Associate, Malaria Vector Control at Clinton Health Access Initiative

Program (Division): Infectious Disease - Global Malaria

Overview

• The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. - 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 (e.g. bed nets and indoor residual spraying) reduce human contact with disease-carrying mosquitoes and are responsible for an estimated 78% of the decline of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa since 2000. Vector control programs often comprise the largest proportion of a malaria program’s budget; thus, ensuring that these tools are appropriately targeted, implemented, and monitored is incredibly important against a backdrop of rising commodity costs and declining financial resources.
• CHAI supports National Malaria Control Programs (NMCPs) around the world by providing analytical, operational, and management expertise to help countries optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of vector control interventions, including campaigns, to achieve maximal health impact.
• CHAI is seeking an Associate to provide technical and operational assistance in support of malaria vector control programs in CHAI focus countries across sub-Saharan Africa. CHAI is supporting national malaria programs across the spectrum of vector control execution, including operational microplanning, targeting, timing, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and using data for decision-making.
• This role would involve supporting CHAI regional and country associates on topics related to campaign implementation, such as planning, procurement, training, deployment, and M&E.
• This role is global, and will backstop regional and country staff across all CHAI geographies.
• The position requires a highly motivated individual with outstanding analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills.
• S/he must exhibit a passion for results and commitment to excellence.
• The candidate must have excellent communication 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 the following qualities in its staff: resourcefulness, responsibility, patience, tenacity, humility, independence, energy, and work ethic.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted adviser to CHAI country teams and regional technical leads, and 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, indoor residual spraying, and larval source management, 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 roll-outs
• Support robust M&E of vector control interventions, including capturing meaningful indicators in clear forms, analyzing the data in a timely manner, and applying the data to decisions
• Review evidence and determine appropriate approaches and strategies for improving operations through digitization. Facilitate digitization efforts in appropriate contexts, including in data planning, collection, and analysis, as well as remuneration of campaign workers. In settings where campaign digitization is undertaken, work with CHAI staff and country programs to identify and resolve operational barriers to digitization
• Assist country teams and national programs with translating evidence, current research, and normative guidelines on vector control into practical programmatic and field operations
• Support country teams to evaluate research on evidence of new intervention products and roll out of complementary interventions such as larval source management, as appropriate
• Support CHAI country programs with commodity and resource quantifications, targeting, and waste management plans
• Support CHAI country teams with translating results of M&E data analysis to national and sub-national government partners to support evidence-based decision-making, and disseminating findings through high-quality and clear presentations, reports, and publications
• Scope innovative approaches to increasing efficiency and effectiveness of vector control implementation
• Assist country teams to develop and updating detailed operational plans, operating procedures, and associated training materials related to vector control, in order to build government capacity and improve effective execution of malaria programs
• Proactively develop and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders working on vector control campaigns across government and non-governmental organizations
• Represent CHAI at relevant working groups and meetings to provide appropriate technical support as necessary
• Support the continuous development and refinement of the CHAI Vector Control Strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor or Master’s Degree in Biology, Social Sciences, Business, Public Health, or a related field
• 2 - 3 years of relevant work experience
• Able to travel frequently (up to 60% of time) and extensively across sub-Saharan Africa
• 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 both independently and collaboratively 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
• Enthusiasm for working in a fast-paced and multicultural environment
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and act upon technical information, and to translate new information into actionable insights for decision-making.

Advantages:

• An MPH or MS in public health, or experience working in public health, particularly international health/health policy and management
• Direct experience working on vector control implementation
• Experience working in developing countries, particularly on health related issues
• Familiarity with digital tools and applications that are relevant for public health
• Experience working remotely with a decentralized team
• Experience working with governments and institutions, especially from Sub-Saharan Africa
• French language skills.