Path

Program Officer, Nutrition - Chandigarh, Punjab

India, Remote, New Delhi Full time

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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 heath challenges. 

Overall Purpose

The Program Officer (PO) will work under the overall guidance of Advisor, Punjab Development Commission and PATH and relevant state departments, to support primary & secondary health systems strengthening initiatives in the State. The role will focus on supporting state-led planning, coordination, monitoring, and evidence-informed decision-making across health, nutrition, and allied social sector programs.

The PO will provide technical and programmatic assistance to the State across areas such as primary & secondary health care systems strengthening, nutrition interventions, inter-departmental convergence, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, and documentation, while working closely with government counterparts, district administrations, and technical partners to strengthen system performance and implementation quality.

Job Description:

  • Provide technical and programmatic support to state government counterparts to strengthen primary & secondary health systems including planning, implementation, and review of public health and nutrition initiatives.
  • Support assessment of existing public health programs and systems to identify gaps, implementation bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.
  • Assist state departments in translating policy priorities into actionable plans, workstreams, and monitoring frameworks, with a focus on strengthening primary-level service delivery and system performance.
  • Facilitate coordination across multiple state departments, agencies, and partners to support convergence across health, nutrition, food systems, and social sector programs.
  • Act as a coordination interface between state leadership, district administrations, technical partners, and PATH national teams to ensure alignment across strategy, implementation, and reporting.
  • Support development and strengthening of monitoring frameworks, indicators, and reporting mechanisms for state public health initiatives.
  • Support periodic program reviews, implementation assessments, and documentation of system-level learnings.
  • Contribute to development of operational guidelines, SOPs, tools, and resource materials to strengthen implementation and monitoring systems.
  • Undertake field visits to districts and program sites to understand implementation realities, support problem-solving, and strengthen feedback loops between field and state levels.
  • Engage with district officials, frontline program teams, and partners to support effective execution of state priorities.
  • Prepare state-level briefs, technical notes, presentations, and periodic reports for government and internal stakeholders.
  • Support documentation of best practices, case studies, and lessons learned to inform scale-up and policy refinement.
  • Coordinate with academic institutions, technical agencies, and development partners to support evidence generation and system strengthening efforts.
  • Undertake additional responsibilities as required to support state public health and primary health systems strengthening objectives.


Required skills and experience:

  • Master's in public health (MPH), Diploma in Public Health (DPH), or post-graduation in Health Management or related field.
  • Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in collaborating with government programs and systems, particularly within the context of large-scale public health programs, focusing on health systems strengthening interventions.
  • Strong understanding of public health program design, monitoring, implementation support, and inter-sectoral coordination.
  • Experience in program monitoring, data analysis, and preparation of policy- or program-relevant briefs.
  • Demonstrated skills in coordination, stakeholder engagement, supportive supervision, and capacity building.
  • Fluency in English and Hindi; knowledge of other Indian languages will be an advantage.
  • Excellent report writing and proficiency in MS office and statistical analysis software will be an added advantage.
  • Experience of working with the government departments/development sector/ INGOs would be preferred.
  • Ability to travel up to 50% of the time annually (mostly within the state, but on occasion to Country office in New Delhi)