and ensuring continuity of the participant care pathway.
• Oversee commodities, equipment, devices and service-readiness requirements in collaboration with Nutrition, Operations, Procurement and government counterparts, escalating supply or quality risks promptly.
• Coordinate the 18-month project cycle, including inception/readiness, 12-month service delivery, transition, handover and close-out, with clear accountabilities and timely completion of milestones.

Job Responsibility #2: Health Systems Strengthening, Digital Integration & Quality Assurance

• Lead joint definition and validation of clinical thresholds, referral pathways, confirmatory-testing arrangements, informed-consent processes and participant follow-up protocols with Katsina State health authorities.
• Coordinate CARE, Monere, the local application developer and State Government during localisation, workflow design, user-acceptance testing and any feasible DLP integration, ensuring clinical safety, appropriate data flows and clear system-administration arrangements.
• Lead supportive supervision and quality-assurance reviews with state/LGA teams, using service, referral, commodity and digital-performance data to identify gaps and agree corrective actions.
• Support transition and institutionalisation planning, including government ownership of devices/equipment, system administration, data access, recurrent costs, technical support and continuation/scale options.

Job Responsibility #3: Stakeholder Engagement, Government Coordination & Partnerships

• Serve as the primary project focal point for Katsina State Ministry of Health, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, LGA health authorities, participating facilities and other government stakeholders.
• Convene and support inception, quarterly performance-review, technical and transition meetings, ensuring decisions, actions, owners and deadlines are documented and followed through.
• Maintain effective relationships with CARE USA technical teams, technology partners, local partners, community leaders and other relevant actors, ensuring roles and expectations remain clear.
• Represent SAREN in relevant state and national coordination forums and support dissemination of learning, results and evidence in line with CARE and donor requirements.

Job Responsibility #4: Team Leadership, Capacity Building & Operational Management

• Provide direct supervision, performance management and coaching to the Nutrition Officer, MEL Officer and other project personnel assigned to the SAREN team.
• Coordinate competency-based training and refresher support for health workers, supervisors and community personnel on anaemia case management, screening, referral, nutrition, safeguarding and related project procedures.
• Work closely with Finance, Grants, Procurement, Administration, HR, Security and other programme-support functions to ensure timely staffing, procurement, travel, payments, logistics and field operations.
• Promote a collaborative, accountable and respectful team culture and ensure adherence to CARE safeguarding, gender, inclusion, safety and security standards.

Job Responsibility #5: Monitoring, Reporting, Risk Management & Learning

• Work with the MEL Officer to review progress against indicators, participant pathways, referral completion, treatment outcomes, stock status, data quality, system performance and budget utilisation, and use findings for adaptive management.
• Lead preparation of timely, accurate project narrative reports, management updates and technical inputs for donor reporting, ensuring that reported results are validated and supported by project evidence.
• Maintain the project risk register and lead timely mitigation of clinical, operational, safeguarding, data-protection, technology, access and sustainability risks, escalating material issues to the Health Sector Lead.

Other Responsibilities:

• Contribute to CARE’s resource mobilization efforts by documenting SAREN results and learning, supporting donor engagement and developing technically sound inputs for continuation or scale-up opportunities.
• Perform any other related duties as assigned by the supervisor

Requirements

QUALIFICATION/EXPERIENCE/TECHNICAL SKILLS:

Required

• Medical degree (MBBS/MBChB or equivalent) from a recognised institution, with current registration/license to practice in Nigeria; a postgraduate qualification in Public Health, Community Medicine, Nutrition, Health Systems or a related field is an advantage.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in public health, primary health care, maternal/child health, nutrition or community health programming, including project coordination or team leadership responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience providing clinical or technical oversight for screening, referral, treatment/follow-up pathways and quality improvement within facility- and community-based health programmes.
• Strong knowledge of anaemia prevention and management, maternal and child health, nutrition, referral systems, infection prevention and primary health-care service delivery in Nigeria.
• Experience working with government health institutions, PHCs, community health workers and multidisciplinary partners; experience in northern Nigeria and Katsina State is highly desirable.
• Experience with digital health tools, participant-tracking systems or technology-enabled service delivery, including the ability to work effectively with technical developers without compromising clinical governance.
• Strong leadership, planning, facilitation, communication, report-writing, problem-solving and budget-management skills; proficiency in English required and Hausa strongly preferred.

Competencies:

• Building Effective Teams
• Integrity and Trust
• Drive for Results
• Organizational Agility
• Decision Quality
• Negotiating

NOTE:

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Early applications are encouraged.
• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
• CARE is an Equal Opportunity Employer. CARE considers all applicants on the basis of merit without prejudice to race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, colour, national origin, marital status, or veteran status.
• CARE Nigeria is committed to preventing sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (PSEAH), child abuse, and human trafficking. We hold zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, or discrimination. The selected candidate will be required to adhere to CARE’s Safeguarding Policies, Code of Conduct, and undergo strict background checks, including reference and screening checks.
• There are individuals who may use CARE’s name and trademark in emails and on websites in an attempt to solicit fees from interested job seekers. Please note that CARE will not request for any monetary payments from applicants at any stage of the recruitment process.

Qualified Women and Persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.