Designation: Program Director – Communicable Disease
Location :Ranchi (Jharkhand) / Bhubaneswar (Odisha) / Raipur (Chhattisgarh) / Guwahati (Assam)
No. of Vacancies: 4
Project/Unit :Global Alliance for Viksit Bharat (GAVB)
Project Background:
The Global Alliance for Viksit Bharat (GAVB) is a landmark social development initiative designed to uplift 200 million Indians living in multidimensional poverty. With a transformative investment, GAVB concentrates efforts on five priority states—Jharkhand, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Bihar (JACOB states)—which are disproportionately impacted by acute poverty.
Health and Education account for 67% of the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MDPI). GAVB works closely with state governments to strengthen public health systems, improve service delivery, and enhance community wellbeing. The Communicable Disease (CD) portfolio specifically addresses Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria—two diseases that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations including tribal communities, urban poor, and migrant workers.
GAVB's approach leverages Digitization, Decentralization, Leadership & Institutions, and Inclusion to enhance health service delivery. Domain expertise with proven solutions lays the foundation for introduction, progression, and gradual integration of innovations into government public health systems.
The CD portfolio aligns with India's national commitments: achieving zero indigenous malaria cases by 2027 (National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination 2023-27) and TB elimination by 2025 (National TB Elimination Programme).
The five GAVB states collectively account for 45-50% of India's malaria burden and approximately 270,000+ TB cases annually. The CD portfolio provides strategic support to state governments through enhanced surveillance, improved case management, strengthened supply chains, community mobilization, and policy advocacy—all aimed at accelerating elimination while strengthening foundational health systems.
Job Summary:
The Program Director - Communicable Disease provides strategic leadership for the design, implementation, and scale-up of Tuberculosis and Malaria elimination interventions across the assigned GAVB state. This senior leadership role serves as the primary interface between GAVB and state government leadership, driving policy influence, system strengthening, and programme excellence.
The Program Director is responsible for high-level government engagement with state health leadership - State NHM Mission Director, State Programme Officers for NTEP and NCVBDC to ensure strategic programme design aligned with national elimination goals and state priorities, leadership of Senior Program Managers and district teams, multisectoral convergence, policy advocacy, and ensuring measurable progress toward elimination targets.
This role demands strategic thinking, influencing skills, technical depth in TB/Malaria elimination frameworks, and ability to navigate complex government systems to institutionalize innovations and drive sustainable impact. The Program Director works in close coordination with GAVB State Leads to ensure alignment across health portfolios and optimal resource utilization
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Direction & Programme Leadership
• Provide strategic guidance to the state government on TB and Malaria elimination, ensuring alignment with national guidelines and state epidemiology.
• Support the government in strengthening health systems to deliver elimination strategies effectively, with GAVB teams acting as enablers.
• Ensure that state strategies, developed with GAVB support, are implemented through government systems with full adherence to protocols.
Government Engagement & Policy Influence
• Act as the principal interface with senior state leadership and programme officers, fostering government ownership of the communicable disease portfolio.
• Offer evidence-based advocacy and technical inputs to shape policies, directives, and programme priorities.
• Facilitate multisectoral convergence and represent GAVB in high-level forums, advisory groups, and technical committees.
Team Leadership & Organizational Development
• Provide vision and direction to state and district GAVB teams, ensuring they deliver effective support to government systems.
• Build technical capacity through mentoring, training, and supportive supervision, fostering a culture of accountability and innovation.
• Oversee HR planning, performance management, and professional development of teams.
Programme Excellence & Quality Assurance
• Ensure government-led TB and Malaria interventions strictly follow national protocols and quality standards.
• Strengthen core elimination pillars: surveillance, case detection and treatment, preventive strategies (vector control), supportive supervision, supply chain resilience, and institutionalized quality assurance.
• Facilitate peak season preparedness and maintain operational readiness across the health system.
Data-Driven Governance & Innovation
• Champion data-based decision-making by strengthening monitoring frameworks, dashboards, and reporting systems.
• Translate epidemiological insights into actionable strategies and promote innovation through pilots and scale-up.
• Document and disseminate learnings, successes, and best practices to inform policy and programme refinement.
Advocacy & Visibility
• Drive state-level communication strategies tailored to diverse populations.
Qualification & Experience:
Essential
• Education: Master’s in any discipline (e.g. Public Health, Life Sciences, Social Work, or Business Administration) with a strong public health orientation.
• Experience: 15 + years in public health programme management, including 7–8 years in senior leadership roles.
• Government Engagement: Proven ability to influence policy and secure senior government commitment.
• Leadership: Demonstrated success in managing large, multi-disciplinary teams across geographies.
• Programme Design: Strong track record of designing and scaling complex interventions in high-burden settings.
Preferred
• Experience working in tribal/remote areas and with vulnerable populations.
• Deep knowledge of TB/Malaria elimination programme guidelines and strategies.
• Familiarity with NTEP, NCVBDC, and NHM systems and operations.
• Strong local grounding (“sons/daughters of the soil”) with knowledge of state health systems and socio-political contexts.
Skills & Competencies
• Strategic Vision & Leadership: Ability to set long-term elimination vision, craft multi-year strategies, and inspire diverse teams. Skilled at leading through influence in complex government systems.
• Policy & Government Relations: Proven record of shaping policy through evidence, engaging senior officials, and securing government commitment. Builds trust and durable partnerships at state level.
• Programme & Data Management: Expert in planning, monitoring, and adaptive management. Translates epidemiological and financial data into actionable insights and decisions.
• Communication & Leadership: Excellent communicator in English/Hindi/Regional Language, able to simplify technical content for diverse audiences. Builds and mentors high-performing, inclusive teams.
• Adaptability & Results: Resilient in dynamic contexts, effective under pressure, and focused on measurable elimination outcomes. Open to innovation, pilots, and scaling proven solutions
Application process: Candidates interested in the role may apply with their updated resumes by filling out the application form here:
https://forms.gle/HvqSUZU95AzW71hg8