United States of America: Senior Health Governance Advisor

Global Health Fellows Program

Technical Advisor IV: Senior Health Governance Advisor

Office of Technical Support, Asia Bureau, United States Agency for International Development

Location: Washington, DC

Assignment: Two year fellowship

GHFP-II-P5-224

The Global Health Fellows Program (**GHFP-II**) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with Global Health Corps, GlobeMed, Management Systems International and PYXERA Global. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

GHFP-II’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by addressing the Agency’s immediate and emerging human capacity needs. The program seeks to accomplish this goal first through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels. These program participants include fellows, interns, corporate volunteers and Foreign Service National professionals. The program then provides substantial performance management and career development support to participants, including annual work planning assistance, and ensures that professional development opportunities are available.

Looking to the future, GHFP-II also seeks to establish a pool of highly-qualified global health professionals that will ensure the Agency’s ongoing technical leadership and effectiveness. This objective is supported by an extensive outreach program that brings global health opportunities and specialized career advice to a diverse range of interested individuals, with a particular focus on those underrepresented in the field of global health.

BACKGROUND:

The Office of Technical Support within the Asia Bureau (Asia/TS) provides leadership on development issues in the Asia region through analysis, strategy development, program design, technical assistance, and information dissemination. It provides this leadership in the areas of public health, population, nutrition, economics, agriculture, education, productive sector development, information technology, social sciences, democracy and governance, conflict mitigation, natural resources management and the environment.

The Office leads the Bureau’s strategic thinking in technical areas, and serves as the Bureau’s principal point of contact and coordination on all substantive technical aspects of programs in sectors of assigned specialization. It helps Missions develop new country strategic plans, conducts periodic reviews of Mission program performance, and provides technical oversight of Mission programs. In accordance with the newly revised Automated Directives System, the regional bureaus have a significant role in the development of policy guidance and TS supports this work. Asia/TS makes recommendations for allocating Bureau resources among missions and prioritizes sector programs throughout the region. Within the Office of Technical Support, the Health Team is responsible for providing technical input on all health related programs and matters in the region.

The Health Team provides technical leadership and support to 17 USAID field teams across the region in implementing evidence-based interventions proven to save lives and reduce disease burden. While the scope of work covers traditional health sectors such as family planning, maternal and child health, infectious disease, nutrition, and health systems, we are also invested in navigating and managing complex adaptive systems, which better reflect the dynamism of Asia. The Health Team engages in cutting-edge programs that address gaps and unfinished agendas in health across Asia. Some areas of interest include:

● Mitigation of the unacceptably high rates of neonatal and maternal mortality, along with persistent malnutrition and high levels of stunting, inconsistent with economic growth.

● Implementation research studies on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Indonesia and Burma. These efforts will provide policy makers and managers rapid cycles of information to strengthen countries’ paths to achieving UHC and provide lessons learned for other countries in Asia pursuing sustainable health financing schemes.

● Ensuring that programs in middle-income countries are gradually phased out of receiving USAID funding using non-disruptive, sustainable practices which do not upend the gains made to date.

● Political economy analysis as a tool to deepen contextual understanding of health problems and to illuminate different possible solutions.

● Application of the principles in the 2012 Urban Strategy within the health sector in some of our larger countries.

● The Global Health Security Agenda and the emergence of novel infections and drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis and malaria.

● Attending to equity in monitoring and planning health programs, going below the surface of national and sub-national indicators.

In addition to supporting Global Health priorities, the Asia Bureau provides technical assistance to countries that have not been designated as priority countries for the Global Health Bureau programming purposes, as is the case of work currently planned in Laos and Timor Leste with Asia Bureau funds. One of the policies of the Health Team is to look at strategic future programming and to design research and interventions that will enable missions to keep abreast of and manage technical changes in the field. Included in this approach is consistent collaboration with colleagues in all the other technical sectors, as the team realizes that improved health status is not just a function of health system input.

The Team also works closely with the Global Development Lab (the Lab) and the Global Health Bureau, as well as the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA). Going forward, the expectation is to develop closer relationships with Bureau for Policy Planning and Learning and Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment, key players in innovation and financing. We have added an urban component to our programming, adapting the Agency’s 2012 Urban Strategy and the Policy, Planning, and Learning Bureau’s current implementation guide for urban programming due to the recent significant urban growth in the region and potential inequities among residents of urban slums as an area of concern.

The Team also works with interagency partners, such as the Department of Defense and Department of State, to support civilian-military partnerships, particularly when it comes to Global Health Security. This is an exciting time in the Asia Bureau as countries consolidate the President’s Pivot toward Asia and many are designing new Country Development strategies, providing an opportunity for the Health Team to shape future interventions. In addition to working intersectorally within the Agency and within the US government, the Team is supporting networks active in the region, including the Asia Network for Capacity Building in Health System Strengthening and the Joint Learning Network (JLN), to promote knowledge sharing between low income and middle income countries and to develop learning agendas around UHC. JLN is a member-driven community of global health policymakers who work to remove barriers to achieving UHC and engage with countries as they work to achieve their health related Sustainable Development Goals.

INTRODUCTION:

Asia leads the world in the development of UHC approaches yet at the same time struggles with significant challenges within health systems. These include weak supply chains, unqualified human resources for health, poor quality of care, dysfunctional information systems, inadequate leveraging of domestic resources and inequities in access to care. Thus, the Asia Bureau is committed to using a health systems approach to help Missions in their work to address these challenges and to highlight governance skills as a key component to moving programs forward. Finding policy levers that can deliver greater sustainability without compromising important achievements in access and quality of health care requires joint efforts between Ministries of Health and Ministries of Finance. Governance requires overseeing and guiding the health system as a whole, not just the public system, in order to protect the public interest - broader than simply improving health status.

To this end, the Health Team is seeking a Senior Health Governance Advisor (Senior Advisor) to assist in exploring and advising on new ways of doing development, and prepare officers in the field to understand the precepts of health governance and how it supports the development of universal health care coverage, capitalize on their changing economic context and to respond to the identified health systems challenges. The Senior Advisor will be an integral part of a six-person Health Team and will work closely with and receive technical guidance from the Health Team Lead as his/her onsite manager.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

With the emphasis on governance and supporting policy levers, as well as recognizing how Ministries of Finance and Health can work jointly to promote better health systems, the SeniorHealth Governance Advisor will be responsible for:

Development and Implementation of Multisectoral Approaches (45%):

● Liaising with global development partners (e.g. World Bank, Gates Foundation, Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, etc.) and government stakeholders to support USAID initiatives around health governance, sustainable financing of the health sector with a focus on domestic resource mobilization.

● Providing strategic direction on institutional development to the Asia Network for Capacity Building in Health System Strengthening, related to achieving its goals and activities; supporting management functions, including monitoring progress and performance as the Network continues to support a growing number of members and initiatives and the Health Team determines its future investments in the network.

● Participating and presenting at global meetings concerning health system strengthening and UHC, with a primary focus on governance.

● Supporting the development of learning agendas around UHC, by collaborating with relevant stakeholders (e.g. JLN, World Health Organization, Gates Foundation, World Bank), documenting and disseminating information on the drivers of change contributing to significant health reforms related to the implementation of UHC, especially lessons learned from upper-middle and high-income countries where USAID does not have a mission or health office presence. There will be a specific focus on contributing to the following two global level learning agendas: 1) engaging the private sector for UHC and 2) governance approaches leading to improved health system performance and/or health outcomes.

● Identifying opportunities within new designs to promote systems thinking and intersectoral approaches and the use of health systems strengthening to obtain identified outcomes, areas of possible focus would include the intersection between health governance and political economy practices, as well as financing.

● Serving as an activity manager on discrete activities being implemented by our implementing partners, as well as identifying which centrally funded mechanisms would be the most appropriate for investment to achieve our development aims.

Provision of Technical Support to Field Programs (25%):

● Developing a health governance agenda for the Asia region and engaging relevant stakeholders as necessary. Key areas of work would include building sustainable health system performance and responsiveness indicators, governing quality in the health sector, supporting equitable access to essential health services, and increasing integration of accountability and transparency in the health sector.

● In collaboration with the Office of Health Systems within the Global Health Bureau, working on program and activity designs that incorporate most current evidence to systems thinking that maximize country resources. This includes providing assistance to missions in developing strong monitoring and evaluation strategies and/or learning agendas that contribute to the evidence-base on the impact of health systems strengthening and health governance initiatives on health outcomes.

● Tracking new areas of development that can contribute to keeping the programming and portfolio on the cutting edge of development, bringing up creative ideas for the team to explore doing business differently. This includes exploring and promoting the use of contractual mechanisms within the Agency that can support adaptive programming including gift authority, Broad Agency Announcements around Global Development Partnerships and Development Innovation Accelerators, and Development Credit Authority.

● Supporting USAID field mission in the development of country strategies, implementation of integrated health systems portfolios, project design, analyses and evaluation.

● Providing senior technical guidance and strategic support as a subject matter expert in HSS, health governance and policy to missions, other Bureaus, Agency programs and new initiatives.

● Developing and making recommendations to Asia Bureau leadership on the appropriate allocation of resources in a broad range of health investments in the Asia region.

Technical Training and Capacity Building (13%):

● Providing support to the creation of a professional development learning course which would serve as an opportunity for mission health officers to improve their knowledge and understanding of current health governance, insurance and innovative financing activities as well as broader health systems issues.

● Participating in any organized training opportunity to ensure that health officers expand their skills.

● Understanding Political Economy Analysis and other new approaches as tools for developing programs, assessing their utility to specific regional contexts, and providing recommendations to Missions.

● Working closely with health officers to develop the language and context necessary to understand the UHC landscape, specifically health care governance and financing, improving their fluency and facilitating dialogue with other donors and senior host country partners.

Country and Bureau Backstopping (5%):

● Backstopping assigned countries across the Bureau’s geographic range in activities such as participating in GH Country Team calls, working with the Desk Officer, being the initial point of contact within the Bureau for the Country Health Team, contributing to routine reporting requirements and strategies or country plans that may be revised, as well as providing support to mission health teams on a temporary basis as necessary. Country assignments would depend on personal interest, prior experience and the country portfolio.

● Contributing to the Bureau’s Performance Plan and Report, Health Implementation Plan and Portfolio Review, as necessary and developing familiarity with the budget for health activities.

Communication and Collaboration (5%):

● For each country backstopped, working closely to facilitate information sharing and collaborative work platforms among the Asia Bureau desk officer, mission health staff and Global Health Bureau.

● Writing formal memos and emails to different audiences to promote transparent and timely communication. These writing products may include briefing papers for senior managers, talking points for conferences, and informational memos for the field.

● Collaborating with relevant Asia Bureau and Global Health Bureau staff to plan, participate, facilitate and present at international and domestic meetings, workshops and conferences dealing with health systems strengthening, health financing, private sector engagement and publishing in peer-reviewed journals as appropriate and approved.

● Publishing in a wide variety of milieu the outcomes of program activities in Asia and how the inform the global debate.

Training and Professional Development (7%)

● Keeping abreast of literature and latest developments in the fields of health systems strengthening and the greater development field.

● Deepening knowledge of political economy analysis and health systems strengthening programs in Asia.

● Participate in interagency and intra-agency working groups as appropriate to the scope of work.

● Participate in professional continuing education and skills training within the purview of GHFP-II.

International and domestic travel approximately 30-35%.

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

● Master’s degree or higher in public health, health policy, political sciences, public policy, international health, health systems strengthening, social sciences or a related field.

● Minimum fifteen (15) years’ experience in health systems strengthening, program design, health communications, implementation of national governance systems with a health lens, with at least five (5) years’ experience in an international or resource-challenged setting.

● Experience and familiarity with working in the Asian development context highly preferred, as is experience providing capacity building to local networks.

● Demonstrated ability in strategic planning and design, coupled with hands on program management skills that show prior experience in taking ideas to actualization.

● Strong knowledge of and demonstrated experience with governance (including accountability) and policy programming in international or resource challenged environments.

● Demonstrated understanding of public health issues: family planning/reproductive health, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, health systems.

● Experience working cross-sectorally and using lessons from macro governance and systems thinking to support health programs. Proven ability to apply innovative approaches, work independently and apply new methods to solve problems, while remaining efficient in a fast-paced, changing and challenging institutional environment.

● Experience working with learning networks, country offices (e.g. USAID Missions), other donor organizations, private sector, host country governments and non-governmental organizations, including universities and research bodies.

● Ability to absorb and synthesize a broad range of information, including financial, regulatory, clinical, demographic, marketing and scientific information.

● Excellent ability to communicate, influence and convince verbally and in writing. Understanding of the institutional processes that can promote communication.

● Ability to work well with multiple stakeholders. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with people of varied professional, educational and cultural backgrounds.

● High degree of independent judgment and ingenuity to interpret possibilities of program change because of shifting country context and changing economic and political scenarios.

● Fluency in a foreign language is preferred.

● Ability to travel internationally.

● US citizenship required.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

Salary based on commensurate experience and earnings history. The Public Health Institute offers a comprehensive benefits package including professional development programs.

TO APPLY:

All applicants are required to apply for this position through GHFP-II’s online recruitment system at https://www.ghfp.net/recruitment/, which allows you to store your CV, profile and bio data form in our database. A separate cover letter describing your qualifications and experience, interest and familiarity with issues relating to this position, and how this position relates to your career goals is required for each application. All online applications must be submitted by November 14, 2016 by 5:00 pm Eastern time.

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