The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. For more information, please visit: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

In 2006, CHAI signed an MOU with the Government of Malawi to strengthen health systems in the most challenged districts, provide national support to HIV/AIDS drug pricing and programmatic work, support the pilot and scale-up of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) initiatives, expand access to ART for children, strengthen Malawi’s lab system, and scale-up an integrated nutrition program for children. Since then, CHAI’s support to the Malawi Ministry of Health (MoH) has expanded to include health workforce and financing; sexual, reproductive maternal and newborn health; eHealth; infectious diseases; and noncommunicable diseases.

Position Overview:

CHAI Malawi’s work is organized into major programmatic clusters. We are seeking an Associate Director to lead the Universal Health Coverage and Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health (UHC & SRMNH) cluster, which includes a diverse set of programs to strengthen the health system as Malawi progressively moves towards UHC, and to improve access to and quality of SRMNH services. The programs in this cluster are designed around core health system building blocks, and also focus on strengthening and expanding the SRMNH service delivery system as a mechanism to build the health system. CHAI’s support to the Ministry of Health (MoH) through these programs focuses on provision of technical assistance to build an evidence-base to improve national policies, and strengthen planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs, in particular through:

• Expanding the coverage of SRMNH services, with specific programs to (1) scale up secondary prevention of cervical cancer, and (2) expand access to family planning products and services;
• Designing and implementing policies and practical tools to strengthen the health system, including programs to: (1) drive sustainable financing for Malawi’s health sector and ensure efficient use of resources to improve access to, and quality of, health services; (2) promote multi-sectoral collaboration for health; and (3) strengthen district health systems, including planning, budgeting, and aid coordination.

The Associate Director (AD) reports to the Country Director and manages a high-achieving team of approximately 15 individuals to achieve multiple deliverables across the different programs. The AD provides leadership and strategic thinking around program direction, ensures high quality program deliverables, manages human resources within the cluster, and oversees a wide-range of internal and external partnerships. The AD will need to take a broad view and ensure effective linkages and synergies among the programs in this cluster, and between clusters in the office. The AD is also a member of the Senior Management Team, which makes decisions for the CHAI Malawi office as a whole, and ensures effective linkage and reporting between the CHAI Malawi office and the relevant CHAI global teams and program donors. Lastly, the AD is responsible for providing strategic direction and ensuring the coordination of resource mobilization efforts across the CHAI Malawi office, as well as technical leadership in the development of proposals and concept notes for new initiatives that pertain to the work of the UHC & SRMNH cluster.

This is a challenging, but rewarding position, which will have direct impact on the health sector in Malawi. It is an opportunity to work closely with a government that has made a commitment to UHC. The AD will benefit from working with a strong internal team, and building on the deep and dynamic relationships that CHAI Malawi has cultivated with the MoH. CHAI Malawi is dynamic, ambitious, energetic, and guided constantly by our values, including our desire to create transformative change. The position requires flexibility, creativity, and a willingness to take on new challenges and opportunities as they emerge.

The AD will have overall responsibilities for all programs in the UHC & SRMNH cluster, with specific responsibilities that include:

People Management

• Manage a team of highly motivated, and high-performing individuals with diverse work and educational backgrounds and work with HR to lead and support talent management initiatives, succession planning and provision of continuous feedback and capacity building to staff;
• Provide support to HR and assist in the process of hiring, promotion, and teambuilding to ensure effective team staffing, administration and performance in a multicultural environment.

Program Management

• Oversee and coordinate activities across multiple work streams, managing communication with CHAI global support teams, and ensuring monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements to program donors are met;
• Promote effective communication within the UHC & SRMNH cluster in order to ensure well-coordinated work streams and external communications to partners;
• Support program managers in the cluster in their strategic planning, budgeting, and problem-solving and oversee project performance against work plans and budget;
• Support program implementation and execution of data-driven interventions and guide evidence-based decision-making regarding policies, guidelines, and program operations;
• Provide technical guidance and oversee quality of deliverables and ensure that communications and work products that are shared externally meet CHAI standards;
• Ensure effective documentation and knowledge management within the programs.

Technical Assistance and Relationship Management

• Maintain expertise in the technical areas included in the cluster in order to provide effective technical guidance to program teams and the Malawi government;
• Provide in-depth and high-quality technical assistance to government, including driving strategic discussions and decisions, and making technical contributions to national policies, strategies, plans, guidelines and programs;
• Develop and manage key relationships with senior government and nongovernmental stakeholders;
• Represent the CHAI Malawi office at local and international meetings, as designated by the Country Director.

Resource Mobilization, New Initiatives and Grant Management

• Provide strategic direction and coordination for resource mobilization efforts across the CHAI Malawi office, as well as for scoping of new initiatives;
• Provide support in identifying strategic areas for expansion or redirection of office priorities and guide strategic planning or proposal development as needed;
• Develop proposals and concept notes for new initiatives of relevance to the UHC & SRMNH cluster;
• Work closely with the Finance Manager in grant management, including in development and implementation of tools and processes to support work planning, budgeting, execution, and monitoring and reporting of programmatic progress;
• Provide direct support to Program Managers in the UHC & SRMNH cluster in grant management and tracking of programmatic budgets and expenditure.

Office Management

• Participate in Senior Management Team meetings and functions and provide strategic guidance and support on issues that affect the CHAI Malawi office;
• Provide support in hosting global visitors and facilitate effective use of their time by ensuring that there are clear TORs of the visit with deliverables;
• Perform any other tasks assigned by the Country Director.

• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as public health, public policy, international development;
• At least eight years of working experience in the private or public sector, with increasing levels of responsibility, and demonstrated team management and leadership experience;
• Strong knowledge of public health programs and approaches in resource-limited settings; a focus on health systems strengthening, UHC and SRMNH is an advantage;
• Strong program management experience including managing and recruiting teams, developing and evaluating budgets, creating and implementing work plans, and monitoring both program and staff performance;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to present a case persuasively;
• Natural ability to build strategic relationships and interact with individuals of different backgrounds;
• Experience working directly with senior government counterparts and development partners;
• Strategic thinker and problem-solver; able to think creatively around long-term program objectives and the detailed steps necessary to achieve these goals;
• Ability to multi-task and to be effective in high-pressure situations, and able to adapt to fast-paced and changing environments, both internally and externally;
• Ability to work independently on complex projects and solve challenging problems with limited structural or operational support;
• Experience in resource mobilization and strategy development;
• Experience developing national policies and strategic plans;
• Strong qualitative and quantitative analytical skills and technical proficiency with MS Excel and PowerPoint;
• English language fluency, both written and verbal.

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