Country Coordinator

Duties and Responsibilities:

Government Engagement & Stakeholder Leadership

• Serve as the primary in-country focal point for the CRVS Improvement Program.
• Maintain strong working relationships with senior government officials across relevant ministries (e.g., Health, Justice, Interior, National Statistics Office).
• Lead or support national CRVS coordination mechanisms and technical working groups.
• Represent the CRVS program in national forums and partner meetings.
• Promote country leadership, ownership, and long-term sustainability of CRVS reforms.

Strategic Work Planning, Program Management & Technical Oversight (CRVS Systems Strengthening)

• Lead the development of annual and multi-year CRVS workplans aligned with national strategies, in collaboration with the Regional Deputy Director.
• Develop detailed, budgeted implementation plans with clear milestones and deliverables, ensuring alignment with donor requirements and organizational policies.
• Prioritize activities in collaboration with government counterparts to maximize impact.
• Provide technical oversight and assistance, in coordination with the technical support team, across all work plan interventions.
• Ensure technical support promotes institutionalization, strengthens local capacity, and supports long-term sustainability.

Financial Oversight & Agreement Management

• Monitor budgets to actuals against approved workplans and milestones.
• Ensure fiscal accountability and compliance with donor and organizational requirements.
• In collaboration with the Regional Deputy Director, negotiate collaboration agreements, MOUs, grant agreements, and sub-grant arrangements with government and in-country stakeholders.
• Oversee drafting and execution of contracts with consultants and fiscal agents, as required.

Supervision & Team Coordination

• Provide technical direction and coordination for in-country consultants and program support staff.
• Ensure high level of coordination with all D4H partners and Data Impact program coordinators.
• Work closely with Program Management team to ensure effective operational, logistical, and financial coordination.
• Facilitate collaboration between Mozambique stakeholders and global/regional CRVS technical teams.
• Contribute to cross-country learning and regional collaboration.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting

• Monitor implementation progress against defined milestones and performance indicators.
• Prepare and submit quarterly progress reports summarizing technical achievements, and work plan budget accountability.
• Support development of annual country performance reviews.
• Document lessons learned and contribute to CRVS knowledge products and cross-country experience sharing.

Risk Management & Escalation

• Identify political, operational, financial, and implementation risks affecting CRVS program delivery and communicate with Regional Deputy Director in a timely manner .
• Develop and implement mitigation strategies in collaboration with government and internal teams.

Qualifications:

Education and Degree –

• A Master’s degree in a relevant field such as Public Health, Epidemiology, Statistics, Demography, Public Policy, or International Development.

Skills and Abilities –

• Ability to navigate complex government hierarchies and build consensus among diverse ministries (Health, Justice, Interior).
• Skill in influencing high-level officials to prioritize long-term institutional reforms over short-term fixes.
• Professionalism and confidence in representing an international program in national summits and partner forums.
• Deep understanding of the legal and operational workflows for birth and death registration.
• Technical knowledge of Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD), ICD-10/11 coding, and quality assurance standards.
• Ability to implement community-based mortality data collection, including Verbal Autopsy techniques.
• Understanding of database interoperability, data privacy, and the transition from paper-based to digital registration systems.
• Ability to manage complex multi-year budgets, ensuring high absorption rates while maintaining strict donor compliance.
• Skill in developing "S.M.A.R.T." (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) workplans aligned with national strategies.
• Proficiency in negotiating legally sound MOUs, grant agreements, and sub-contracts.
• Ability to pinpoint implementation bottlenecks and design data-driven corrective actions.
• Ability to lead and provide technical direction to a diverse team of consultants and support staff.
• Ability to spot political, financial, or operational threats and immediately raise for contingency and de-escalation planning.
• Skill in synthesizing complex technical and financial data into clear, high-quality quarterly reports for executive leadership.
• Ability to facilitate learning across borders by documenting best practices and lessons learned for regional sharing.
• Ability to build strong, ongoing, impactful relationships at all organizational levels and across a diverse range of cultural, generational, ethnic, racial, educational, and social backgrounds
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment

Experience:

Required –

• Eight years of professional experience in public health or development with at least 5 years specifically focused on strengthening national health systems or CRVS in low- and middle-income countries.
• A deep understanding of health information systems, mortality surveillance, or legal frameworks for civil registration is essential.
• Practical experience with CRVS, such as implementing ICD-10/11 coding, improving Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD), or deploying Verbal Autopsy tools.
• Experience overseeing the move from paper-based to digital registration systems.
• A history of working with National Statistics Offices to analyze vital events data and successfully "translating" that data into government policy changes.
• Experience directly advising or working within Ministries of Health, Justice, or Interior.

Preferred -

• Prior experience working with or for major global health players like the WHO, UNICEF, CDC, or the World Bank is highly preferred.

• Experience managing the complex compliance requirements of major donors (e.g., Bloomberg Philanthropies, USAID, or DFAT).

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• This is a full-time position that can be based anywhere in Maputo, Mozambique.

• The successful candidate will be hired via Vital Strategies’ Employer of Record.

• The candidate must have authorization to work legally in Mozambique at the time of hire.

•  Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position in Mozambique is MZN 4,000,000 to MZN 4,650,000,    depending on experience and qualifications.
•  The position will require travel up to 30% of the time in the country and may be required to travel internationally to attend meetings with partners.

• The candidate needs to be willing to work with colleagues across different time zones.

   

   

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