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Program Overview

Zambia continues to face preventable maternal, newborn, and other emergency-related deaths, in part because patients experiencing time-critical conditions do not always reach appropriate care promptly. Fragmented referral pathways, limited transport availability, inconsistent dispatch and communication arrangements, weak maintenance systems, and gaps between communities and health facilities can delay access to lifesaving services.

In partnership with the Ministry of Health, CHAI is implementing the Maternal and Newborn Health Emergency Referral Systems (ERS) project in Copperbelt and Southern Provinces. The project will strengthen community-to-facility and inter-facility referral pathways; improve the availability, deployment, and management of ambulances and motorcycle ambulances; strengthen coordination, protocols, data use, and accountability; and support policies and systems that enable timely, efficient, and sustainable emergency referrals.

Position Overview

CHAI is seeking two Provincial Coordinators, Maternal and Newborn Health Emergency Referral Systems: one based at the Copperbelt Provincial Health Office and one at the Southern Provincial Health Office. Each coordinator will lead day-to-day provincial and district implementation, serve as the principal link between the national ERS team and provincial stakeholders. They will also work closely with Provincial and District Health Offices, health facilities, community structures, partners, and service providers to deliver timely, coordinated, and sustainable emergency referral activities.

The position will report to the Technical Advisor – Maternal and Newborn Health Emergency Referral Systems and work in close day-to-day coordination with the Senior Program Officer and the respective Provincial Health Office. The role will have no formal direct reports but will coordinate implementation across participating districts, facilities, and community structures. Frequent travel within the assigned province, including participating districts and remote communities, will be required.

Provincial implementation and coordination

• Support the development of provincial and district work plans and budgets and coordinate the timely delivery of agreed activities.
• Serve as the principal link between the national ERS team, Provincial Health Office, District Health Offices, participating in health facilities, community structures, implementing partners, and service providers.
• Coordinate provincial and district inception, planning, and review meetings; participate in relevant technical working groups and management forums; and maintain accurate meeting records, action logs, and follow-up trackers.
• Monitor provincial and district implementation progress, identify operational bottlenecks and risks, coordinate corrective action, and promptly escalate issues requiring national-level or senior management attention.

Community referral activation and engagement

• Coordinate provincial and district assessments of community referral structures and training needs and support the delivery of targeted training for Safe Motherhood Action Groups, community health workers, and motorcycle-ambulance riders on danger-sign recognition, referral activation, and communication with health facilities.
• Support facilities and district teams to implement community awareness, birth preparedness, maternity waiting home promotion, antenatal referral counselling, community dialogue, and leadership engagement activities in the full-intervention districts.
• Strengthen practical communication and escalation mechanisms linking communities, health facilities, and dispatch or transport coordination points, and follow up on gaps affecting timely referral activation.

Emergency referral transport operations

• Coordinate provincial mapping and periodic verification of ambulances, motorcycle ambulances, and other referral vehicles, including their functionality, geographic coverage, deployment gaps, equipment, and communication readiness.
• Coordinate the effective deployment, equipping, commissioning, and appropriate use of ambulances, motorcycle ambulances, communication equipment, emergency protocols, and related supplies allocated to the province, ensuring accurate asset and distribution records.
• Work with Provincial and District Health Offices to develop and implement vehicle maintenance plans and budgets, refuelling arrangements, preventive maintenance schedules, repair follow-up, driver and rider support, and continuity arrangements when vehicles are unavailable.
• Track vehicle functionality, downtime, utilization, fuel, and maintenance issues; coordinate follow-up with responsible government teams, vendors, and service providers; and escalate unresolved risks that threaten the continuity of emergency transport services.

Facility referral readiness and coordination

• Coordinate the mapping of facility obstetric and newborn care capacity, emergency transport availability, referral networks, and communication systems, and support the development and dissemination of district referral pathways and directories.
• Coordinate training, mentorship, and supportive supervision for healthcare workers, first responders, ambulance drivers, and motorcycle-ambulance riders on referral decision-making, pre-referral stabilization, documentation, communication, and safe transport operations.
• Support the dissemination and operationalization of approved referral protocols, escalation procedures, registers, referral slips, and tracking tools, and monitor their consistent use across participating facilities.
• Work with referring and receiving facilities to strengthen pre-notification, clinical handover, two-way feedback, and referral-completion tracking, and follow up on bottlenecks identified through routine district reviews.

Monitoring, learning and reporting

• Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Officer and provincial and district teams to support routine data collection, verification, aggregation, and reporting through ERS tools, call and dispatch systems, HMIS, and community health information systems.
• Facilitate provincial and district participation in baseline and needs assessments, data quality activities, and program performance meetings.

Sustainability and government ownership

• Support the integration of ERS priorities, maintenance requirements, and recurrent operating expenses into provincial and district Medium-Term Budget Plans.
• Document provincial implementation experience and contribute evidence and practical recommendations to transition planning, policy dialogue, program adaptation, and potential scale-up.
• Perform other responsibilities as requested by the Technical Advisor or Senior Program Manager, consistent with the scope and level of the position.

• Bachelor's degree in public health, health sciences, community health, social sciences, development studies, program management or a related field; a relevant master's degree is an advantage.
• At least five years of relevant experience coordinating public health, maternal and newborn health, community health, emergency referral, patient transport or health systems-strengthening programs.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating implementation across provincial, district, facility, and community levels and working effectively with government authorities, community structures, partners and service providers.
• Practical understanding of community-to-facility and inter-facility referral pathways, emergency transport operations, ambulance or fleet maintenance, and maternal and newborn health service delivery.
• Strong planning, monitoring and analytical skills, including managing work plans, budgets and competing priorities; supporting routine data collection, verification, and reporting; and using Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and problem-solving skills; ability to work independently with integrity and accountability; and willingness to travel frequently within the assigned province, including remote communities.

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