Chemonics seeks a Access to Finance Lead – Health for the USAID Frontier Health Markets (FHM) Engage project in Liberia. This position has an anticipated start date of October 1, 2023, with a period of performance from 2023 to 2026, and is expected to first take the form of a full-time consultancy for initial months, then become a long-term project position.
The FHM Engage project aims to improve the ability of health markets to meet supply-side gaps and consumer preferences, contributing to equitable provision of and access to high-quality family planning (FP) and other health services and products in mixed health systems.
The Access to Finance Lead – Health will lead the project’s marketplace activity in Liberia through the development and management of a Health Marketplace Platform. This position will be based in Monrovia, Liberia. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.
Background
Strategic partnerships across the value chain in healthcare delivery and securing adequate funding is vital for long-term viability and profitability of any healthcare enterprise. In low-and middle-income countries such as Liberia, the lack of access to adequate capital poses a significant obstacle for FP and reproductive health (RH) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Insufficient market development capital hampers the ability to deliver quality products and services effectively. It is evident that sustainable solutions are urgently required to establish connections between capital/health financing providers and eligible service providers within the FP/ Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) value chain.
The development of a Health Marketplace Platform in Liberia is meant to connect development partners (and other investors and financing institutions) who are financing public health interventions with small and medium sized private sector agencies to increase delivery of health products and services. A diverse and wide range of private sector actors would benefit, including for-profit providers, wholesalers/distributors, laboratory and diagnostic facilities, private sector actors along the supply chain, health service providers, clinics, health centers, microfinance institutions (MFI), banking and financial services, other financing institutions with interest/intention to work with the private health sector, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations (CBOs), donors, implementing partners and experts in local private sector engagement, digital and tech solution providers, clinical and retail service and product providers, and training, market research, and business services that support health sector actors.
Responsibilities
The duties of the Access to Finance Lead – Health include, but are not limited to the following:
- Establish a marketplace platform through user centric design and viable business modelling.
- Establish strategic partnerships through compelling value propositions of the healthcare marketplace.
- Operationalize and codify agreements for sustainable and efficient capital management and business advisory to ensure a thriving marketplace.
- Assist FHM Engage country leadership to transition the marketplace to a key stakeholder over the project period for sustainability and business continuity.
The candidate should expect to achieve the following illustrative key results over three years:
- Increase number of healthcare SMEs who received loans and other financing mechanisms and are successful in delivering social impact with business returns.
- Increase number of investors (of different types) catalyzed to invest a target amount over three years.
- Increase number of partnerships established with private sector actors who invest in the marketplace for social and business returns.
During the initial short-term consultancy period, the selected candidate will have the following scope of work:
- Work with FHM Engage’s Technical Director, Market Development Advisor, FP Advisor, Chemonics’ Technical Lead, and others to develop a health marketplace design tailored to Liberia.
- Identify and support development of innovative financing mechanisms and approaches to crowd in new funders and funding to accelerate rapid deployment and sustainable uptake of priority health products and interventions.
- Produce a prototype design for the marketplace platform with the following sub-tasks:
- Hold a kickoff meeting with USAID to review the findings from the global health marketplace insight report and market description report
- Deploy innovative practices and forge cross-sector collaboration to explore opportunities identified in the market description report
- Host a virtual brainstorming session with stakeholders to explore modalities for the health marketplace
- Draft a prototype design for the health marketplace
- Review the design with USAID and refine based on client feedback
- Test the prototype design through scoping of pipeline actors for the marketplace platform with the following sub-tasks:
- Develop a draft contact list for financiers and solution providers
- Crowdsource additional contacts with donors and key stakeholders
- Develop data collection guides, collect data from actors, and synthesize data
- Present a summary of findings
- Complete a final marketplace design, budget, and implementation plan with the following sub-tasks:
- Draft options for the marketplace model
- Co-design viable options with relevant stakeholders
- Develop a prototype marketplace, including development of a budget and implementation plan
- Share an action plan with the client and refine based on client feedback
Qualifications:
- Minimum 10 years of experience in access to finance, business development, banking, investment, private sector engagement or related fields
- Advanced degree in business, finance, economics, or relevant field; strong business acumen with MBA or equivalent work experience
- Experience in management of customized support packages (grants, technical assistance, subcontracts) for health market actors. Family planning experience preferred
- Experience working on innovative financing transaction design and execution with a government, non-profit organization/think tank, investment fund, or other private sector entity
- Experience and ability to leverage expertise in innovative financing and/or market dynamics against social impact goals
- Strong understanding of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and partnerships with MFIs and local banks to facilitate private sector loan products
- Ability to engage and coordinate with a wide range of stakeholders (USAID, development partners in Liberia, development financing institutions, and private sector service delivery partners including wholesalers, retailers)
- Strong technical writing and presentation skills, and ability to communicate effectively to diverse audiences
- Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity
- Ability to develop financial models in Excel
- Fluency in English written and spoken
Application Instructions
Please send an email with your CV and cover letter attached and “Access to Finance Lead – Health” in the subject line to [email protected] by September 10, 2023. No telephone inquiries, please. Chemonics will contact finalists.
Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.
