The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.

CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.

At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication, and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture.

Program and Position Overview

CHAI is working with the Government of Malawi and a consortium of partners to develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate a robust program for strengthening maternal and newborn health (MNH) services and improving MNH outcomes. This MNH initiative will focus on operationalizing priority interventions during antenatal care, labour and delivery, and newborn care targeted at the primary drivers of maternal and neonatal mortality and stillbirths. Under this project, CHAI staff will work closely with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and implementing partners to implement evidence-based strategies that will improve the availability of quality MNH commodities; increase the number, competency, and skill-mix of the MNH workforce; reinforce MNH data in national health information systems; support maternity and neonatal unit infrastructure development; and strengthen referrals and emergency transport for obstetric and newborn emergencies.

CHAI Malawi seeks a Nursing and Midwifery Advisor as part of the Technical Team that is being established to guide the implementation of this MNH initiative. Based in Lilongwe, the Nursing and Midwifery Advisor will work closely with the Government of Malawi to address the primary drivers of maternal and neonatal mortality across high-burden districts. The Nursing and Midwifery Advisor will report to CHAI’s Director of Programs and Health Systems Strengthening. This role will provide strategic direction, coordination, and support for nursing and midwifery strategies across intended program objectives. It will also serve as a liaison between the program consortium and Ministry of Health and Sanitation, ensuring alignment between planned activities and Government of Malawi priorities.

Objective One: Invest in the scale-up of evidence-based interventions to address the primary drivers of maternal mortality, stillbirths, and neonatal mortality in high-burden facilities

• Provide technical, coordination, and logistical support to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, CHAI and other implementing partners to facilitate the roll-out of prioritized MNH interventions (e.g. point-of-care ultrasound, group antenatal care, digital intrapartum monitoring, and midwifery models of care) in at least 64 high-burden health facilities across targeted districts, including supporting the completion of the comprehensive health facility assessment.
• Provide technical, coordination, and logistical support to facilitate the national scale up of key MNH interventions, including the postpartum haemorrhage bundle and additional equipment for Level 2 newborn care at high-burden hospitals.

Objective Two: Increase the availability and use of quality priority MNH commodities

• Support the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and CHAI to introduce new prioritized commodities (e.g. detection drapes and caffeine citrate), in liaison with professional associations, including providing technical, coordination, and logistical support to facilitate the review and incorporation of new commodities into national essential medicine list, policy frameworks and guidelines.
• Work with Ministry of Health and Sanitation Departments and partners to advocate for increased financing of MNH commodities, including aligning funding and leveraging matched funding opportunities.
• Collaborate with CHAI to provide technical, coordination, and logistical support and ensure Ministry of Health and Sanitation oversight of other program activities focused on improving quantification, forecasting, procurement, and governance for MNH commodities at the national and district levels and strengthening the prioritization and quality of lifesaving MNH commodities.

Objective Three: Strengthen and expand the quality, number, and distribution of the MNH workforce

• Collaborate with CHAI to support the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and the Department of Treasury in planning for the absorption of health workers hired and trained through the initiative onto the government payroll, including ensuring timely promotions.
• Collaborate with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, regulatory council, training institutions, CHAI, and other stakeholders to support the development of a continuing professional development program for existing neonatal nurses. This will include providing technical, coordination, and logistical support for the development of an evidence-based curriculum for building the capacity of these health workers that incorporates hands-on learning and practical exercises, as well as exploring options for online or hybrid programs.
• Work with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, training institutions, and implementing partners on health workforce target-setting for nursing and midwifery cadres and ensuring alignment between health workforce production and education for these specialists with the country’s need.
• Facilitate the strategic selection of trainees supported by this initiative by facilitating the application of criteria established for selecting trainees.
• Collaborate with the Mentorship Manager and other stakeholders to establish a Central Hospital Mentorship Platform, which is intended to train 80% of health workers in targeted maternity and neonatal units to achieve competencies in antenatal, intrapartum (including safe surgery and anesthesia), and small and sick newborn care in focus districts.
• Provide overall coordination and implementation support to promote the effective implementation of the mentorship program and other health workforce investments through government funding mechanisms, including facilitating robust financial management and monitoring and evaluation of the program.
• Collaborate with CHAI to provide coordination and logistical support and ensure Ministry of Health and Sanitation oversight of other program activities focused on revising the staffing establishment to align with the quantified MNH workforce need and promoting the optimal deployment of graduates through the comprehensive roll-out of the iHRIS.

Objective Four: Strengthen other critical health system enablers, including MNH infrastructure, data and quality improvement, emergency transport and referral systems, and advocacy for greater impact

• Provide technical guidance for the rehabilitation, expansion, and/or construction of targeted health facilities and revision of infrastructure policy frameworks to align with updated neonatal unit norms, including mother-baby neonatal units.
• Provide technical guidance to ensure that key MNH indicators are incorporated into existing Ministry of Health and Sanitation systems and frameworks and that lessons are shared during health sector reviews at the facility, district, zonal and national levels, creating a strong foundation for continuous improvement and scale up.
• Support the mobilization of resources towards core MNH priorities each year by ensuring that these are incorporated into the Ministry of Health and Sanitation’s “One Plan” reform and utilize health sector platforms to highlight resource needs and strengthen mutual accountability and impact across MNH programming.

Cross-cutting program coordination

• Provide overall direction, coordination, and support for nursing and midwifery strategies across intended objectives.
• Ensure communication and coordination in operationalizing the MNH initiative across the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, program governance structures, and implementing partners.
• Support the coordination of monitoring, evaluation, and reporting for program activities across consortium audiences for external and internal audiences.
• Support CHAI’s Program Manager, MNH Investment Plan to coordinate, facilitate, and participate in the program launch meeting, regular Ministry of Health and Sanitation and partner meetings, and annual pause-and-learn sessions for robust implementation and accountability for ongoing implementation
• Provide ongoing oversight of program implementation by conducting quarterly site visits and facilitating annual on-site learning exchanges. This will include collaborating closely with the CHAI team to provide necessary logistic and administrative support to facilitate these visits, learning exchanges, and any other activities required for effective program implementation.
• Contribute to the development of program work plans, budgets, and reporting for internal and external audiences.
• Develop communication materials for the program for internal and external audiences, including presentations and narrative documents as required.
• Lead activity logistics preparation and management in collaboration with the CHAI Finance and Operations teams, including disbursing allowances to meeting participants and ensuring that services such as venue hire, conferencing, printing, etc. are available for activities as relevant.
• Lead preparation of activity budgets and ensure timely liquidation of all activities once completed, in line with CHAI and donor best practices and policies for sound financial management.
• Perform any other relevant duties to support program set-up, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation, as assigned by immediate supervisor and CHAI leadership.

• Master’s degree in nursing and midwifery or similar subject preferred; bachelor's degree with relevant experience will also be considered
• Minimum of four years of professional experience for master’s degree holders and six years of experience for bachelor’s degree holders, preferably in nursing and midwifery or other relevant experience
• Knowledge and experience in health systems programming, particularly in low- and middle-income countries
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
• Strategically minded and able to think creatively about long-term program goals and objectives, and the detailed steps necessary to achieve these goals
• Structured thinker with experience analysing and interpreting complex datasets to identify key trends and to translate them into actionable options for decision-makers
• Strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills and ability to build strategic relationships with government partners, donors, and other stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to deliver excellence in high-pressure situations, set priorities, and adapt to rapidly changing environments
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills without need for extensive structural or operational support
• Strong writer, facilitator, and oral communicator, able to distil and explain complex concepts to varied audiences, with demonstrated skills in report and proposal writing
• Self-motivated and able to lead workstreams with a high degree of independence and autonomy
• Team player with the desire and capacity to effectively coach others, based on the team’s professional development needs and as assigned by the supervisor

Advantages

• Experience supporting governments and donors to make health systems and MNH decisions at the national and subnational levels
• Experience working in resource-limited settings and a multicultural office environment, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Experience in program management, reporting, monitoring, and evaluation for donor-funded initiatives

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