Project Management Specialist - Health Care Finance at USAID

Solicitation No: AID-620-S-00-18-00008-00
Period of Performance: Five (5) years renewable.
Security level Required: SBU

Basic Function of the Position

• The Health Care Finance Specialist (HFC) will serve as the Senior Advisor on the development and management of USAID-funded activities that promote health care financing reforms consistent with the Government of Nigeria (GON) Universal Health Coverage (UHC) policy.
• The incumbent will work in two broad areas: Health Care Financing (HCF), including assistance to develop feasible options for the implementation of major health financing functions (revenue generation, risk pooling, and purchasing of services) that support Nigeria’s goals for the realization of UHC; and Private Sector, in particular, leveraging and expanding the private sector’s contribution in the provision of basic health services and financial protection.

Major Duties and Responsibilities
Technical Leadership 55%

• The Health Care Finance Specialist will provide a full range of strategic, technical and programming guidance to USAID/Nigeria , international development partners, and USAID’s implementing partners(as appropriate), also provides technical guidance to the GON to inform decisions related to sustainable financing mechanisms and considerations, and to inform policy and strategy development.
• The incumbent serves as the chief technical advisor on these issues to the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, and advises U.S. officers at all levels in the Mission, up to and including the Ambassador if needed, on the development and/or management of USAIDsupported activities in these areas.
• S/he will maintain close contact with other USG agencies, host government officials within key line ministries, representatives of the private sector, counterparts in other bilateral and multilateral donor organizations and Nigerian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in order to represent USAID’s interests, policies and programs in the areas of health care financing and related private sector engagement.

Specific activities may include:

• Support a full range of consultative, advisory, strategic planning and evaluation activities for Health Population, Nutrition (HPN), working as a lead technical advisor keeping abreast of current and new Health Care Financing (HCF) issues in Nigeria and those emerging from USAID/Washington and global technical fora in HCF, and provide recommendations on options in shaping USAID health programs in this area.
• These issues will include, at minimum, strategies for financing Universal Health Care (UHC) , health insurance scheme reforms, private health insurance and prepaid schemes, new policy developments, and major costing models and analytical tools used for planning, budgeting, financing and formulation of national policy/strategy.
• Produce economic analyses and costing reports for the Nigerian health sector as needed to achieve USAID/Nigeria’s development objectives and to support implementation of USAID/Nigeria’s other health sector development programs.
• This may include responsibilities such as tracking annual resource mobilizations by the GON and other donors, as well as the USG, in support of implementation of national strategic plans.
• Serve as an active member and lead in this area for the HPN Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) Team and for the USAID Health Implementation Plan (HIP) and other planning, budgeting, and oversight process, serving as a liaison between HPN and relevant experts within USAID/Washington Bureaus, as well as working with other USG agencies (CDC, DOD, DOS, etc.) to ensure a common understanding and approach to HCF, related private sector engagement, and achievement of UHC.
• Represent USAID/Nigeria at various fora: at coordination meetings with USG implementing partners, donors, Government of Nigeria representatives and USG agencies; through stakeholder for a and technical working groups; and at international conference events requiring technical representation of USAID/Nigeria’s strategic and programmatic interests in these areas.
• Coordinate with other donors, international agencies, and GON counterparts working on HCF issues, including through technical working groups as well as through policy engagement with senior Ministry of Health and other GON leaders.

Program Management 45%
The HCF Specialist will serve as activity manager with program technical abilities for specific HCF-related contracts and grants. Specific duties may include:

• Lead and/or participate in the development and management of HCF and private sector acquisition and assistance mechanisms, including coordination, management and reporting of all actions and functions required to support key activities and programs.
• This includes advising HPN and implementing partners to ensure timely and effective planning, implementation and monitoring/evaluation of programs and initiatives required to achieve stated goals and targets.
• Develop scopes of work/program descriptions, budgets, and work schedules for solicitations.
• Provide technical input on implementing partners’ annual work plans, reviewing and approving these work plans and other key deliverables.
• Monitor implementation progress, ensuring that actions are completed on schedule or are adjusted to meet changing conditions, and making routine visits to project sites.
• Review performance reports to ensure that partners are in compliance with bilateral government agreements and with the performance expectations outlined in their work plan and in their contract/agreement with USAID.
• Monitor disbursements, certifying contractor’s invoices, maintaining up-to-date records of project disbursements and expenditures, and reviewing and managing project pipelines.
• Ensure that implementing partners are in compliance with all relevant USAID and USG regulations and procedures.
• Work with project technical leads and project coordinators to identify opportunities to implement health economics (including costing and cost-effectiveness) analyses in HPN portfolio of programs.
• Collaborate with HPN team members to develop and implement finance and economic components into existing and future health projects.
• Provide leadership to develop and conduct areas of operations research on health care finance and economic topics through USAID projects.
• Work closely with USAID staff involved in health system strengthening and health service delivery activities support those activities and ensure the integration of healthcare finance with the programs.
• S/he will also support other CORs/AORs and Activity managers as deemed appropriate by the HPN Director or his/her designee

Area of Consideration:

• Nigerians and all individuals eligible to work in Nigeria with a valid Work permit.

Physical Demands:

• The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

Minimum Qualifications Required for this Position

• Education: Minimum of a Master's Degree in Public Health, International Health, Economics, or a relevant Social Science.
• Prior Work Experience: A minimum of 7-10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in health systems strengthening with emphasis on health care financing and private sector programming and policy development in Nigeria is required.
• Language Proficiency: (Level IV (fluent) English language proficiency is required. The incumbent must possess a high degree of proficiency in both written and spoken English.
• Excellent written communication skills in English are required to prepare regular and ad hoc reports, activity documentation and briefing papers.

Job Knowledge:

• Familiarity with public health programming in Nigeria, data collection, analysis and presentation is required.
• Thorough Knowledge of Nigeria public sector health system, donor health financing and programming, private sector issues and strategic directions under the devolved health system is required.
• General knowledge of USAID procedures, laws and regulations, as well as USAID budgeting and reporting requirements is highly desirable.

Skills and Abilities:

• Advanced specialist knowledge of health financing, prepayment mechanisms, and policy formulation. Demonstrated management skills and technical leadership capacity to effectively guide and oversee USAID strategic investments in these areas.
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills to establish and maintain effective contacts within USAID; the USG interagency; USG implementing partners; relevant GON counterparts at federal, state, and local levels; other donors; the private sector; and civil society organizations.
• Excellent analytical, writing and organizational skills required.
• Strong initiative to obtain, evaluate, and interpret factual data and to prepare concise, accurate, and complete reports, as well as to recognize significant developments and data trends. Excellent technical writing skills.
• Competence in using various computer software applications including Microsoft Office programs.
• The incumbent must be able to work in a demanding and often high-stress environment to meet deadlines or ensure inter-agency engagement and consensus. Must be a self-starter with strong diplomatic and leadership qualities.
• Sound judgment combined with a mature and professional demeanor is required.