District Program Officer, School-Based CMD Prevention and Management Program

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PATH is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. With more than 40 years of experience forging multisector partnerships and with expertise in science, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales up innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing health challenges. 

PATH, with support from the Lilly Foundation, is implementing a school-based cardio-metabolic disease (CMD) prevention and management program across 200 government schools in Bhopal district, Madhya Pradesh, reaching children and adolescents aged 6–16 years over a three-year period (July 2026–June 2029). The program builds on existing government platforms Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) Health and Wellness Ambassadors, Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) screening teams, the UMANG adolescent counselling program, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), and the National Programme for Prevention and Control of NCDs (NP-NCD) to deliver a structured continuum of care: school-based awareness and behaviour change communication (BCC), screening and identification, counselling of at-risk students, treatment initiation, and follow-up. The project works closely with the District Education Officer, District Health Department, and state education and health authorities in Madhya Pradesh.

PATH under it’s Health System Strengthening portfolio is seeking a District Program Officer to lead implementation of the school-based CMD prevention and management program in Bhopal district. The District Program Officer will be PATH's primary point of contact with district-level government counterparts and will carry overall accountability for program delivery, quality, government coordination, and team management at the district level, reporting to the State Program Lead.

Job Responsibilities:

Program Implementation and Management

• Lead planning, execution, and monitoring of all program components, school-based BCC, RBSK screening, UMANG counselling referral, NP-NCD treatment initiation, and follow-up across the district.
• Oversee school identification, engagement, and micro-planning across all 200 target schools (phased 50 in Year 1, 100 in Year 2, 50 in Year 3), ensuring integration with RBSK, AAM, and NP-NCD referral pathways.
• Identify implementation bottlenecks, such as referral drop-off or data gaps, and drive timely corrective action.

Government and Stakeholder Liaison

• Serve as the principal PATH interface with the District Education Officer, District Health Department, RBSK district teams, RKSK program staff, UMANG program management, and AAM/district hospital staff.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with district and state stakeholders to ensure alignment of project activities with government priorities, guidelines, and standards.
• Represent PATH in official district and state-level forums and quarterly program reviews.

Team Management and Capacity Building

• Supervise and mentor the Public Health Coordinator(s) and any field-level staff or consultants; allocate workplans and review performance.
• Support orientation and training of Health and Wellness Ambassadors, peer educators, and RBSK teams on CMD risk, screening protocols, BCC methodology, and referral pathways.

Monitoring, Data and Reporting

• Track program indicators such as BMI screening coverage, identification rate, counselling coverage, referral completion, treatment initiation, and follow-up adherence — against targets.
• Ensure accurate and timely data flow into NP-NCD and RKSK digital platforms.
• Prepare timely progress reports for PATH and the donor and contribute to case studies and knowledge products documenting program learnings.

Coordination, Compliance and Other

• Support district-level budget planning and tracking and ensure activities comply with PATH and donor policies.
• Coordinate with the State Program Lead and other PATH teams to ensure cross-functional alignment.
• Undertake other tasks which may be assigned from time to time by the supervisor.
• Available to travel extensively within Bhopal district, including regular school and facility visits.

Required Experience and qualifications

• Bachelors in Medicine or Allied Health Sciences with Postgraduate degree in Public Health, Health/Hospital Administration, or a related field.
• Approximately 5–7 years of relevant experience in public health program management, with demonstrated experience managing district-level government health or education programs in India.
• Prior experience working with or closely alongside government health/education systems (NHM, NCD Cell, School Education Department, RBSK/RKSK, or similar) strongly preferred.
• Experience in adolescent health, NCD/CMD prevention, or school health programming is an advantage.
• Demonstrated people-management experience, including supervising field or district staff.

Skills/ Abilities

• Strong program and people leadership skills.
• Excellent government liaison and multi-stakeholder coordination skills; comfortable representing the organization in official forums.
• Results orientation and strong data-driven decision-making ability.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills in English and Hindi.
• Strong problem-solving skills and adaptability in a systems-strengthening context.
• Ability to multitask and manage a variety of assignments under pressure of deadlines.
• Willingness to travel extensively within Bhopal district.

* Please note that the position work station is in India, Bhopal – Madhya Pradesh