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

Strat

• Develop, execute, and monitor a comprehensive annual business plan focused on achieving significant volume and revenue targets.
• Perform regular market analysis to identify new growth opportunities, tracking competitor pricing, and adjusting MSZ's service offering.
• Lead initiatives to balance the Centre’s revenue mix.
• Design and launch service packages targeted at cash-paying clients and corporate groups.
• Identify and pilot high-margin clinical and diagnostic services.
• Conduct feasibility studies for new services.
• Cultivate and manage a robust referral network.
• Ensure the physical environment, staff professional conduct, and client journey reflect a "premium" standard of care.
• Supervise facility maintenance and staff training.
• Oversee the entire lifecycle of medical claims for both public insurance and private providers.
• Ensure 100% accuracy in clinical coding and documentation.
• Proactively manage and balance the centre's health finance streams.
• Develop and implement contingency plans to manage cash flow fluctuations.
• Maintain and monitor a real-time "Aging of Receivables" dashboard.
• Lead aggressive follow-up strategies and regular reconciliation meetings with payers.
• Monitor daily cash collections and bank deposits.
• Forecast weekly and monthly liquidity requirements.
• Implement "lean" operational strategies to monitor and reduce administrative overheads and medical wastage.
• Conduct weekly reviews of actual expenditure against budget.
• Enforce 100% compliance with MSZ and global financial standards.
• Ensure daily reconciliation of patient records to financial receipts.
• Oversee that all service providers maintain the highest standards of medical care.
• Oversee routine clinical spot-checks and Annual competency assessment.
• Ensure adherence to both MoH and MSI Quality Assurance Protocols and Procedures.
• Implement a world-class client service protocol.
• Actively manage wait times through efficient scheduling.
• Improve facility aesthetics.
• Resolve client feedback with a 24-hour turnaround.
• Lead the Centre’s incident response team.
• Ensure all clinical or operational incidents are documented, reported within 24 hours, and followed by a thorough Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
• Enforce strict medical record-keeping standards.
• Utilize consumption data and seasonal trends to manage stock levels.
• Establish and monitor "Min-Max" re-order levels for essential commodities.
• Oversee the Preventive Maintenance Schedule (PMS) for all medical equipment and facility infrastructure.
• Manage relationships with local suppliers for non-medical services.
• Set and monitor individual monthly KPIs for all clinical and administrative staff.
• Conduct rigorous monthly performance reviews.
• Monitor provider-to-client ratios and adjust staff rosters.
• Actively mentor and develop high-potential staff members.
• Foster an "entrepreneurial" mindset.

• Strategic Business Leadership
• Revenue Optimization
• Business Model Innovation
• Market Analysis
• Revenue Diversification
• Service Expansion
• Partnership Management
• Referral Networking
• Brand Management
• Claims Management
• Financial Management
• Risk Management
• Receivables Management
• Cash Flow Management
• Cost Containment
• Internal Controls
• Clinical Quality Leadership
• Client Service Excellence
• Incident Management
• Data Privacy
• Inventory Control
• Facility Management
• Procurement Management
• People Management
• Performance Management
• Coaching
• Succession Planning

• Experience navigating the Zambian health financing landscape.
• Proven ability to balance social mission with commercial discipline.
• Experience in optimizing revenue from public insurance schemes, private medical schemes, and out-of-pocket client payments.
• Experience overseeing a contact centre.
• Experience in developing and executing annual business plans.
• Experience in market analysis and competitor pricing tracking.
• Experience in designing and launching service packages.
• Experience in identifying and piloting new clinical services.
• Experience in cultivating and managing referral networks.
• Experience in managing medical claims governance.
• Experience in financial risk mitigation.
• Experience in receivables management.
• Experience in cash flow and liquidity oversight.
• Experience in cost containment strategies.
• Experience in enforcing financial standards and internal controls.
• Experience in clinical quality assurance.
• Experience in client service protocol implementation.
• Experience in risk and incident management.
• Experience in medical record-keeping.
• Experience in inventory control.
• Experience in facility and asset maintenance.
• Experience in vendor and procurement management.
• Experience in people management.
• Experience in performance-driven leadership.
• Experience in coaching and succession planning.