Program Officer

Pathfinder International is driven by the conviction that all people, regardless of where they live, have the right to decide whether and when to have children, to exist free from fear and stigma, and to lead the lives they choose. Since 1957, we have partnered with local governments, communities, and health systems in developing countries to remove barriers to critical sexual and reproductive health services. Together, we expand access to contraception, promote healthy pregnancies, save women’s lives, and stop the spread of new HIV infections, wherever the need is most urgent. Our work ensures millions of women, men, and young people are able to choose their own paths forward. We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Program Officer Requisition Number: PROGR002609

Location: Jigawa

Reports to: Technical Director Job Purpose The State Program Officer provides overall operational and technical leadership for the project in one state. The goal is for sustained political commitment, domestic financing, and community demand for routine immunization (RI) and HPV vaccination to become part of the state's health system, rather than depending on campaign cycles. The officer is Pathfinder's primary day-to-day presence in the state. The role works through existing government structures (SMOH, SPHCDA, Ministry of Finance, SERRIC, ALGON, Ward Development Committees) and does not create parallel ones. It manages the state's CSO partner and oversees delivery across all four project pillars: Evidence-to-Policy Translation High-Level Political Engagement Domestic Financing and Accountability Demand Generation and Risk Communication Key Performance Areas / Major Activities / Responsibilities and Percentage Worked State leadership and coordination - 15%: Lead project implementation in the state and be the main point of contact for the State Ministry of Health (SMOH), SPHCDA, the State Emergency Routine Immunization Coordinating Committee (SERRIC), the Ministry of Finance, and other state MDAs. Lead the project's entry meetings and joint work planning with the state, and keep the state workplan aligned with the State Annual Operational Plan. Map existing review and coordination platforms (SERRIC, RITWG, ACSM TWG, EPI reviews, SWAp/MAMII structures) and recommend whether each should be strengthened, merged or used as it is, to avoid duplication. Coordinate with other implementing partners and complementary investments in the state to align workplans and avoid overlap. Evidence-to-policy translation (Pillar 1) - 15%: Support the quarterly Immunization and HPV Performance Scorecard process, using DHIS2, eLMIS, supervision findings, financing data and community feedback. Support SERRIC and the RITWG run decision-focused reviews. Each review should produce an action matrix with owners, deadlines, resources and escalation points, and prior actions should be followed up at every meeting. Support quarterly LGA leadership accountability forums with ALGON and LGA Chairmen, and take part in LGA EPI performance-review meetings. Maintain the Implementation Tracking Framework so that system-level gaps (financing, supply, policy) can be told apart from field-level gaps (supervision, demand, data quality). Political engagement and domestic financing (Pillars 2 and 3) - 20%: Provide technical assistance and evidence to executive, health, finance, education and local government leaders. This includes Deputy Governors (as Chairs of the State Task Force on PHC), Commissioners, SUBEB, ALGON and LGA Chairmen. Track budget approvals, releases and expenditure for RI and HPV (human resources, logistics, cold chain, outreach). Map treasury release pathways and report on disbursement velocity. Support joint Health-Education alignment sessions on school-based HPV delivery (SOPs, parental consent, privacy, adverse event management). Demand generation and CSO oversight (Pillar 4) - 15%: Manage and verify the performance milestones of the state's CSO partner. This includes reviewing deliverables, spot checks, quality assurance of reports and flagging subaward compliance concerns. Supervise field delivery of compound and household dialogues, gender-sensitive safe spaces, non-compliance resolution teams, school and out-of-school HPV demand generation (including Almajiri and Islamic school networks) and Youth Vaccine Champions. Oversee the closed-loop defaulter tracking and referral system (CommCare, CHIPS, WDCs, facility registers) and make sure the findings feed into LGA EPI reviews and SERRIC. Support the quarterly live radio call-in programme, rumor and misinformation escalation, and commemoration of immunization and HPV awareness days and MNCH weeks. Support capacity building for LIOs, LCCOs, Health Educators, LGA M&E officers and school health teachers HPV Institutionalization - 10%: Support the adoption of NPHCDA-compliant HPV Routine-Continuity Microplans and monitoring charts, and the "Every Eligible Contact" protocol. Support monthly continuity reviews and the diagnostic response to bottlenecks (service readiness, stock and distribution, social and access barriers). Monitoring, evaluation, data quality and learning - 15%: Collect and verify state-level data for the project indicators, working with the MERL Officer. Carry out data quality assessments and quarterly spot checks. Take part in the baseline and landscape assessment and the endline assessment, and lead the state's Pause and Reflect session at the end of Year 1. Document lessons, promising practices and contribution stories and share them through state governance platforms. Reporting - 10%: Submit monthly, quarterly and annual inputs to the project's progress reports. Minimum Education and Work Experience Bache