Senior Program Officer – Training & Implementation

The Antara Foundation; Khordha; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

The Antara Foundation Bhubaneswar invites applications for a Senior Program Officer – Training & Implementation to strengthen maternal, newborn, and child health systems across Odisha. The role involves state-level coordination, district handholding, and collaboration with government stakeholders to build lasting ownership.

Travel to intervention districts is required (about 15 days a month). Fluency in Odia and English is essential, with a postgraduate degree and 6+ years in health or

Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in public health, social work, management, or a related field.
• 6+ years in health or development programmes, preferably within Odisha.
• Experience liaising with government structures and mentoring field staff toward systemic change.
• Fluency in Odia and English, written and spoken is essential.

Responsibilities

• Support state-level rollout of MNCHN interventions, ensuring plans are implemented consistently across districts.
• Travel regularly to districts to work directly with government stakeholders, reinforcing systemic ownership over one-off service delivery.
• Attend sector, block, and district-level review meetings, positioning programme priorities within government platforms.
• Provide facility-level inputs through QIC, BQAC, and DQAC forums to strengthen quality improvement systems, to ensure the facility receives the NQAS certification and to sustain the quality of services.
• Handhold the Program Officers, who leads district-level trainings of supervisors and staff nurses.
• Handhold and mentor Antara's district Program Officers and Field Coordinators, strengthening their government-facing and technical problem-solving skills.
• Monitor field implementation continuously, identifying systemic gaps early and mobilising support to close them.
• Strengthen the link between state-level planning and district-level execution, ensuring government processes and local context shape how interventions are designed and run.
• Solve implementation bottlenecks proactively — from stalled rollouts to coordination gaps — escalating only where Director-level input is required.
• Ensure implementation of activities of (program name) successfully as per intervention timeline.

Skills

Stakeholder liaison

Mentoring

Public health

Program management

Education

Postgraduate degree in public health, social work, management, or a related field

Job description

Senior Program Officer – Training & Implementation

Bhubaneswar

Senior Program Officer – Training & Implementation

About the organization

The Antara Foundation (TAF) envisions a world where women and children do not suffer from preventable health conditions. We believe that every mother and each child deserve an equal start to a healthy life. We support the public health system deliver solutions at scale, to improve maternal and child health outcomes, by partnering with government and communities. Interventions of The Antara Foundation follow two closely integrated paths: to help the government system deliver better quality health care to the community and to support the community to mobilize and seek better health outcomes.

We are a young, energetic, and passionate team, and we have worked across Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, and are now initiating work in Odisha under this program.

For more information visit antarafoundation.org.

Reporting to: Director – Programs

Location: Bhubaneswar, with extensive travel to intervention districts (15 days a month)

Position Summary

The Antara Foundation partners with the Government of Odisha to strengthen maternal, newborn, and child health systems across the state. The Senior Program Officer – Training & Implementation supports state-level programme functions while travelling regularly to districts to work directly with government stakeholders — engaging through sector, block, and district review platforms, and handholding the Program Officer – Training & Implementation, who leads district-level trainings on the ground. The focus throughout is systemic: building lasting government ownership rather than parallel delivery. Reporting directly to the Director, Odisha Programme, the role carries direct visibility into state leadership decisions.

Responsibilities

• Support state-level rollout of MNCHN interventions, ensuring plans are implemented consistently across districts.
• Travel regularly to districts to work directly with government stakeholders, reinforcing systemic ownership over one-off service delivery.
• Attend sector, block, and district-level review meetings, positioning programme priorities within government platforms.
• Provide facility-level inputs through QIC, BQAC, and DQAC forums to strengthen quality improvement systems, to ensure the facility receives the NQAS certification and to sustain the quality of services.
• Handhold the Program Officers, who leads district-level trainings of supervisors and staff nurses.
• Handhold and mentor Antara's district Program Officers and Field Coordinators, strengthening their government-facing and technical problem-solving skills.
• Monitor field implementation continuously, identifying systemic gaps early and mobilising support to close them.
• Strengthen the link between state-level planning and district-level execution, ensuring government processes and local context shape how interventions are designed and run.
• Solve implementation bottlenecks proactively — from stalled rollouts to coordination gaps — escalating only where Director-level input is required.
• Ensure implementation of activities of (program name) successfully as per intervention timeline.

Skills and Experience Required

• Postgraduate degree in public health, social work, management, or a related field.
• 6+ years of experience in health or development programmes, preferably within Odisha.
• Demonstrated experience liaising with government structures and mentoring field-based program staff toward systemic change.
• Strong grasp of the Odisha public health system and local governance context.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach to fieldwork and shifting priorities.
• Fluency in Odia and English, written and spoken is essential.