Introduction
Samastha is a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support project which is being implemented in 12 districts in Karnataka and five districts in coastal Andhra Pradesh. The main goal of the project is to reduce the transmission and mitigate the impact of HIV in selected districts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, with a focus on rural areas. The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). University of Manitoba (UoM) is the prime grant recipient for this project and the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT) is its lead implementation partner in India. The project began in October 2006, with a five-year duration.

As the leading agency in the partnership, UoM serves as Samastha?s overall technical advisor. Samastha also receives technical backing from Engender Health (EH) on issues relating to improvement in the quality of care/support ? including care of OVCs ? and on collaboration in HIV-TB service delivery, and from Population Services International (PSI) on strategic communication and the social marketing of condoms. Assistance for systems strengthening, care/support and capacity building for healthcare providers is provided by Swasti, Snehadaan and St. John?s National Academy of Health Sciences, respectively. Work at the field level is carried out in collaboration with CBOs and NGOs. This consortium project works in collaboration with NACO, the State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) of both states and the District AIDS Prevention and Control Units (DAPCUs), with the objective of strengthening healthcare delivery systems & ensuring that best practices in HIV/AIDS prevention and care are developed to influence national and state programmes.

Samastha offers:
? HIV prevention services directed at individuals who are most at risk in rural Karnataka
? HIV prevention services for the general community in rural Karnataka, with a special focus on at-risk youth and other vulnerable groups
? Community-based care/support and treatment services in both rural and urban areas of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
? Capacity building and strengthening of healthcare delivery systems in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
? Advocacy at all levels to create an enabling environment and mitigate the impact of the HIV epidemic
? Data gathering in project areas and ongoing monitoring/ evaluation of project outcomes
? Consolidation of learnings by drawing on best practices from other projects and networking with partners

Reason to Hire

The University of Manitoba seeks to hire a Chief of Party (COP), Project Samastha; as the outgoing COP is moving on to another role. The incumbent will be responsible to provide leadership support to the design, implementation & management of this multi-stakeholder consortium project, to accomplish the mission of delivering a comprehensive programme that will provide HIV and AIDS prevention, care/support and treatment programmes and services to vulnerable and affected populations in Karnataka & AP. The project is coming to the end of its third year and the incumbent will be expected to take on the challenge of leveraging on existing programmes & best practices in HIV/AIDS prevention that have been developed so far; to influence national and state programmes.

Key Roles and Responsibilities
? Developing and finalizing all aspects of project design, implementation and evaluation, in conjunction with key technical staff of the University of Manitoba, KHPT and other partners.
? Developing implementation plans, annual action plans and budgets.
? Recruiting and supervising project staff.
? Providing technical support to project implementation activities.
? Managing contracts with implementing partners, including non-government organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs).
? Providing technical support to staff and to implementing partner NGOs and CBOs.
? Monitoring and evaluating project outputs and reporting on results, including providing reports as required for USAID/PEPFAR.
? Liaising with USAID/PEPFAR and its staff in India as required.
? Preparing and approving project narrative and financial reports.
? Working very closely with the states (Karnataka and AP) AIDS control programmes and NACO, and providing technical assistance as required.