Speak Up Africa is a Policy and Advocacy Action Tank dedicated to catalyzing leadership,  enabling policy change, and increasing awareness for sustainable development in Africa.  Through our platforms and relationships and with the help of our partners, we ensure that  policy makers meet implementers; that solutions are showcased and that every sector – from  individual citizens and civil society groups to global donors and business leaders – contributes  critically to the dialogue and strives to form the blueprints for concrete action for public health  and sustainable development.  

Job Title: Senior Technical and  Operations Manager	Project: Ouagadougou  Partnership Coordination  Unit	Country Location: Dakar, Senegal
Division: Programs	Functional Level: Sr. Management	Date: April 7, 2022
Job Family: Programs – General	Exempt Status:	Reporting To: Director,  Ouagadougou Partnership  Coordination Unit

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT 

The Ouagadougou Partnership’s purpose is to accelerate the use of family planning services in  nine countries : Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal,  and Togo. In December 2012, the Partnership created a Coordination Unit based in Dakar,  Senegal to help the Partnership reach its goals. In 2020, the Partnership hired Speak Up Africa  to serve as host for the Coordination Unit in Dakar and to help the Partnership increase the  number of women using modern contraceptives by at least 6.5 million in OP countries  between 2020 and 2030. 

The mission of the Coordination Unit is to: (1) Facilitate Partnership processes; (2) Help  countries complete and regularly review and renew their Costed Implementation Plans (CIPs); (3) Assist countries with plan implementation and advocacy to mobilize resources for their  CIPs; (4) Track progress against objectives; and (5) Share information inside and outside the  Partnership. 

SUMMARY OF ROLE 

The Senior Technical and Operations Manager (STOM) of the Ouagadougou Partnership is a  key member of the senior leadership team of the Coordination Unit (OPCU), responsible for  achieving both technical and operational outcomes for the Partnership. S/he will be based at  the Coordination Unit in Dakar, will direct and supervise three Country Liaison Associates and  Program Coordinator, will set up and manage priority processes to accomplish OP goals, and  will be the primary point of contact with country focal point teams and with other OP partners  to ensure quality technical FP service is available to countries. 

Specifically, the STOM will lead activities across three areas:

1. Lead OP technical work to ensure that countries and donors in the Partnership live up to  their commitments and the Partnership reaches it goals for additional users of modern  contraception. This work includes developing and tracking a region-wide strategy to  achieve additional user goals; identifying countries’ needs for technical assistance and  providing direct (e.g., technical analyses) and indirect (e.g., identifying funding  mechanisms through which external parties may be hired) assistance to countries and  donors as they seek to fill those needs; tracking results and managing relationships around  data; supporting exchanges between countries to implement high impact practices; and  identifying how other OPCU staff may support the overall strategy in their deep  engagements with specific stakeholders. Indeed, the STOM will design, develop, and  manage of OPCU action plans to provide technical and strategic leadership to stakeholders  at every level of the implementation of CIPs in countries.  

2. Manage all relationships and processes with OP country stakeholders to enable and  encourage those actors to participate actively in the OP. While the STOM is a family  planning (FP) technical expert, their success will depend on their ability to build and  maintain relationships with country governments and with other key topical experts that  guide government FP decision-makers (e.g., UNFPA, WAHOO, WHO, and FP2030). The  STOM will seek to help government decision-makers use the best available data, find and  advocate for domestic and international resources, consult with important internal  constituencies (e.g., religious leaders), and otherwise engage a range of best practices to  develop, refine, and implement their CIPs. To do so the STOM will not only provide  technical support (see previous bullet) but also focus his/her attention on establishing and  refining processes to efficiently provide such support on an ongoing basis. For instance,  the STOM will develop agendas for and lead regular calls with country focal points in each  of the nine countries, set and follow schedules to participate in each country’s annual CIP  reviews, lead periodic country commitment processes (in partnership with FP2030),  regularly gather “implementation status” information from countries and share with other  OP stakeholders, and many other procedural tasks to ensure each Partnership country and  stakeholder is able to amplify their past efforts. These activities will require the STOM have  strong interpersonal, management, and organizational skills, in addition to good  knowledge of the FP environment. 

3. Supervise three Country Liaison Associates (CLAs) and Program Coordinator to support  OP donors, country governments, and other OP stakeholders in pursuit of FP goals in  select countries. The STOM is responsible for ensuring appropriate support for all OP  stakeholders, including focal points and decision-makers in each of the nine OP countries.  Three CLAs will in turn serve as the STOM’s “arms and legs” in countries and lead and  participate in activities on a day-to-day basis, with each CLA focusing on three assigned  countries while the Program coordinator focuses on supporting the Motion Tracker  implementation and coordination . The STOM will manage the CLAs, assigning tasks and  supervising each CLA as they guide OP activities at the country level. In cases where  countries or other country-stakeholders need special support to achieve their goals, the 

STOM will work with the relevant CLA to determine appropriate measures and participate  in such activities as needed.  

While CLA tasks are likely to vary over time and by country, each CLA will work with the  STOM to develop and execute plans to ensure that countries’ CIP reviews happen on  schedule and with appropriate technical support; that each country is well prepared to  share results and participate actively in the OP’s annual meeting and other events; that  current and potential donors have country-level and even province-level data and  information they need to make investment decisions; and that all OP stakeholders can receive assistance, advice, or information about FP activities in any OP country at any time.  

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 

Project and Process Management 

• Oversee the implementation of CIPs in the nine OP countries  
• Develop and manage processes to ensure consistent, high-quality relationships with  and input from a variety OP country and regional stakeholders (while the STOM will  also assist with such processes with donors, their primary responsibility is to elevating  and coordinating voices from countries and from the region).  
• Lead OPCU’s yearly workplan monitoring with the team, review workplans for a team  of three Country Liaison Associates and the program coordinator to ensure appropriate  support for the implementation of CIPs  
• Lead the data analysis and management to regularly inform the management team on  progress towards the OP’s goal 
• Assess countries’ financial and technical needs and resource appropriate responses  and technical assistance 
• Serve as the main contact for the technical implementing partners to coordinate  resources to better respond to the country needs and avoid duplication of efforts 
• Participate in the development and monitoring of the OPCU annual work plan and  work closely with the Director to ensure that OPCU action plans are implemented and monitored on quarterly basis 
• Represent the OPCU in in-country coordination meetings with the Ministry of Health  and focal points and stakeholders to share and discuss progress, accomplishments, and  challenges and to ensure common understanding of current as well as future strategic  direction with guidance of the CIPs 
• Monitor the planning, review and renewal of CIPs  
• Lead the development and implementation of OP focal points’ annual work plans • Organize and develop the content of annual donor caravans and annual OP meetings 
• Be the primary contact for key strategic partners (e.g., WAHO, FP2030, Track20,  UNFPA, PMA) technical departments 
• Assist the OPCU Director in overseeing reporting to OP donors
• Serve as Acting Director as appropriate and perform other duties as assigned by the  OPCU Director 

Vision and Technical Strategy 

• Provide overall technical leadership and strategy for the technical areas as described  in OPCU grants 
• In collaboration with other OPCU leadership, support the implementation of the  advocacy and communication strategies and needed policy reform initiatives at  country and regional levels. 
• Oversee improvements in coordination and harmonization at the country level  
• Lead the identification and programming for effective implementation of high impact  practices to drive the acceleration of interventions in the nine OP countries 
• Provide effective support for countries to develop plans to scale-up high impact  practices selected through their FPGoals models 
• Lead processes for tracking OP country commitments with the “motion tracker” tools  
• Lead the development and implementation of strategies to increase sensitivity to  gender equity and women empowerment and ensure that these concepts are  integrated into the second generation of the CIPs 
• Ensure effective representation of the OP in regional platforms (CSO, Youth Think Tank,  Supplies, Youth ambassadors…) to address regional and country issues on FP 
• Coordinate all partners’ Technical Advisors and their supporting staff in country and  regionally  
• Design and facilitate strategic convenings (e.g., meetings, workshops, conferences,  etc.) to affect change 
• Conduct thoughtful research around specific issues and design content that will push  the OP agenda forward  
• Produce written materials for OPCU activities in countries, including guidelines, policy  memos, reports, and presentations 

Our remuneration package 

We offer an exciting role with a great team and the following remuneration package:  • Formal work contract: Regional Contract  

• Duration : 18 month with possibility extension 
• Based: Dakar, SENEGAL  
• Salary according to the grid 
• Insurance  
• Flights 

How to apply  

Please send your applications to [email protected] The closing date for applications is  April 30, 2022. Please specify the title of the position in the subject line and send 3 references 

Note. – Given the urgency of this position, the vacancy may close before the deadline.