Senior Program Associate - Market Shaping at Results for Development (R4D)

MSP projects include:

• Transforming markets for maternal, newborn, and child health medicines and devices
• Identifying underlying market challenges and opportunities to address severe acute malnutrition
• Co-creating advocacy and market-shaping roadmaps to scale up multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) for improved maternal nutrition and reduced risks of adverse birth outcomes.

This position is based in Abuja, Nigeria, and will report to the Market Shaping Senior Program Officer based in Nigeria.

About the Market Shaping Practice:

How do we increase access to a cheap drug that could save millions of children’s lives yet remains widely unavailable in certain markets? This is among the unique and powerful questions R4D’s Market Shaping practice answers on a daily basis. Using practical and business-driven approaches -- from increasing market transparency to increase manufacturers’ engagement, to improving demand forecasting to prevent stockouts, to increasing competition to lower prices, to developing purchasing and value chain strategies, and to crafting cost-effectiveness and financing gap analyses -- our work ensures that millions of lives are saved and improved in a sustainable manner through more efficient markets essential health, nutrition and education products.

If our work ignites your imagination, we’d love to tell you more and explore how we can work together!

As a Market Shaping Senior Program Associate on this high-impact team, you will

Provide day-to-day project support

• Conduct in-depth qualitative and quantitative research and analyses, including critical review of literature and interviews with experts, to identify bottlenecks in public and private essential commodity markets primarily in Nigeria

• Support design of market shaping solutions via hypothesis-driven approach to develop recommendations for global, country and state level stakeholders

• Help to develop analytic and written deliverables that synthesize information effectively and communicate key findings and policy recommendations from research and analyses to internal and external audiences

• Execute project workplans and activities in a high-quality and timely manner.

Internal and External Partner Engagement

• Engage extensively and effectively with diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, procurers, policymakers, healthcare providers, implementing partners and private sector entities

Operations

• Help identify creative ways to expand current work in Nigeria and support the development of relevant products, in close coordination with the rest of the Nigeria team.

• Assist in the development of knowledge management and communication strategies to promote the dissemination and uptake of R4D’s work in Nigeria

You’re a great fit if you are:

• Genuinely passionate about markets-based approaches to drive sustainable impact

• A strong communicator with excellent interpersonal skills, able to vary one’s style based on the audience and distill complex concepts into clear messaging.

• Energized by managing and executing on complex projects in global contexts, specifically in low- and middle-income countries

• Highly analytical, and a structured and creative problem solver

• Enthusiastic about working within a culturally diverse tea

• Collaborative, approachable, and invested in enabling a positive working environment

• Willing to travel domestically and internationally, per project need.

Your experience should include:

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, nutrition, pharmaceutical sciences, economics, international development, or other related field of study

• Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience in public health related to healthcare or nutrition markets or health or nutrition systems (OR, an MA in related field of study plus 1 year of relevant work experience).

• Public, non-profit, or private sector experience in health / nutrition commodity supply, quantification, procurement, financing, or regulation preferred, but not required.

• Demonstrated track record of analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, and independently developing analytical products.

• Ability to think and solve problems in a structured and logical manner.

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders in multicultural environments.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including demonstrated ability to develop compelling presentations and written reports.

• Significant experience in Nigeria strongly preferred, including experience working at state-level Nigerian public health / nutrition sector such as the Federal and State Ministries of Health, State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) or equivalent, Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency (DMCSA), State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN), or similar.

• Previous experience monitoring supply of commodities in the public-sector health/nutrition system, and/or experience in national quantification activities is preferred

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team, and deliver high-quality results within a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

• Demonstrated ability to work and collaborate with colleagues both in-person and remotely (e.g., US).

• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.