Flexible base location based upon country director approval, with preference for Sub-Saharan Africa location**
Overview
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. For more information, please visit http//www.clintonhealthaccess.org.
CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion, and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture.
CHAI’s global malaria and neglected tropical disease (NTD) program provides direct technical and operational support to countries around the globe to strengthen their programs and reduce the burden of preventable, treatable diseases. We support governments to scale up effective interventions for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance, with the goals of sustainably reducing the number of illnesses and deaths worldwide in the short-term and accelerating progress towards elimination of malaria and NTDs in the long term.
Overview of Role
Vector control interventions (e.g. insecticide-treated nets [ITNs] and indoor residual spraying) reduce human contact with disease-carrying mosquitoes and are responsible for an estimated 78% of the decline of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa since 2000.[1] Vector control programs often comprise the largest proportion of a malaria program’s budget; ensuring that these tools are appropriately targeted, implemented, and monitored is incredibly important against a backdrop of rising commodity costs and declining financial resources. Non-vector control prevention interventions, such as seasonal malaria chemoprevention and vaccines, are of growing importance in coordinated efforts to reduce the disease. CHAI supports National Malaria Control Programs (NMCPs) around the world by providing analytical, operational, and management expertise to help countries optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of vector control and other prevention interventions to achieve maximal health impact.
CHAI is seeking a global technical advisor to provide technical and operational assistance in support of malaria vector control programs in CHAI focus countries worldwide. CHAI is supporting national malaria programs across the spectrum of vector control execution, including operational microplanning, targeting, timing, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and using data for decision-making. This role would involve supporting CHAI regional and country associates on topics related to campaign implementation of prevention tools. This work would also involve building and strengthening CHAI support to ITN continuous distribution, and particularly routine distribution, channels. This role is global and will backstop regional and country staff across all CHAI geographies. The base location for the role is flexible, based on country director approval, with preference for a base in sub-Saharan Africa.
The position requires a highly motivated individual with outstanding analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills. This person should have substantial direct experience providing operational support for malaria prevention tools in lower- and middle-income countries, and should understand the difficulties around (and solutions for) delivering these interventions. They must exhibit a passion for results and commitment to excellence. The candidate must have terrific communication skills, patience, and cultural sensitivity, as they will work on complex topics with global and country partners as well as multiple teams at CHAI. The successful Technical Advisor will have strong organizational and project management skills, and will be capable of conducting rapid quantitative analysis and communicating such analysis in a clear and concise manner to colleagues and partners. The successful candidate will be able to function efficiently in a semi-independent setting, and thus will be a self-motivated individual capable of managing multiple tasks at once and driving multiple work flows forward. CHAI places great value on the following qualities in its staff resourcefulness, responsibility, patience, tenacity, humility, independence, energy, and work ethic.
[1] Bhatt, et al. “The effect of malaria control on Plasmodium falciparum in Africa between 2000 and 2015.” Nature. 08 October, 2015.
Responsibilities
Serve as a trusted adviser to national malaria programs and to CHAI country teams and regional technical leads on issues related to vector control and prevention operations
Provide technical and operational support with implementing vector control interventions, including long-lasting insecticidal nets, indoor residual spraying, and larval source management, in targeted foci of malaria transmission. This includes ensuring that vector control campaigns are planned and executed well, and identifying and disseminating lessons learned after intervention roll-outs
Build and support a technically sound, feasible strategy to support routine distribution globally, with particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa
Support robust M&E of vector control interventions, including capturing meaningful indicators in clear forms, analyzing the data in a timely manner, and applying the data to decisions
Assist country teams and national programs with translating evidence, current research, and normative guidelines on vector control into practical programmatic and field operations
Support CHAI country programs with commodity and resource quantifications, targeting, and waste management plans
Support CHAI country teams with translating results of M&E data analysis to national and sub-national government partners to support evidence-based decision-making, and disseminating findings through high-quality and clear presentations, reports, and publications
Scope innovative approaches to increasing efficiency and effectiveness of vector control implementation
Assist country teams with developing detailed operational plans, operating procedures, and associated training materials related to vector control, in order to build government capacity and improve effective execution of malaria programs
Proactively develop and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders working on vector control campaigns across government and non-governmental organizations
Represent CHAI at relevant working groups and meetings to provide appropriate technical support as necessary
Support the continuous development and refinement of the CHAI Vector Control Strategy
Qualifications
Bachelor or Master’s degree in entomology, biology, public health, or a related field
5-10 years of field experience in disease prevention
Able to travel frequently (up to 60% of time) and take calls across a wide range of times zones (sub-Saharan Africa, Mesoamerica, and the Greater Mekong Subregion)
Strong quantitative, presentation, and writing skills, including fluency in MS Excel, PowerPoint, and Word
Excellent written and oral communications skills, including report-writing skills
Exceptional attention to detail
Excellent organization and management skills, including time management and project management
Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively in unstructured settings and to adapt to new environments and challenges
Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and set priorities in remote settings
Ability to be effective, patient, and thoughtful in high-pressure situations
Enthusiasm for working in a fast-paced and multicultural environment
Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and act upon technical information, and to translate new information into actionable insights for decision-making
Advantages
An MPH or MS in public health, or experience working in public health, particularly international health/health policy and management
Direct experience working on vector control implementation, particularly bed net campaigns or continuous distribution of nets
Experience working in developing countries, particularly on health related issues
Familiarity with digital tools and applications that are relevant for public health
Experience working remotely with a decentralized team
Direct experience working with governments, especially from Sub-Saharan Africa