Senior Program Manager

Job Purpose

The Senior Manager will lead the strategic, programmatic, and operational implementation of Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) Program initiatives, ensuring excellence in project design, execution, monitoring, and reporting. This role will drive cross-functional efforts aligned with institutional goals, donor commitments, and national health priorities, with a strong emphasis on evidence-informed decision-making.

The Senior Manager will guide coordination among internal teams and external partners, cultivate relationships with government institutions and intersectoral stakeholders, and ensure compliance with internal policies and applicable regulations. A key function of this position is to promote the effective use of data and evidence to strengthen public health programs and inform policy dialogue, particularly through the development and oversight of monitoring frameworks, strategic analyses, and high-quality reporting.

Additionally, the Senior Manager will contribute to institutional capacity-building, oversee technical communications, and supervise administrative and financial aspects of project implementation. This includes managing risks, ensuring timely delivery of outputs, promoting innovation, and supporting the achievement of long-term programmatic impact.

Duties and Responsibilities

Project Management

• Monitor the implementation of NCD projects, ensuring alignment with institutional objectives, timelines, and deliverables agreed upon with national and international partners;
• Led the development and oversight of action plans and communication strategies, ensuring, strategic alignment, and coherence with public health goals; provide expert guidance for the design of outreach materials and policy-oriented products;
• Engage and coordinate with public sector stakeholders and intersectoral partners to present, monitor, and expand initiatives, fostering institutional dialogue;
• Organize and maintain project operational systems, including files, calendars, institutional accounts, and collaboration tools;
• Represent the organization in high-level program meetings, workshops, and strategic forums; guide the systematization of programmatic processes and lead the development of technical frameworks, protocols, and operational guidance materials;
• Collaborate with internal teams, global technical technical experts and external partners, ensuring consistent communication and alignment across projects and initiatives;
• Supervise the preparation of high-quality technical documentation, including process records, analytical reports, institutional publications, and contributions to peer-reviewed articles and knowledge dissemination products, ensuring technical accuracy and strategic relevance;
• Coordinate the development and technical validation of key program documents, including Terms of Reference (TORs), project proposals, implementation plans, and consultancy deliverables, ensuring alignment with institutional standards and donor expectations;
• Monitor the progress of deliverables outlined in contractual instruments, assisting in the technical reporting process;
• Ensure compliance with organizational policies, donor regulations, and national laws, including accurate documentation, financial tracking, and timely reporting of project activities and expenditures.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Evidence Generation

• Lead the integration of data and evidence into programmatic planing and implementation, promoting the strategic use of health information systems, population surveys, and administrative datasets to guide policy dialogue, program design, and decision-making at national and sub-national levels;
• Coordinate the development and institutionalizing of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, in collaboration with technical experts: including the design of performance indicators, dashboards, and analytical tools, in alignment with project objectives, donor requirements, and national health priorities;
• Facilitate intersectorial and intergovernmental collaboration for evidence-informed policy-making, providing high-level technical guidance and promoting the use of data on social determinants, equity, and intersectionality in NCD-related initiatives;
• Contribute to strengthening institutional capacity for data-driven action by collaborating with technical experts on the provision of technical assistance, capacity-building initiatives,  and the development of knowledge translation strategies tailored to public institutions, civil society and other key stakeholders.

Administrative and Operational Management

• Support the logistical organization of meetings, technical events, training sessions, and workshops in coordination with Vital Strategies' administrative and operational teams;
• Coordinate the flow of information with financial and operational support teams, ensuring compliance with internal procedures;
• Utilize internal administrative management systems and platforms, contributing to the efficiency of work processes.

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Public Policy, Government Studies, or equivalent experience in a related field is required;
• Preferred: Postgraduate degree in a relevant area (e.g., Public Health, Public Policy, Government Studies, etc.).

Experience:

Required:

• Minimum of 8 years work experience with at least 4 years' managerial experience in public health project management;
• Experience working with government institutions, including support for decision-making, indicator development, and health action planning;
• Proven experience producing reports, programmatic documents, and strategic inputs for diverse audiences (institutional, academic, media);
• Practical knowledge of project management platforms (such as Airtable, Monday, Trello, or similar);
• Previous experience in institutional capacity building or facilitating training activities;
• Previous experience in supervising, coaching and mentoring team;
• General experience in monitoring and evaluation on public health programs;
• Experience in collaborative, multidisciplinary, and intersectorial project environments.

Preferred:

• Previous work in projects focusing on social determinants of health and risk factor intersectionality;
• Experience supporting the communication of data and evidence, including interaction with the media and the general public;
• Participation in research activities, from design and implementation to analysis and results dissemination;
• Experience in budget execution tracking or providing technical-financial support for public health projects. 

Skills & Abilities:

• Ability to organize and coordinate multiple projects simultaneously;
• Clear and effective communication skills in both Portuguese and English (oral and written);
• Solid understanding of public health policies and the national NCD landscape;
• Ability to develop high-quality materials tailored to diverse audiences (policymakers, civil society, media, academia);
• Strong ability to build and maintain institutional relationships with multiple stakeholders, including in intersectoral settings;
• Ability to exercise autonomy in decision-making in dynamic program contexts, demonstrating strategic prioritization skills;
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of the technical and institutional role;

• Pro-activity, flexibility, and ability to work in collaborative environments.

   

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• Full-time position, in accordance with the Brazilian labor law (CLT), with a hybrid work model based in Sao Paulo or Brasilia;

• Occasional domestic travel may be required for in-person meetings.

   

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