Program Assistant At International Treatment Preparedness Coalition

You are eager for exposure to and experience on the program side of a global non-governmental organization. Although you don’t have a lot of experience in this field, you have a keen interest in public health and in HIV in particular. You are extremely well-organized, learn quickly and have an acute attention to detail. Project management is your middle name! In fact, you take great pleasure in completing your “to-do” list and probably love color coding your tasks. You work well in teams, can prioritize in the face of competing issues, remain balanced and efficient in the face of stress, while maintaining a good sense of humor. You are flexible and can excel in a constantly changing external environment like advocacy, that often requires frequent programmatic, financial and operational adjustments.

If this, is YOU, then Apply!

About ITPC and the Role
The International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) is seeking a is Program Assistant (PA) to join our global team.

ITPC is a global activist network that fights for universal access to optimal treatment and diagnostics. As an issue-based coalition, ITPC uses HIV as an entry point to the right to health, partnering with affected communities across the world to address treatment access issues for diseases including diabetes, hepatitis C and hypertension.
Our operational hub, in Johannesburg, South Africa, supports a small global (and remote) team to carry out our mandate to ensure that everyone in need of treatment can get it. This position is at the heart of trying to improve the effective implementation of ongoing program activities in the global team. The successful candidate will form part of the global program team and be responsible for backstopping ITPC’s programs and assigned projects. The Program Assistant will also serve as a liaison between programs and finance/administration at ITPC to ensure the highest levels of program impact. This position reports directly to the Program Officer within the program team and does not have any direct reports.

Job Summary
The Program Assistant is responsible for ensuring all ITPC projects and program are efficiently managed and operates optimally to ensure program implementation and ultimate impact. The PA is a support staff critical to backstopping all project and programs by providing day-to-day coordination, updates, summaries, scheduling and other inputs as needed. This position offers an excellent opportunity for professional and career development within a reputable global NGO at the forefront of community-led interventions in the HIV sector. Although vast NGO program coordination experience is not required or expected, the ideal candidate should have exceptional skills in project management, administration and coordination as well as communication.

Responsibilities of the Program Assistant:
• Provide project backstopping and management support, including:
o Efficiently map (on a daily basis) workflow details of all ITPC projects
▪ Work in tandem with finance point person to monitor budgets
▪ Alert team when adjustments need to be made to spending or specific line items due to donor requirements
o Identify bottlenecks and solutions to project-related work as a part of the program team
o Communicate effectively with program team on project workflow status and escalate critical issues in a timely manner
o Schedule, coordinate (agendas, time zones etc.) and facilitate calls to ensure efficient workflow and that project milestones are achieved
o Prepare and disseminate meeting notes for internal and project calls as needed
o Contribute ideas, as appropriate, to project/program operations, interventions and strategy
o Review, edit and format program reports before final submission
• Manage and supervise the workflow of consultants:
o Oversee consultants by tracking time and related billing, maintaining regular contact and monitoring progress of their work as per their respective terms of reference/contractual obligations
o Provide updates to Program and escalate issues as needed
o Provide advice and respond to inquiries where appropriate
o Process consultant invoices with appropriate approval
o Write up evaluations for Program review
• Serve a liaison between program and finance/administration departments
o Support the procurement workflow for project tasks and consultants
▪ Prepare documents for approval
▪ Salesforce entries and tagging
▪ Bottleneck triage
▪ Communication internally and externally as needed
• Executive-level support
o As needed, schedule calls and carry out administrative tasks for Executive Director

Qualifications and Experience
• Bachelor’s Degree in public health programming field – International Health/Development, Public Policy, Economics, or other related field
• At least five (5) years’ relevant experience in lieu of Bachelor’s Degree
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English
• Fluency in at least one relevant language other than English (especially French) preferred
• Knowledge of HIV and human rights preferred
• Experience working with or familiarity with UNAIDS, WHO, Unitaid or the Global Fund preferred
• Ability to conduct research using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, especially community & participatory research methods
• Good numerical abilities and comfort working with different currencies
• Social media competence (managing Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram)
• Exceptional skills in project management, administration and coordination

Skills and Competencies
• Ability to manage competing tasks, prioritize and produce high-level accurate output consistently
• Focused and versatile team player that is comfortable under pressure; ability to work on own and within various teams
• High levels of organization and attention to detail
• Sound judgment and initiative
• Foster and maintain harmony among projects and between program and finance staff
• Robust ability to multi-task
• Be proactive, display initiative and be a critical thinker
• Be a champion for compliance, honesty and integrity
• Structured and process-driven
• Consistently demonstrate high levels of professionalism, integrity, and ethical values
• Comfort working collaboratively both in-person & virtually (using Zoom, Slack, Teams, and other tools)
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with colleagues from different cultural backgrounds and perspectives (teams embedded in different cultures/countries)
• Ability to work independently in a flexible and virtual NGO environment

Persons living with HIV are strongly encouraged to apply.

This is a full-time position and ITPC provides a competitive salary package based on candidate’s experience and skills.