Project Assistant/Project Officer at ABT Associates

ABT  Associates, a major American business and government research, technical assistance, and consulting company, manages the USAID-funded Vector Control Task Order 1, the PMI VectorLink Project. The project will support the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and USAID to plan and implement an integrated vector control approach with the overall goal of reducing the burden of malaria. Abt has implemented indoor residual spraying (IRS) for PMI since 2011, delivering high-quality IRS programs and gathering the most comprehensive vector control entomological data in the world.


Job Title: Project Assistant/Project Officer

Location: Kano

Employment Type: Full Time

Organization Overview

The International Development Division focuses on improving the lives and economic well-being of people in lower and middle-income countries. We command technical expertise in health, agriculture, climate change, food security and governance—as well as in international evaluation. Our multi-layered health portfolio includes policy, health promotion and disease prevention, health finance, and health systems management. In partnership with government clients and local experts, our high-quality programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East are known for impact and innovation.

Project Description

Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus is USAID’s flagship initiative in private sector health. The project seeks to harness the full potential of the private sector and catalyze public-private engagement to improve health outcomes in family planning, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and other health areas. SHOPS Plus supports the achievement of US government health priorities and improves the equity and quality of the total health system.

Job Summary

Abt Associates seeks a qualified Kano State Project Officer to support a private sector tuberculosis (TB) project under SHOPS Plus in Kano State. In Nigeria, SHOPS Plus supports private providers to scale up tuberculosis case finding, diagnosis, treatment and reporting in Lagos and Kano States.

The project officer will support implementation of a TB services expansion project that will increase availability of TB services in the private sector, improve flow of presumptive TB into detection and treatment system, improve the quality of private sector TB services, and strengthen health systems to foster and sustain Public Private Mix (PPM) models for TB care.

Key Roles And Responsibilities

• The project officer will provide a full range of technical and project support to the Kano State technical team including:
• Work closely with the state coordinator to implement private sector TB program in Kano state
• Assist in developing and implementing detailed action plans for activities
• Support the technical team in capacity building through trainings and on-site mentoring activities
• Plan and carry out supportive supervisory visits to a local intermediary organization (IO) and the network providers engaged by the IO using developed checklists
• Strengthen IO operations by providing technical and managerial oversight for network support
• Work with IO network officers to implement referral system within the private sector network and to/from the public sector
• Support the state coordinator as a liaison among communities, facilities, and local government authority
• Support the state coordinator to develop and review technical resource materials (e.g., training materials, social and behavior change activity plans, strategy documents, job aids) and programming tools to support meeting project objectives
• Work with administrative and finance staff to plan and organize logistics for training and other events
• Support the state coordinator to carry out administrative duties including preparing and managing schedules, official correspondence and follow up, tracking budgets and managing cash advances
• Contribute to communication, advocacy and knowledge management tasks including documentation and program report writing

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s (BS) or Master’s (MS) degree in health management, public health, health administration, or other relevant field
• Five years (BS) or four years (MS) of relevant work experience, especially TB or other infectious diseases
• Experience with private sector health service delivery
• Ability to write technical papers and reports
• Strong abilities to implement capacity building activities, training and workshops
• Ability to assess problems and develop solutions
• Computer skills in MS Windows and office package especially MS Excel, MS Word and MS PowerPoint
• Ability to travel within the state approximately 50% of the time.
• Excellent organization skills and oral and written communication skills in English
• Previous experience in tuberculosis projects with USAID funding or other donor agencies

Minimum Qualifications

( 3+ ) years of experience OR the equivalent combination of education and experience

How to Apply

Interested Applicants should apply at ABT Associates.

Good Luck!!!