Country: United States of America
Closing date: 20 Feb 2017
Global Health Fellows Program II
Health Systems and Economics Intern
Office of Health Systems, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development
Anticipated timeframe: June 2017 – August 2017: Compensated 3 month internship
Location: Washington, DC/Arlington, VA
INT-P6-014
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 working 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:
USAID has been a global leader in reproductive, maternal and child health for half a century, working with partners and missions around the world. In the last 20 years alone, over 100 million children’s deaths have been averted, and mortality rates are falling faster in recent years, as documented by USAID’s Demographic and Health Surveys. Harnessing this success with a bold and optimistic vision, the 2012 Child Survival Call to Action helped catalyze a global movement to end preventable child and maternal deaths (EPCMD). For more information on the Bureau, please click on the following link: http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/organization/bureaus/bureau-global-health .
The Office of Health Systems (OHS) within the Global Health Bureau (GH) is the Agency’s center of excellence and focal point for worldwide leadership and technical expertise in Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) in the developing world. USAID’s HSS approach ensures that people and institutions, both public and private, undertake core functions of the health system (governance, financing, service delivery, health workforce, information, and medicines/vaccines/other technologies) in a mutually enhancing way, to improve health outcomes. GH/OHS works to promote four strategic HSS outcomes: financial protection, service coverage, population coverage, and responsiveness. Human Resources for Health (HRH) is a core function of the key building blocks of a sustainable health system.
INTRODUCTION:
The Health Systems and Economics Intern (Intern) will support the Office of Health Systems, particularly the Health Financing team. OHS has developed health financing profiles and is in the process of developing health system profiles that summarize the state of the broader health system (e.g. human resources for health, pharmaceuticals and other commodities, information systems, etc.) for USAID Global Health’s priority countries. The Intern will contribute by developing health profiles and will have the opportunity to conduct collaborative research with other analysts in the Bureau. The Intern will receive guidance from the Health Economist who will serve as his/her onsite manager.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Strengthening communications skills, specifically summarizing health systems investments and their impact on health systems and health outcomes.
- Gaining experience in documenting health financing, macro-economic and political economics in low and middle income countries (LMICs) to better understand the levers for expanding fiscal space.
- Developing greater understanding of the health financing landscape and potential for low and middle income countries to increase domestic resources for health, including data on spending for HRH.
- Deepening skills in collaboration and coordination within a complex organizational and implementation structure.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Assisting with literature reviews, collection and presentation of secondary data sources on health financing and health systems strengthening.
- Developing health systems profiles and updating current health financing profiles for USAID Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Death (EPCMD) Priority Countries.
- Supporting technical assistance discussions, if required, with the health financing technical teams and field missions.
- Other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned based on organizational and programming needs and/or the Intern’s own interests.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Currently enrolled master’s or other post-bachelor’s degree candidate in economics, public health, international development, or a related field; or, completion of such within the past 12 months.
- A basic understanding of health economics and financing, and health systems strengthening in global development.
- Demonstrated experience with research and analysis, and conducting literature reviews.
- Demonstrated knowledge and experience in one or more of the global health technical areas such as family planning and reproductive health, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and infectious diseases.
- Demonstrated experience working in a resource-challenged setting.
- Familiarity with data analytics software such as Microsoft Excel, etc.
- Strong written and analytical skills and the ability to work independently.
- Strong oral communications skills.
- US citizenship or US permanent residency required.
COMPENSATION:
$1,826 bi-weekly (exempt, salaried position).
How to apply:
TO APPLY:
Detailed information, including an online application and instructions, is available on our website at www.ghfp.net. All applications must be submitted by February 20, 2017 at 5:00 pm eastern time.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA Employer.