Technical Assistant / Health Economist for Lagos State Ministry of Health at Health Systems Consult Limited (HSCL)

Reports to: The Lagos State Honourable Commissioner for Health and, the Project Manager (Abuja) for HSCL
Duration:  1 year (Renewable)

Project Background

• The Strategic Planning Unit of the Lagos State Ministry of Health undertakes various studies and research work for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the state’s health system. These ongoing studies and research are conducted with the help of local and international partners, and findings directly feed into the formulation of strategies and decision making.
• One of the key mandates of the SPU is to develop investment cases for health that communicate health benefits in terms that are appreciated by health, budget, and finance ministries, partners, and other stakeholders.
• The unit also provides support for strategic planning for health, creation of appropriate roles for the private sector and efficient resource allocation within the public sector.

Job Summary

• The Health Economist will provide technical assistance to the Strategic Planning Unit of the Ministry, ensuring that all stakeholders and their inputs are harmonized to deliver on their mandate.
• In addition, he will support capacity building of members of the Strategic Planning Unit as well as other relevant staff of the Ministry of Health.

Working directly under the close supervision and guidance of the Honourable Commissioner for Health, the health economist will:

• Play the leading role in conducting economic analyses and providing evidence for the public health initiatives proposed by the Strategic Planning Unit.
• Coordinate the studies for the analysis of the impact of user fees versus health insurance on health care utilization in facilities and its implications, with equity analysis focused on utilization bywomen, vulnerable groups, and children.
• Analyse the adequacy and allocation pattern of resources in the sector (especially for drugs and maintenance) and make recommendations for enhancing value for money.
• Provide project management support for various programs being implemented by the Ministry of Health and contribute to identifying bottlenecks and proposing corrective steps to achieve the expected outcomes.
• Support the Ministry of Health to build business cases for health through cost- effectiveness and/or cost-benefit analyses, and to conduct an analysis of the impact of health investments on key health indices (mortality and morbidity) and non-health indices (education, economic productivity, security etc).
• Support the Strategic Planning Unit in conducting scenario modelling to visualize’ the expected direction and magnitude of changes resulting from proposed reforms, reveal crucial trade-offs associated with choices and estimate the cost implications of reform initiatives.
• Take on an active role in the monitoring and evaluation of projects and provide progress updates on the various project components to the team (highlighting achievements and areas for improvement), regularly update monitoring indicators of the projects based on the project data and study outcomes, periodically prepare reports (using data generated by the projects) which will be used for policy purposes and to strengthen data collection methods.
• Provide periodic reports on the progress and status of all assigned tasks and carry out any other tasks so assigned in pursuance of these objectives.

Requirements

• A master’s degree in Health Economics, Public Health, Public Policy, Statistics, or related field.
• Minimum 7 years’ experience in the health sector and in health economics- related reviews.
• Strong economic, statistical, and econometric skills, including experience with detailed, high-level data sampling and analysis.
• Sound communication and technical writing skills.
• Good knowledge of the Nigerian and state health systems and key health system actors.
• Possession of cognate experience in providing technical assistance to the government at national or sub-national levels would be an advantage.
• Ability to initiate and effectively manage policy reforms, especially in the development space.
• Good interpersonal relationship skills.
• Consistently approach work with integrity, energy, and optimism.
• Proven ability to set priorities, multi-task, work independently and deliver results with limited supervision