Premila Bartlett
Silver Spring
Summary
Dynamic and self-motivated public health professional with over 20 years of experience in strategic planning and project management across diverse areas, including maternal and child health, nutrition, family planning, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and primary health care. Proven track record in enhancing access to comprehensive quality health services, complemented by effective capacity building, stakeholder engagement, and community mobilization efforts. Successful initiatives have led to significant improvements in health outcomes, demonstrating a commitment to driving systemic changes within resource-poor and fragile health systems. Creative problem-solving skills consistently contribute to innovative solutions that address complex public health challenges.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program Manager
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Health Bureau
12.2020 - 07.2025
- Oversaw annual operational budgets of $5 million, providing contractual and financial management support to ensure compliance with federal regulations and technical leadership to two large global maternal health and family planning projects: (1) $80 million MOMENTUM Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics, which saw a dramatic increase in access to emergency obstetric care, fistula repairs and management and long acting and permanent family planning methods in nine countries; and (2) $15 million FP2030 Networks, which successfully advocated for the importance of family planning globally by engaging government, NGO and professional body stakeholders.
- Successfully advocated for the annual allocation of resources for each of these two projects by getting as much as 30 percent more than was initially allocated by leadership.
- Reviewed and approved global and country-specific work plans, key project documents (global and country-specific work plans, budgets and reports, strategy and other technical documents), tracked the projects’ implementation and performance across multiple countries and managed deliverables.
- Shaped the projects’ technical direction and ensured project activities were aligned with the Agency’s health priorities.
- Acted as the primary point of contact between USAID and the implementing partner and provided both day-to-day oversight and high-level strategic guidance; and managed subgrants.
- Worked closely with both global and country USAID teams and other external partners to ensure all stakeholders were appropriately informed and aligned.
- Successfully fostered coordination between the projects managed and other office teams and projects with similar mandates and technical interventions.
- Co-led and supported the development of Rights Based Family Planning High Impact Practice documents.
Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program Manager
USAID
07.2016 - 12.2020
- Oversaw a family planning and reproductive and maternal health portfolio of $8 million and provided results focused management and financial support and technical guidance to a variety of service delivery, policy and primary health care integrated projects that worked closely with key Malawi Ministry of Health staff.
- Developed a multi-sectoral flagship project to end child, early and forced marriage that leveraged other projects and built the capacity of the district government staff in two districts.
- Successfully advocated for a youth focus in the five-year USAID Country Development Cooperation Strategy and was appointed to serve as the USAID Malawi Health Office point person for all Mission efforts in multi-sectoral programming for Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW); and supported the development and roll out of the AGYW Strategy.
- Led the coordination with other bilateral and multilateral development partners (British and German Aid Agencies and UNFPA) to support the Government of Malawi to ensure national coverage of comprehensive reproductive health programs and services by identifying and addressing gaps.
Deputy Director of Programs Support for Service Delivery Integration (SSDI) Project
Save the Children
11.2011 - 06.2016
- Provided strategic, programmatic, technical and administrative leadership to over 70 technical staff in the five zonal and 15 district offices of the $85 million flagship USAID integrated primary health care (maternal, neonatal and child health, family planning and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS/TB, nutrition, malaria and water and sanitation) SSDI project in Malawi.
- Successfully built the team’s capacity to solve problems creatively, which contributed to systemic changes within a fragile health system that contributed to the dramatic improvement in national health outcomes over a five-year period [Malawi Demographic Health Survey (MDHS) 2010 and 2015/2016]. This included supporting District Health Offices to establish public-private partnerships to address resource constraints, use of the Score Card methodology to build the community’s ability to hold the District Health Offices accountable and performance based financing.
- Supported the Government of Malawi to improve and strengthen different modalities of service delivery and best practices thereby contributing to the increase in the national modern contraceptive rate of 42 percent of married women in 2010 to 58 percent in 2015/2016, reduction in stunting by 10 percent (MDHS 2010 and 2015/2016); and the Government of Malawi's achievement of the child survival MDG 4.
Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program Manager
USAID
09.2008 - 09.2011
- Oversaw a family planning and reproductive and maternal health portfolio of approximately $10 million and provided management and financial support and technical guidance to a variety of service delivery, policy and primary health care integrated projects and worked closely with the State Minister of Health on quality assurance measures in the provision of Implanon, the single rod implant, by the national Health Extension Program’s Health Extension Workers. This included the management of two obstetric fistula projects.
PEPFAR Country Coordinator
US Embassy
02.2006 - 07.2008
- Coordinated the $286 million PEPFAR program on behalf of the US Ambassador to Uganda by coordinating the technical and financial programming of the large interagency US Mission team (CDC, DOD, Department of State, Peace Corps and USAID) and collaborating with NGOs and other stakeholders to support the Government of Uganda’s national AIDS program.
Education
Masters - Public Health
Columbia University
New York, NYBachelor of Arts Honours - Sociology
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, SaskatchewanSkills
- Budgeting and financial oversight
- Effective strategic planning
- Collaborative partnership building
- Expertise in maternal and child health and health policy
- Stakeholder engagement
- Advocacy skills
- Analytical skills in knowledge management
- Skilled in crafting clear and concise written materials
- Computer skills: Microsoft Suite WORD, EXCEL and PowerPoint
Accomplishments
- Provided management and technical leadership to projects that contributed to significant increases in the access to maternal and child health, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and nutrition services and the dramatic improvements in overall health outcomes at the project and national levels.
- Supervised and coordinated teams of up to 70 staff members.
- Built team members' capacity in creative problem solving that resulted in innovative solutions to fragile health system challenges.
- Collaborated with and coordinated multiple bilateral and multilateral development partners to ensure national coverage of maternal and child health, nutrition, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS services.
Languages
Languages: English (fluent), French (basic), Tamil (intermediate), Sinhala (intermediate)
Timeline
Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program Manager
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Health Bureau
12.2020 - 07.2025
Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program Manager
USAID
07.2016 - 12.2020
Deputy Director of Programs Support for Service Delivery Integration (SSDI) Project
Save the Children
11.2011 - 06.2016
Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program Manager
USAID
09.2008 - 09.2011
PEPFAR Country Coordinator
US Embassy
02.2006 - 07.2008
Bachelor of Arts Honours - Sociology
University of Saskatchewan
Masters - Public Health
Columbia University
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