Project Management Internship – Mothers Home Access Zambia project
Summer Internship – 2017
Mothers Home Access Zambia (MAHMAZ)
Scope of Work – Project Management
| Project Title: | Project Management Internship |
| Preceptors: | Nancy Scott, MPH, DrPH, Assistant Professor of Global Health |
| Coordinator: | Parker S. Chastain, MPH, Project Administrator Center for Global Health and Development |
| Project Dates: | Approximately May 29th, 2017 – August 7, 2017 (~10 weeks)
Dates are variable with travel dependent on need of the project. The student is welcome to take vacation before or after these 10 weeks to visit sites of interest in Zambia or surrounding countries. |
| Location: | Boston and Zambia |
| Payment: | This internship includes a stipend, and applicants are strongly encouraged to apply for the Santander Scholarship. The project will help to identify international housing. |
To apply: Submit a resume and cover letter addressed to Parker Chastain at psc347@bu.edu
Project:
The internship is with the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD). The student will work with the team implementing the Maternity Homes Access in Zambia Project (MAHMAZ). This $6.2 million, 3 year project is funded by Merck for Mothers, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the ELMA Foundation, and works in partnership University of Michigan, Africare, the Government of Zambia and the Saving Mothers, Giving Life (SMGL) initiative.
The MAHMAZ project is complementing Government efforts in meeting MDG 5 as well as the SMGL project’s work in generating demand for health services, promoting access to care and improving the quality of maternal and newborn health services by addressing the “three delays” which are:
- Delays in deciding to seek care,
- Delays in getting to care, and
- Delays in receiving care upon arriving at the health facility.
The project is designed to address the distance challenge that far too many women face in accessing quality facility-based care. To make it easier for women to access assisted delivery, the project is building 10 maternity homes (referred to locally as Mothers Shelters). These comfortable, safe homes will provide a place where women can stay in the last weeks of pregnancy so they can deliver at a nearby facility capable of performing basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC) with trained birth attendants. They also will be within reasonable transfer distance to facilities that can provide comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEmONC) in case it is needed. The homes will be equipped and managed in ways that we hope will increase community acceptance and engagement, and assure long term sustainability.
Position:
This is a temporary summer internship involving various duties that will facilitate an experience that will be useful in preparing for one for the ever evolving environment of Global Project Management.
The intern will work closely with Project Director Kaluba Mataka (Lusaka, Zambia) and Project Administrator Parker Chastain (Boston, MA, U.S.). The position may be based in Boston, Lusaka or Choma, to be decided closer to start date.
Responsibilities:
- Employ project management support strategies to facilitate operations of the MAHMAZ project
- Support in managing the team’s schedules and milestones; ensuring that weekly project statuses are received from team members
- Assist in Identifying and managing the project scope, constraints, risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies and deadlines; documenting risk mitigation plans
- Document resourcing needs, availability and commitments for scheduled project activities
- Document and communicate how well the project management systems are operating and make recommendations for improvement
- Other duties as assigned
Qualifications:
- Current MPH student at Boston University in a Global Health or Project Management Certificate program
- Expressed interest in Global Project Management
- Clear communication skills both written and verbal messaging
- Flexibility in duties based on the ever evolving landscape of a fast paced global project
- Ability to work in a cross-cultural setting, with willingnes to live and work in foreign county
