Project Director

ACHIEVE is a USAID-funded global project whose primary goal is to reach and sustain HIV epidemic control among pregnant and breastfeeding women, adolescents, infants, and children. To reach this goal, ACHIEVE supports orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and DREAMS service delivery, provides technical assistance to strengthen social welfare systems and improve service quality and reach, and supports capacity development for local partners to sustain services at the community level. ACHIEVE is led by Pact, in partnership with Jhpiego, Palladium, No Means No Worldwide, and WI-HER. ACHIEVE also has a network of resource partners, that are engaged on an as needed basis for technical support.

Within South Africa, ACHIEVE continues to expand on USAID / PEPFAR investment. Current activities can effectively be categorized into four service streams : OVC comprehensive, OVC DREAMS Family Strengthening, DREAMS Intensive Economic Strengthening (IES) and above site technical assistance. This includes a heightened focus on direct services to OVCAY, including monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities to effectively record and report on service outcomes.

The Country Director (CD) / Project Director (PD) leads the successful development and implementation of Pact programs in South Africa. The CD / PD is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership to the country team, representing Pact to the host government, donors, partners, sub awardees, and private sector actors. Key areas of responsibility include technical leadership, oversight, and management of the Adolescents and Children, HIV Incidence Reduction, Empowerment, and Virus Elimination (ACHIEVE) South Africa project; adaptation of the Pact Global Strategy to the country context; timely and efficient implementation; monitoring and reporting; and compliance with Pact policies and donor award terms and conditions.

S / he oversees and improves implementing systems, policies, and procedures for Pact operations in South Africa and ensures effective financial oversight, staff security, and human resource management. The CD / PD is a skilled communicator, able to develop and utilize strong relationships with team members, partners, and donors in country, and build highly effective working relationships across the organization, including with ACHIEVE Global team, Africa regional team, DC units and other Country Offices both inside and outside the region.

The essential duties and responsibilities of the South Africa Country Director / ACHIEVE Project Director covers two broad areas : CO Leadership focusing on the ACHIEVE project (est. 90% of LOE), and Business Development, External Relations, and Thought Leadership (est. 10% of LOE). The CD reports to the ACHIEVE Global Project Director and has a dotted line reporting relationship with the Regional Director (RD) for Africa.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee Country Office programming to ensure the effective and efficient delivery and implementation of the ACHIEVE project in line with Pact and donor standards.
• Ensure high-quality technical programming on the ACHIEVE project through hands-on guidance and support grounded in the program’s objectives and targets and adhering to expected technical quality for OVC, DREAMS, and systems strengthening programs and reporting requirements.
• Manage all ACHIEVE project planning and reporting responsibilities, including the production of annual workplans and budgets, semi-annual, and annual project reports, and PEPFAR DATIM and HRH reporting.
• Manage the ACHIEVE project budget to meet expected results, ensuring cost-effective use of donor and Pact resources.
• Consistently monitor the Country Office’s financial position and ensure the best use of available resources. This includes overseeing the development and review of Country Office annual budget and project budgets, oversight of financial transactions and reports, maximizing cost recovery from restricted grants, and quarterly reforecasting exercises.
• In cooperation with Pact HR, oversee the management and development of ACHIEVE human resources to ensure a diverse, skilled, and productive workforce and promote an organizational culture where Pact values are practiced.
• Lead the implementation of the Pact Global Strategy in the context of the Country Office, existing and anticipated programs, host country government and donor development plans.
• Manage security and safety of the country team and Pact assets according to best practices, Pact operating standards and field realities.
• Coordinate politically astute, professional, diplomatic, high-level representation with both state and non-state actors, partners, donors, government, and other key stakeholders as a base for building / maintaining / expanding a sustainable country and regional presence.
• Promote global learning through regional exchanges, peer learning, and by creating opportunities for inter and intra-regional collaboration and dialogue.
• Work with DC-based impact area leads and business development team, along with the Africa Regional Office to develop and implement new business strategies for the department / country to ensure it has sufficient resources to execute its strategy and program commitments.

Basic Requirements

Salary for this position is commensurate with local office salary scales and will be determined based on the candidate’s experience and qualifications

Pact is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, citizenship status, genetic information, matriculation, family responsibilities, personal appearance, credit information, tobacco use (except in the workplace), membership in an employee organization, or other protected classifications or non-merit factors.

At Pact, we recognize your impact, offer you opportunities and support your total well-being. Our comprehensive benefit offerings may include healthcare, retirement (8.8% to 13% based on service tenure) and savings plans, paid time off, disability and life insurance programs, learning and development opportunities, wellness programs as well as other optional benefit elections .

With the continuing impacts of COVID-19 around the world, we are taking action to protect the health and well-being of our colleagues and maintain the safety of the communities where we operate. Pact seeks an environment free from COVID-19 and prefers all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Attestation of vaccination status will be required for employment with Pact. Unvaccinated employees may be subject to additional health and safety requirements to include any federal, state and / or client restrictions.