Associate, Malaria, Vector Control, West Africa 334 views0 applications

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’s global malaria program provides direct technical and operational support to countries around the globe to strengthen their malaria programs and reduce the burden of this preventable, treatable disease. We support governments to scale up effective interventions for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance, with the goals of sustainably reducing the number of malaria-related illnesses and deaths worldwide in the short-term and accelerating progress towards malaria elimination in the long term.

Overview of Role

Vector control interventions (including bed nets and indoor residual spraying) reduce human contact with disease-carrying mosquitoes and are responsible for dramatic reductions in malaria burden across Africa. Vector control programs can consume up to 70% of a malaria program’s budget. Thus, ensuring that these interventions are appropriately designed, targeted, and monitored is becoming increasingly important against a backdrop of rising commodity costs and declining financial resources. Alongside in-country teams, CHAI’s malaria vector control technical team aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of vector control interventions in malaria endemic settings.

West and Central Africa bears the majority of the global burden of malaria cases and deaths. This region also faces complex challenges with fighting the disease, including insecticide resistance, which threatens the effectiveness of vector control interventions. In parts of this region, CHAI provides technical, operational and managerial assistance to national malaria programs in order to accelerate policy changes, ensure sufficient supply of commodities, generate demand among health providers and patients, and ensure adequate monitoring and troubleshooting mechanisms are in place to track progress. In addition, CHAI is also supporting national malaria programs in multiple strategic, operational, and technical areas pertaining to vector control, including intervention choice, planning, targeting, monitoring and evaluation, and using data for decision-making. Benin and Burkina Faso are the newest additions to CHAI’s malaria portfolio in the region, where initial efforts will be focused on conducting country-specific vector control landscaping assessments, followed by support to National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCPs) to design and implement improvements in vector control. Some exploratory support for DRC will also be conducted.

CHAI is seeking a highly-motivated individual to expand the organization’s malaria vector control work in Benin, Burkina Faso, and DRC. Additionally, this person may support other technical areas for the NMCPs in these countries, as needed. The position requires outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills. S/he must exhibit a passion for results and commitment to excellence. The candidate must have excellent communications skills, patience, and cultural sensitivity, as s/he will be working on complex topics with global and country partners as well as multiple teams at CHAI. The successful Associate 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 relevant personal qualities including resourcefulness, tenacity, independence, patience, humility, and strong work ethic.

The candidate must have demonstrable ability to engage with diverse stakeholders, conduct assessments, and work independently and in ambiguous situations. In addition, the candidate must be able to work with in-country stakeholders to drive implementation and have deep personal commitment to producing results. This position will report to the global malaria vector control team, and will be based in Dakar, Senegal.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted adviser to national malaria programs on issues related to vector control operations
• Provide technical and operational support with implementing vector control interventions, including long-lasting insecticidal nets, larval source management, and indoor residual spraying, 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 implementation
• Support national programs with translating evidence, current research, and normative guidelines on vector control, entomological investigation and monitoring and surveillance into practical programmatic and field operations. This includes updating and reviewing for vector control technical content national strategic plans, guidelines, and policies to align with global recommendations, as well as communicating information on available and pipeline products for product selection decisions
• Conduct a vector control landscaping and capacity assessment in Benin and Burkina Faso, identifying barriers to efficient and effective deployment of vector control interventions
• Assist with implementing solutions to entomological surveillance gaps identified in currently ongoing surveillance assessment in Benin and Burkina Faso
• Move forward with the outcomes of the vector control landscaping and capacity assessment conducted by CHAI in DRC in 2019
• Work in close coordination with internal analytics team to facilitate implementation of operational research projects, including conducting background research, designing surveys, writing and editing protocols, conducting data analysis, and writing reports
• Support national and sub-national government partners with evidence-based decision making, and disseminating findings through high-quality and clear presentations, reports, and publications
• Proactively develop and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders across government and non-governmental organizations at the regional level
• Support NMCPs with developing detailed operational plans, operating procedures, and associated training materials related to vector control, in order to build government capacity and support effective execution of malaria program
• Support other strategic and technical areas as necessary
• Coordinate with the Regional Vector Control Associate and other CHAI teams as necessaryQualifications
• Bachelor or Master’s degree in biology, social sciences, business, or a related field
• 3-5 years of experience in a demanding private sector environment, such as strategy consulting, or in a public sector advisory position
• Written and verbal fluency in French and English
• Able to travel within the region up to 60% of the time
• 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 independently 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
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and multicultural environment
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and act upon technical information
• Demonstrated ability to translate scientific knowledge into actionable insights for decision-making
• Comfort and flexibility to work independently with a diverse set of counterparts

Advantages

• MPH or MS in public health, or experience working in public health, particularly international health/health policy and management
• Experience in vector control or entomology
• Experience working in West Africa or other developing countries, particularly on health-related issues
• Experience working remotely with a decentralized team
• Experience working with governments and institutions, especially from Sub-Saharan Africa

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