Senior Associate

CHAI RWANDA

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

TITLE: Senior Associate

Program:  Sustainable Health Financing

Job Location: Kigali, Rwanda with ~ 30% travel domestically and internationally

Type: Full-Time Paid

Start date: Immediate

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.

Acute Respiratory Infections and pneumopathies are responsible for ~37% of under-5 deaths in Rwanda, for which hypoxemia (low levels of oxygen), is a severe complication that can increase the risk of death by up to 5.4 times. Access to medical oxygen is essential in a health system, not only needed to treat hypoxemia; it is also required to provide safe anesthesia and surgeries, and in the treatment of a wide range of conditions, including pneumonia, malaria, obstructed labor, birth asphyxia, and covid-19. Availability of oxygen varies significantly, and is often complicated by inadequate provider knowledge on administration of oxygen therapy, scarcity of equipment, and suboptimal distribution.  Newborns and young children are especially vulnerable, as at least 20% of neonate admissions and 13% of pediatric pneumonia cases require oxygen therapy.

CHAI supported the Government to develop a national strategy to increase access to medical oxygen in public hospitals, and helped prioritize actions for immediate attention. Some of the priorities identified include improving the access and optimal use of oxygen by leveraging off the available private and public hospital-based plants, sustainable financing for production, distribution and equipment maintenance, and strengthening providers’ capacity to manage hypoxemia. With funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; CHAI will support the government accelerate the implementation of the prioritized activities outlined above; in a scalable and sustainable way.

Position Overview:

Under the supervision of the Senior Program Manager, the Senior Associate will lead the design and implementation of the national strategy to increase access to treatment of hypoxemia in Rwanda.

CHAI is seeking a motivated and mission-oriented individual with strong analytic, problem -solving and cross-cultural communication skills. This individual should have strong business intelligence skills and analytics experience, a good record of accomplishment of project delivery in a results focused environment and first-hand experience in building sustainable financing and supply chain systems. The Senior Associate should be experienced at presenting data and messages powerfully through written documentation; working collaboratively in a fast-paced environment and functioning independently with minimal guidance. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the scoping, design and consensus building for sustainable financing models to improve oxygen production and distribution to meet the optimal national demand; taking into consideration Covid-19 preparedness and response strategy, and leveraging on Public-Private Partnerships for Oxygen production
• Develop tools and lead resource mapping and efficiencies identification exercises to re-establish resources currently available for sustainable expanded access; also addressing costs of production, procurement, distribution and maintenance of equipment
• Diagnose bottlenecks to supply and demand, and with the Ministry of Health, Referral Hospitals, District Hospitals and partners design an expanded hub-and-spoke supply chain model for oxygen distribution from productions sites
• Support collaborative efforts between facilities and Biomedical Engineer experts to roll out improved systems and processes for the optimal and appropriate use, adequate repair and maintenance of oxygen equipment at health facilities
• Perform any other related duties

Education and qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as health economics, public health, public policy, finance, business, statistics or other relevant disciplines preferred
• At least 5-10-years of working experience in a demanding results driven environment, with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership in the public sector and/or private sector (e.g., management consulting);
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects involving multiple teams, including priority setting, planning, budgeting, performance review and management; and influencing with limited authority
• Experience informing development of government strategy, policy, and operational plans, preferably in health or health systems;
• Advanced proficiency in computer packages such as Microsoft Office: Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. Experience with statistical analysis packages such as STATA , EPI info etc.
• High emotional intelligence, patience, resourcefulness and thoughtfulness even in high-pressure, stressful situations
• Exceptional diplomacy and interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to build strong professional relationships with a range of stakeholders in a challenging, multi-cultural environment;
• Excellent analytical (qualitative and quantitative) and communication (written and verbal) skills
• Demonstrated capacity to synthesize data into an effective presentation of results for a variety of audiences
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with a strong command of the English language.
• Exceptional time-management, with an ability to work independently, set priorities and manage multiple tasks simultaneously under tight deadlines.

Advantages:

• Experience in Health Financing and(or) Health systems strengthening and (or) Supply Chain Management, and management consulting;
• Experience working with government authorities in developing countries, with experience in sub-Saharan Africa;
• Experience working in public health and with international organizations;
• Familiarity with a broad range of key global health issues, including health systems or health financing challenges in developing countries.

Application procedure:

Interested candidates should email a letter of interest (maximum 1 page) outlining how their background meets the requirements outlined above; CV (maximum 3 pages); and the names of three references to : chairwandarecruiting@clintonhealthaccess.org or online through http://careers-chai.icims.com or www.clintonhealthaccess.org/careers with ‘’CHAI Rwanda: Senior Associate-Expanding Sustainable Access to Medical Oxgyen for Treatment of Hypoxemia’’ in the subject line. The deadline for applications is April 24, 2020. The shortlisted candidates will be contacted.