1. Job Purpose
The Centres Manager is the Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Leader for Marie Stopes Zambia’s health Centres. The primary objective is to transform the Centres into a high-performance, financially self-sustaining model of excellence. The incumbent is responsible for balancing MSZ’s social mission with rigorous commercial discipline, specifically navigating the complexities of the Zambian health financing landscape. This includes optimizing revenue from public insurance schemes, private medical schemes, and out-of-pocket client payments to ensure long-term operational resilience and positive cash flow. The Centres Manager will also oversee the MSZ Contact Centre, ensuring it serves as a high-conversion gateway for client acquisition and service information.
2. Key Responsibilities
A. Strategic Business Leadership & Revenue Optimization
- Business Model Innovation & Execution: Develop, execute, and monitor a comprehensive annual business plan focused on achieving significant volume and revenue targets. This includes performing regular market analysis to identify new growth opportunities, tracking competitor pricing, and adjusting MSZ's service offering to ensure maximum market relevance and financial sustainability.
- Strategic Revenue Diversification: Lead initiatives to balance the Centre’s revenue mix. Proactively design and launch service packages targeted at cash-paying clients and corporate groups to reduce reliance on third-party reimbursement cycles and ensure immediate liquidity for daily operations.
- Service Expansion & Diversification: Identify and pilot high-margin clinical and diagnostic services that complement core Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) offerings (e.g., wellness screenings, specialist consultations, and laboratory services). This involves conducting feasibility studies to ensure new services contribute to the Centre’s bottom line.
- Partnership & Referral Networking: Cultivate and manage a robust referral network including private practitioners, corporate partners, pharmacies, and community organizations. This requires regular stakeholder engagement to ensure a consistent pipeline of diverse client segments and increased facility utilization.
- Brand Excellence & Market Positioning: Act as the custodian of the flagship facility’s brand, ensuring that the physical environment, staff professional conduct, and client journey reflect a "premium" standard of care. This involves supervising facility maintenance and staff training to attract both insured and high-value self-paying clients.
B. Health Financing, Claims & Liquidity Management
- Advanced Claims Governance: Oversee the entire lifecycle of medical claims for both public insurance and private providers. Ensure 100% accuracy in clinical coding and documentation by clinical staff to minimize rejections and ensure all claims are submitted within strict established timelines (e.g., within 48 hours of service).
- Strategic Revenue Portfolio Balancing: Proactively manage and balance the centre's health finance streams to offset financial risks associated with over-dependence on a single source of income. This includes setting and monitoring targets for the ratio of public insurance vs. private insurance vs. cash income to ensure a diversified and stable revenue base.
- Risk Mitigation for Income Volatility: Develop and implement contingency plans to manage cash flow fluctuations caused by delayed reimbursements from any single payer. This involves identifying "low-risk" revenue streams and scaling them during periods of high accounts receivable to maintain operational continuity.
- Proactive Receivables Management: Maintain and monitor a real-time "Aging of Receivables" dashboard. Lead aggressive follow-up strategies and regular reconciliation meetings with public insurance and private medical aid focal points to resolve disputed claims and accelerate reimbursement turnaround times.
- Cash Flow & Liquidity Oversight: Monitor daily cash collections and bank deposits with meticulous accuracy. Forecast weekly and monthly liquidity requirements to ensure the Centre meets its operational obligations (e.g., utility bills, emergency procurement, and local staff costs) despite external payment delays.
- Aggressive Cost Containment: Implement "lean" operational strategies to monitor and reduce administrative overheads and medical wastage. Conduct weekly reviews of actual expenditure against budget to protect profit margins and optimize resource allocation.
- Financial Integrity & Internal Controls: Enforce 100% compliance with MSZ and global financial standards. Ensure daily reconciliation of patient records to financial receipts to prevent revenue leakage and ensure full transparency for internal and external audits.
C. Clinical Excellence & Client Experience
- Clinical Quality Leadership: In collaboration with the Clinical Services Team, oversee that all service providers maintain the highest standards of medical care through the Clinical Quality Assurance Process as advised by the MSI Medical Development Team. Oversee routine clinical spot-checks and Annual competency assessment for all services for providers, Annual Clinical Quality Internal Audits and Quality Technical Assistance. They will also ensure adherence to both MoH and MSI Quality Assurance Protocols and Procedures.
- Client Journey Transformation: Implement a world-class client service protocol aimed at achieving a Net Promoter Score (NPS) above 85%. This includes actively managing wait times through efficient scheduling, improving facility aesthetics, and resolving client feedback with a 24-hour turnaround.
- Risk & Incident Management: Lead the Centre’s incident response team. Ensure all clinical or operational incidents are documented, reported within 24 hours via the appropriate channels, and followed by a thorough Root Cause Analysis (RCA) with implemented corrective measures to prevent recurrence.
- Data Privacy & Medical Records: Enforce strict medical record-keeping standards (both digital and paper-based) to ensure 100% client confidentiality and data integrity, in line with national regulations and organizational policy.
D. Supply Chain & Facility Management
- Data-Driven Inventory Control: Utilize consumption data and seasonal trends to manage stock levels. Establish and monitor "Min-Max" re-order levels for essential commodities to ensure zero stock-outs of critical drugs while minimizing the capital tied up in excess inventory.
- Facility & Asset Maintenance: Oversee the Preventive Maintenance Schedule (PMS) for all medical equipment (e.g., autoclaves, ultrasound machines) and facility infrastructure. Ensure the flagship Centre remains a safe, modern, and highly functional medical environment at all times.
- Vendor & Procurement Management: Manage relationships with local suppliers for non-medical services to ensure the Centre receives optimal value-for-money, high-quality supplies, and reliable service delivery.
E. People Management & High-Performance Culture
- Performance-Driven Leadership: Set and monitor individual monthly KPIs for all clinical and administrative staff. Conduct rigorous monthly performance reviews that link professional development and performance-based incentives to the achievement of centre business targets.
- Productivity Optimization: Monitor provider-to-client ratios and adjust staff rosters based on peak volume periods to ensure maximum staff utilization and minimize unnecessary overtime costs without compromising quality of care.
- Coaching & Succession Planning: Actively mentor and develop high-potential staff members to create a pipeline of future leaders. Foster an "entrepreneurial" mindset where clinical staff understand the direct link between quality care, client retention, and financial sustainability.
F. Contact Centre Oversight & Conversion Management
- Strategic Supervision of the MSZ Contact Centre: Provide administrative and operational oversight to the MSZ Contact Centre team. Ensure the unit functions as a high-quality information hub and a primary engine for lead generation and client booking for the flagship Centre and the wider network.
- Conversion Rate Optimization: Monitor agent performance to ensure that calls, messages, and social media inquiries are effectively converted into confirmed facility appointments. Work with the marketing team to align Contact Centre scripts with current demand-generation campaigns.
- Service Level & Quality Monitoring: Drive and track the Contact Centre’s performance against established Service Level Agreements (SLAs), including call pick-up rates, response times, and the accuracy of information provided to clients regarding services and pricing..
3. Requirements & Competencies
- Education: Degree in Business Administration, Healthcare Management, or a Clinical field with a relevant Master’s degree (MBA/MSc) being highly preferred.
- Experience: Minimum 5 years in a "Profit & Loss" (P&L) management role within a health facility or private hospital setting, with proven experience in health insurance claims management.
- Critical Skills: Strong financial modeling and budget management; Expertise in medical billing and health insurance reimbursement cycles; Excellent negotiation skills for corporate contracting.
- Attributes: Entrepreneurial mindset; ability to lead through financial challenges; Pro-choice and mission-aligned.
4. Desired Competencies
Desirable Experience of 3 years: Healthcare service delivery management, Experience within the sexual and reproductive healthcare sector or related field and Track record in achieving financial and non-financial targets in business management.
Desired Skills, Attitudes and Attributes
- Understanding the issues surrounding provision of SRH services and understanding major policies/issues of government health policies, regional policies.
- Collaborative approach to team working and Strong personal commitment to the goals of MSI and to put it into practice.
- Good interpersonal communication skills - both oral and written with proven experience in a leadership or management role, preferably in a healthcare or SRH setting.
- Ability to effectively manage a team and work collaboratively with stakeholders.
- Familiarity with data management systems and electronic health records.
- Understanding of confidentiality and data protection principles.
- Commitment to promoting sexual and reproductive health rights and ensuring access to quality services and be Pro-Choice.
Note: MSI takes a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and bribery, terrorism, money laundering, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct or any safeguarding issues. Applicants will be subjected to a Police Clearance Check and Reference Checks.
Applicants must ensure that their qualifications are ZAQA certified.
MSZ is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to promoting a culture of equality and diversity. MSZ will actively strive to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or beliefs.
Deadline for applications: Thursday 22nd January, 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and may be required to undergo a practical assessment. Interested candidates should send their Cover Letter and updated CV to: jobs@mariestopes.org.zm
