Senior Program Officer, HSSA 239 views0 applications

Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents around the world — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — to create strong systems that support healthy, educated people. We help our partners move from knowing their goal to knowing how to reach it. We combine global expertise in health, education and nutrition with analytic rigor, practical support for decision-making and implementation and access to peer problem-solving networks. Together with our partners, we build self-sustaining systems that serve everyone and deliver lasting results. Then we share what we learn so others can achieve results for development, too.

We have a unique and vibrant culture at R4D. Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of our work environment and help advance our mission. Diversity—of ideas, identities, perspectives and backgrounds—is vital to who we are and what we do. We seek people who embrace these values and will help reinforce them. Our work culture is collaborative, creative and entrepreneurial. We operate based on trust and respect. Teams across the organization frequently collaborate on programmatic work and support each other in continuously building a better R4D.

Program:

The Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator (Accelerator) is a five-year program funded by USAID (with a $200M ceiling) with a small amount of complementary funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that provides catalytic support to countries as they tackle vexing health systems challenges and accelerate innovation and self-reliance. The Accelerator focuses on strengthening countries’ capacity to drive health systems change in a sustainable and institutionalized manner, while helping them tackle specific systems issues that hinder progress toward improved health outcomes. In addition to R4D, the Accelerator consortium includes the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF), ICF and a growing number of local and regional organizations.

The Accelerator is partnering with a growing number of countries to provide integrated health systems strengthening (HSS) support toward improved health outcomes. The Accelerator works with USAID Missions, country leaders, communities, and other development partners to prioritize systems-level barriers hindering sustainable improvements in health outcomes, understand entry points for change, and apply integrated systems improvement approaches.

Opportunity:

R4D seeks a Senior Program Officer – Health Systems Strengthening to provide technical leadership for and program management of the new Accelerator activity to Strengthen Rehabilitation Services within Ethiopia’s Health Systems and UHC Platforms. The Senior Program Officer (SPO) will contribute to strategy, project management, and analytic activities in support of Ethiopia’s efforts to sustainably finance their health systems and accelerate improvements in the effective coverage, quality, and equity of rehabilitation services.

This position is based in Addis Ababa and may require domestic travel in accordance with R4D travel and safety precautions. The SPO will report to the R4D Ethiopia Country Director but will routinely engage with the Accelerator team based in Washington D.C. The location of this position within the R4D Ethiopia country office will also provide unique opportunities to collaborate with other R4D technical staff supporting health work in Ethiopia.

Responsibilities

• The SPO will play a leading role in the Accelerator activity focused on strengthening rehabilitation in Ethiopia’s health systems and will oversee the implementation of activities.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Leading activities in Ethiopia related to the integration of rehabilitation into health systems by advising on project strategy, providing technical guidance and being responsible for the timely execution of work plans and completion of project deliverables;
• Building and managing relationships with partners in Ethiopia, internal and external experts consulted, and program managers involved in engagements;
• Providing thought leadership and technical expertise to the Accelerator team and across the broader organization, including representing R4D in external settings and developing knowledge products;
• Supporting or leading health systems and policy research in areas including quality, equity and efficiency of rehabilitation systems, political-economy and fiscal space analyses, resource mapping and estimation, and governance;
• Contributing to developing and adapting relevant analytic tools and methods for project aims;
• Implementing analytic and capacity building activities to influence both supply of and demand for high-quality rehabilitation services in Ethiopia; and
• Traveling, as needed, to advance project objectives and to share results and learning.

Additionally, they will have a range of project management responsibilities, including:

• Overseeing selected project activities, including coordinating inputs from R4D HQ team members in response to identified analytic, capacity building and other needs;
• Helping to develop project budgets and to monitor expenditures in accordance with R4D policies and funder requirements;
• Contributing to the effective monitoring of key activities and document and disseminate results at national, regional and/or global levels; and
• Maintaining strong, positive relationships with partners, funders, and country governments.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in public health (with a health systems focus), health policy and management, health economics, or other relevant field
• At least seven (7) years of field-based experience in HSS programming through at least two or more WHO building blocks: Leadership & Governance, Financing, Supplies & Supply Chains, Human Resources, Information Systems, Service Delivery
• Demonstrated understanding of key HSS issues in Ethiopia and main stakeholders in this field (government and non-government). Experience with rehabilitation services or issues in Ethiopia is highly preferred and will be considered an asset but is not required
• Relevant professional experience working in a research institution, government, bilateral or multilateral development agency, consulting firm, NGO, or think tank
• Demonstrated ability to manage partner relationships and project workstreams
• Experience in capacity building/training, facilitation, and stakeholder management
• Excellent oral and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complicated and detailed data to different audiences, including government counterparts at the operational and executive levels, R4D staff and leadership, global experts in rehabilitation, health systems strengthening and other related fields
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team and deliver high-quality outputs and results within tight timeframes
• Excellent analytical skills and comfort working with quantitative and qualitative data
• Experience in research, including desk research and stakeholder interviews
• Experience developing budgets, tracking and managing resources, and/or supporting recruitment and program management efforts as required
• High level of organization, attention to detail, professionalism, and reliability, and
• Full professional fluency in written and spoken English.

Additionally, R4D prizes people who are:

• Good and active listeners and facilitators;
• Productive, energetic, creative and task oriented;
• Adept at exchanging constructive feedback;
• Multilingual;
• Skillful communicators before scientific, policy and lay audiences;
• Equally comfortable and capable working independently and in teams;
• Highly collaborative and approachable; and
• Enthusiastic about joining a diverse and inclusive work environment.