Program Manager, Syphilis Free Start

Evidence Action; United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Evidence Action seeks a Senior Program Designer for the Syphilis-Free Start (SFS) program. The role will design and test program models, lead pilots across geographies, and integrate data-driven learnings into scale‑up decisions. Strong quantitative skills and MLE background are essential.

The position is remote within the United States, with international travel ~30% to pilot sites. Masters in public health or related field and 5–7 years global health experience are required.

Qualifications

• Masters in public health, epidemiology, statistics or related field.
• 5–7 years of global health program experience with MLE background.
• Designed program models and defined evaluation indicators.
• Used evidence to inform continuation, adaptation, or cessation.
• Experience managing routine data collection and analysis.
• Strong quantitative skills in Stata/R/Excel.
• Lead and manage complex projects with cross‑functional teams.
• Communicate effectively across diverse teams; French is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design testable program models to answer outcomes and scale‑up criteria.
• Shape theory of change for expanding outcomes and new platforms.
• Oversee pilot execution, contracts, training, and troubleshooting.
• Assess emerging technologies and design introduction pilots.
• Synthesize findings into decision‑oriented recommendations.

Skills

Quantitative skills

Data analysis

Stata/R/Excel

Program management

Education

Master's in public health or related field

Tools

Stata

R

Excel

Job description

About Evidence Action

At Evidence Action, we deliver data-driven interventions that transform lives at an unprecedented scale. We identify neglected global health issues and deploy proven solutions, forging healthier futures for generations.

Our model operationalizes leading academic research (including from Nobel-winning economists). We measure progress and outcomes at every stage to ensure we’re making a real impact for people living in poverty and suffering from preventable or treatable health issues. Operating across 11 countries, our team of 900+ has reached over 500 million people, working closely with governments to scale these interventions.

• Our Deworm the World program has delivered over 2 billion treatments, significantly reducing worm prevalence and generating more than $23 billion in lifetime productivity gains.
• Through Safe Water Now, we’ve saved the lives of over 15,000 children.
• Our Accelerator explores untapped opportunities in global health, testing low-cost interventions with the greatest potential to save and improve lives.

At Evidence Action, your colleagues are your greatest asset. You'll partner with high-caliber colleagues in an environment blending innovation, autonomy, and teamwork. Our team excels in disruptive thinking and believes in rolling up our sleeves to get things done. If you're looking to work flexibly and with purpose, join a team that delivers measurable change for millions.

About the SFS Program and Role:

Every year, there are over 200,000 stillbirths and newborn deaths and over 100,000 instances of disability among newborns because of a preventable infection; maternal syphilis. In fact, the infection causes more stillbirths and newborn deaths than pediatric HIV, yet receives only a fraction of the resources.

Through our Syphilis-Free Start (SFS) program, our aim is to close syphilis screening gaps via introduction of HIV/syphilis dual testing and to close treatment gaps by implementing strategies to address context-specific treatment barriers for women who test positive for syphilis. We've already reached mothers across Liberia, Zambia, Cameroon, and Côte d'Ivoire, with new pilots underway in Indonesia and are continuing to scope our programs in additional geographies.

Reporting to our Associate Director, you will lead Evidence Action's work to test what else the SFS model can do. You will shape the design and rigorous assessment of new theories of change for the program, looking at what new health outcomes the model could credibly deliver, new platforms through which maternal syphilis testing and treatment could be delivered, and new geographies and health system contexts where our model might fit. The role combines program design leadership with strong monitoring, evaluation, and data analysis skills, and is accountable for producing clear, evidence-based recommendations on whether and how each new direction should be pursued at scale.

Key Responsibilities:

Theory of Change and Program Model Design

• Design testable program models to answer the program’s open questions on outcomes, delivery platform, and technology, specifying what would justify scale‑up.
• Develop and pressure-test the theory of change for expanding the program’s outcome set beyond syphilis, including the pathway to HIV and hepatitis B impact and the assumptions each pathway depends on.
• Assess alternative service delivery platforms such as private and faith‑based facilities, community‑based outreach, and other entry points.
• Work with the global MLE team and the Data & Learning Manager to define formative research questions, measurement frameworks, and evaluation approaches for each pilot.

Pilot Execution & Program Management

• Oversee day-to-day pilot implementation, including partner and contract management, rollout, training, and troubleshooting.
• Adapt management approaches to different delivery models, including pilots run by local implementing partners or contracted firms.
• Contribute to program planning, workplans, and reporting, and flag issues, timeline risks, or scope changes early to the Associate Director, SFS.
• Provide program input into baseline and endline design, and support integration of indicators into HMIS and DHIS2 where feasible.

Emerging Technology Assessment

• Track the antenatal diagnostic landscape and maintain an informed view on which emerging products, including triplex HIV/syphilis/hepatitis B tests and treponemal/non-treponemal test combinations, to determine which merit assessment for program introduction.
• Assess candidate technologies against the operational realities of program contexts: cost and procurement pathways, regulatory and national guideline requirements, provider workflow and training burden, testing algorithm complexity, and the referral and treatment pathways each result triggers.
• Design and lead introduction pilots for selected technologies, in partnership with the global MLE team and Ministry counterparts, and produce clear recommendations on whether and how to proceed, provided funding for such activities is secured.

Analysis, Recommendations, and Learning

• Synthesize pilot findings into clear, decision-oriented assessments of feasibility, effectiveness, and scale-up potential, with an explicit recommendation on each theory of change tested.
• Support quantitative and qualitative data analysis, in collaboration with the MLE team, using tools such as Stata, R, or Excel.
• Develop concrete recommendations for program adaptation, including changes to policy, service delivery, testing algorithms, and implementation models.
• Share learnings across pilot geographies and the SFS portfolio, and translate them for external technical audiences.

Country Engagement

• Serve as Evidence Action’s primary point of contact with Ministries of Health and other stakeholders in pilot geographies.
• Oversee and manage local implementing partners and contractors to support pilot implementation in-country.
• Share findings and recommendations with Ministries so that scale-up decisions reflect government priorities.

Requirements

• A Masters in public health, epidemiology, statistics, public policy, or a related field.
• Minimum 5-7 years of experience in global health programs, with both program management experience and a monitoring, learning, and evaluation (MLE) background in LMIC contexts.
• You have designed program models for new interventions or pilots, and defined how to measure them (indicators, data collection, and evaluation approach), not only monitored or evaluated models designed by others.
• You have used evidence to make recommendations to continue, adapt, or stop a program.
• You have experience managing routine data collection and analysis.
• Strong quantitative skills and data analysis (proficiency in Stata, R, or equivalent preferred).
• You have operated as both a program lead and an MLE lead with the ability to shape a program model and rigorously test it.
• You are able to adapt your communications style for teams at different skill levels and across different cultural contexts internally and externally. and experience producing clear, decision-oriented reports for program and donor audiences.
• You have the ability to manage complex and interdependent projects and build structured, but flexible, processes.
• You enjoy building processes from ambiguity and can help the team operate across low resource program contexts and adapt approaches to available infrastructure and systems.
• French language skills, both spoken and written, is preferred but not required.

Location

This role will be based remotely within the United States. You are welcome but not required to work out of Evidence Action’s office in Washington, DC. Evidence Action team members work across timezones in the US, Africa, and Asia, and meetings may be scheduled to best capture team needs. This role requires regular international travel (~30%) to Indonesia, Madagascar, and other new geographies, particularly during pilot start‑up and data collection periods.

We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of