WORK EXPERIENCES

Senior State Program Manager, American India Foundation (AIF)
[Lead: Integrated Program, Odisha]

Leading the “Integrated Program” to address the holistic growth of under 6 years of children by enhancing their access to “Nutrition, and Early Childhood Education”, along with creating livelihood opportunities for the community. The program has involved liaising with various government departments; NHM/Health, Women & Child Development, Panchayat Raj, and Education in Odisha. The key goal of an “Integrated Program” is to eliminate undernutrition and significantly enhance early childhood education outcomes amongst children under 6 years and strengthen the mental, emotional, and social well-being among students and adolescents (11-15 years) for helping to stable their education and reduce the effect of COVID-19 in Odisha.

Key Roles

• Government engagement: Establish good relationships with senior policymakers, state-level officials, and key stakeholders to formalize formal approval/MoU for initiating the new initiative in Odisha. Lead the policy and advocacy initiatives of AIF in the state and develop strategies, take formal approval, and sensitize the relevant stakeholders. Represent all the state-level meetings and share updates on the program implementation with the senior policymakers.
• Program development and management: Lead the development of program conceptualization, planning, and partnering with government departments; NHM, WCD, and Education for Integrated Program Implementation in Odisha. Develop work plans, and budgets in consultancy with the senior management team to initiate the implementation. Manage to staff, identify potential NGOs, formalize their agreement, build the capacity of the team and NGO partners, and execute the intervention.
• Strategic planning, management, and representation: Provide active leadership and personal contribution to the program team and develop strategic planning and organizational development. Represent AIF at the state level and take on responsibility for the organization’s resource mobilization and policy objectives. Keep an eye on the new and emerging opportunities in the sector; monitor the evolution of the program, leverage the government resources, and work to institutionalize the government program and sustain it.
• Management of monitoring, evaluation and information system: Provide strategic support to identify the third party of the baseline and end-line evaluation of the program implementation. Develop partners for a management information system (MIS) and train the team members to collect the data meticulously using the designed “App”. Review the dashboard of the App and prepare decks to share the senior state officials, policymakers, donors, and different stakeholders.

Worked as a General Manager – State Head State Transformation Program – Piramalswasthya

Key Roles

• Lead the team to accomplish all goals and expectations within deadlines.
  Liaison and advocacy with state health officials to strengthen Health Management System in Bihar.
• Guide the staff through developing the most efficient and effective ways of meeting their objectives
  Supervise the activities, including field visits and accompanying field staff in all program areas.
• Mentor staff, ensure that the values and principles of the organization are reflected in staff behaviour and in project actions.
• Ensure quality relations with all stakeholders. That includes state health personnel, government organizations, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
• Provide technical and coordination support to State Health Society Bihar and work closely to update the development.

Senior State Program Manager in American India Foundation

Key Roles

• Leading a continuum of care-based nutrition intervention of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu .
• Liaison and advocacy with state & district health officials to improve health system strengthening.
• Convergence with other government departments for health system strengthening.
• Provide technical and managerial support to state health officials on maternal and child nutrition.
• Develop community and facility based maternal and child nutrition intervention.
• Work closely with state health officials to allocate program budget into PIP.
• Strengthen reporting and data management system.

Senior State Director

Key Roles

Liaison:

• Developed a trusted association with state (government) health officials, facilitated signing Memorandum of Understanding, represented at all state level meetings, and leveraged the state government’s resources for program implementation.
• Provided technical and managerial support to health department and shared periodic program/project progress.
• Accompanied with national and state health officials and officials from women & child development (WCD) department, to field visits.

Strategic support:

• Oversee all program management including, strategic planning, developed annual budget for program activities, administration and program operations, cost control, performance monitoring and stakeholders’ relations.
• Strengthened capacity of local NGO partners to implement programs at community level and convergence with various departments as WCD, Education and other national and international NGOs for program implementation.

Program/project Management:

• Responsible to implement three major programs / project and supervised clinical (medical officers and nursing staff) and program personnel to implement the following interventions:
• Facility Level: Strengthening Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH) and Family Planning (FP) Services at public & private health facilities and facilitating On-site training of medical officers and nursing staff. Strengthening WASH, making available drinking water, access to clean toilets and maintaining hygiene practice at facility level, orienting labour room and OT staff to follow all protocols for delivery and childcare.
• School level: Educating schools girls on SRH, WASH & Nutrition issues with major focus on Menstrual Hygiene, RTI/STI, FP, Reproductive Health, strengthening WASH services, sensitizing on deworming and provision of weekly iron folic acid tablet.
• Community Level: Sensitizing young women (15-24yrs) on SRH, WASH & Nutrition through female youth leaders, organising health camps at village level to have basic health check-up, awareness on deworming, ensuring availability of IFA, calcium tablets, sanitary pads and basket of choice for Family Planning services.

Team management:

• HR management: initiated recruitment process, selection, on boarding process including detailed induction program covering organization personnel policies, finance, prevention of sexual harassment, performance evaluation, learning development, employment benefits, travel expenses, leave, workplace policy etc.
• Developed team’s annual measurable goals and provide supervisory support achieve within time line and ensured timely communication and feedback.
• Provided support and led the project team members for developing the reports, presentations, and other communication materials.

Research & Evaluation:

• Supported R&E; team in getting the study proposals approved through state officials, finalized the sites/villages, sample size, reviewed study/research tools, hired agency for data collection, facilitated their training , monitored data collection, supported to implement the baseline/midline /end line, reviewed and triangulated the data and processed to R&E; team.

Administrative and financial management:

• Developed annual program budget and oversee the financial management that included the monthly cash flow, optimum budget utilization and minimum underspent, financial report, monitoring and tracking expenditure and budget forecasting.
• Supported team members to follow the standard operating procedures during their expenditure while traveling and making program support.

Demand Generation and Community Engagement:

• Supported to develop IEC materials and tools and got it approved through appropriate state authority for community sensitization and demand generation activities.
• Worked with both Electronic and Print Medias and sensitized them on our thematic areas to publish and broadcast into local and regional TV channels.

Reporting & documentation

• Ensured to meet all donor deliverables, monitor the planned activities and develop the reports for sharing state health officials and head office. Also, responsible to review the program related forms, formats and report writing for head office.

State Program Manager

Key Roles

Liaison: Developed good rapport with state health officials, sensitized them on the program interventions, formalized MoU, represented all state level meetings and accompanied with national and state health officials to field visits and demonstrated our field interventions.

Strategic support: Ensured to overall program management, operational issues, staffing, financial management, cost control, performance monitoring, stakeholders relations, monitoring & evaluation and to provide strategic direction for program implementation

HR management: Initiated the recruitment, selection, and on-board process, ensured to have proper induction & training of new team members, oriented them organization’s personnel policies, set their goals, review their performance and made annual appraisal.

Program/project Management: Led implementation of programs intervention at facility level, school intervention and community level on Sexual & Reproductive Health for adolescent and young women (15-24yrs), facilitated On-site training at public health facilities for family planning and strengthening WASH, making available drinking water, accessible for clean toilets and maintaining hygiene at facilities. Implemented the community intervention through local NGO to sensitize young women on SRH, FP, WASH & Nutrition.

Administrative and financial management: Ensuring all team members followed the standard operating procedure and financial norms while visiting in the field to provide program support. Managed the finance judiciously, track annual budget not to be over or underspent, ensured all vendors payment on time and SoPs are followed for all procurements.

Research & Evaluation: Supported R&E; team to get the approval for study/research done at state level, helped to finalized intervention sites, developing questionnaire, identifying local agencies, monitoring data collectors, analyse the data and share to R&E; team.

Community Engagement: Strategized community intervention through local NGO partner and front-line health workers (ASHAs, AWWs, ANMs) to sensitize/educate community.

Reporting & documentation: Prepared monthly reports and review all program and financial documents before sending to head office every month. Ensuring to review thoroughly the donor deliverable and prepare reports to share head office.

Senior Program Manager

Key Roles

• Liaised with state health officials to manage the Department for International Development (DFID) funded special project “Prevention of Maternal Death due to Unwanted Pregnancy” (PMDUP). Leveraged resources both HR & fund from state budget.
• Oversee and provided strategic support to implement the PMDUP project into both public and private facilities in Madhya Pradesh.
• Developed work force, HR management and oriented them on the project to work at facility and community level. Designed their specific and measurable goals, appraised their performance and provided adequate support.
• Managed the project to facilitate the training of medical officers, nursing staff, strengthen public health facilities, made provision of drinking water & access to clean toilet, hygiene practice (WASH), organized workshops and coordinated with private practitioners for accrediting their sites to improve service provision.
• Financial and administrative management to regulate the project intervention.
  Developed capacity of NGO partners to implement the project at village level, mainly to educate/generate awareness among villagers.
• Developed different health promotion activities at village level; IEC, mass media-local and regional TVs, street plays, local and religious leaders.
• Responsible to prepare the donor report and monthly report and share with head office.

Program Coordinator

Key Roles

• Liaised with the district health officials and other stakeholders to implement the program at public and private facilities.
• Developed and strengthened training centre to facilitate the training of medical officers and nursing staff on SRH & FP.
• Built capacity of support staff at facility level to maintain quality services.
• Leveraged resources of the public sectors for program intervention.
  Developed team within facility and made them accountable to perform their tasks effectively.
• Ensured meeting donor deliverable within time line and prepared the report and shared with head office.

Project Associate

Key Roles

• Ensured implementation of “Reproductive Health Services” project in Bihar.
• Strengthened capacity of 13 NGO partners and coordinated with them to implement the project.
• Build capacity of the NGO staff to implement the project intervention effectively.
• Prepared action plan for NGO partners and supervised them to achieve assigned goals. Developed health promotion activities; IPC, IEC and mass-media activities.
• Reviewed and validated the NGOs reporting and gave them feedback.
  Coordinated with district health officials to implement the project at facility level.
• Prepare reports and processed head office every month.

Worked With Local NGO & Agency

Period : Sept 1996 – Dec 2000, July 2003 – Sept 2006
Employer : Trade India & Arogyam
State : Bihar