Fellowship: Africa Regional Malaria Advisor

in Fellowships
March 28th, 2016

Africa Regional Malaria AdvisorTechnical Advisor IIHealth Division, Office of Sustainable Development, Bureau for Africa, United States Agency for International Development

Location: Washington, DC | Assignment: Two Year Fellowship | GHFP-II-P5-196

 

The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with Global Health Corps, GlobeMed, Management Systems International and PYXERA Global. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).GHFP-II’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by addressing the Agency’s immediate and emerging human capacity needs. The program seeks to accomplish this goal first through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels. These program participants include fellows, interns, corporate volunteers and Foreign Service National professionals. The program then provides substantial performance management and career development support to participants, including annual work planning assistance, and ensures that professional development opportunities are available.Looking to the future, GHFP-II also seeks to establish a pool of highly-qualified global health professionals that will ensure the Agency’s ongoing technical leadership and effectiveness. This objective is supported by an extensive outreach program that brings global health opportunities and specialized career advice to a diverse range of interested individuals, with a particular focus on those underrepresented in the field of global health.

 

BACKGROUND

 

The Office of Sustainable Development (SD) in the Bureau for Africa (AFR) provides: strategic guidance and intellectual leadership to AFR; conducts economic, social and political analyses critical to the development of AFR policies, strategies, budgets and activities; manages and/or coordinates three Presidential and two Agency Initiatives; and provides technical services to AFR’s field missions. In carrying out these functions, SD serves as the Bureau’s principal liaison with African and international partners, US Government (USG) sister agencies, the private sector, universities, and the Private Voluntary Organization (PVO)/Non-governmental Organization (NGO) community.
AFR/SD’s Health Team has an annual budget of approximately $14 million, which includes the management of activities that support African capacity development and improving the quality, availability and access to health services for Africa’s most vulnerable populations. The Division works across all health sectors, including maternal and child health (MCH), reproductive health, health systems strengthening (HSS), and infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. The Health Division works in close collaboration with other USAID Pillar Bureaus, including the Bureau for Global Health (GH) and the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, in activities such as coordinating strategic and technical support to USAID missions, program reviews and assessments, and staff development. It also works closely with African and donor partners such as the World Health Organization’s Africa Regional Office (WHO AFRO), the World Bank and UNICEF.One of the presidential initiatives that AFR supports is the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) managed out of the Global Health Bureau. PMI was launched in June 2005 as a 5-year, $1.2 billion initiative to: a) rapidly scale up malaria prevention and treatment interventions and; b) reduce malaria related mortality by 50% in 15 high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa. With passage of the 2008 Lantos-Hyde Act, funding for PMI was extended and, as part of the GHI, the goal of PMI was adjusted to reduce malaria related mortality by 70% in the original 15 countries by the end of 2015. The current PMI Strategy, spanning 2015 – 2020, has three goals: 1) Reduce malaria mortality by one-third from 2015 levels in PMI-supported countries, achieving a greater than 80% reduction from PMI’s original 2000 baseline levels; 2) Reduce malaria morbidity in PMI-supported countries by 40% from 2015 levels; 3) Assist at least five PMI-supported countries to meet the WHO criteria for national or sub-national pre-elimination.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The Africa Regional Malaria Advisor (Advisor) will be based on the Health Team of AFR/SD and will serve as a core member of the AFR Team supporting PMI in USAID and the PMI inter-agency working group. S/he will also provide guidance and technical support to the AFR, missions and PMI staff assigned to AFR.  The Advisor will also provide guidance and support to the broader health portfolio of AFR, including activity management and helping to integrate malaria with other health and development programs. The Advisor will receive technical guidance from the Deputy Chief, Africa Bureau, Office of Sustainable Development who will serve as their onsite manager.

 

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

 

The Africa Regional Malaria Advisor will be responsible for:
Serving as a PMI Health Team country backstop and liaison with GH and other USG counterparts:

  • Providing technical advice and support to one or more PMI country programs (including francophone or lusophone countries as relevant), supporting implementation of evidence-based malaria prevention and control interventions.
  • Serving as AFR regional backstop for Mission health programs, acting as a resource for health teams in Missions and as a liaison to AFR staff such as desk officers.
  • Supporting PMI interagency country teams and USAID Mission health teams through the provision of technical and policy guidance, consulting on and reviewing strategies, program designs,  malaria operational plans, health operational plans, and reporting documents related to PMI  and other health priorities.
  • Assessing country-specific malaria data, activities and plans, and collaborating with the Ministry of Health and other partner organizations to assist in the design of national strategies that reach a high percentage of the most vulnerable populations with effective and comprehensive interventions ensuring rapid implementation of large scale interventions in PMI designated countries.

Strategic communication, planning, and reporting:

  • Contributing to the writing, editing, and publication of planning documents, strategic plans, and annual reports such as the PMI annual report or other public documents that communicate malaria’s role within USAID’s broader health and development efforts in Africa.
  • Collaborating with and liaising between the PMI and AFR communications teams to develop key messages for internal and external audiences by writing press releases, maintaining and updating the PMI and AFR websites, and contributing to Twitter and blog posts.
  • Participating in the development and presentation of portfolio reviews for senior management.
  • Developing briefers and/or other communication materials, including presentation materials to describe activities and results of USAID’s malaria and health interventions to non-health experts.
  • Participating in formulating responses to Congressional inquiries or requests.
  • Providing other communication, strategy, and reporting support to the AFR Health and PMI Teams as needed.

 

Serving as a technical resource on malaria programs for PMI and the Africa Bureau:

  • Providing technical assistance and guidance to the malaria portfolio in the Africa Bureau in conjunction with other AFR Health Team members.
  • Participating on one or more PMI interagency technical working groups to advance global and PMI malaria technical policy and guidance.
  • Collaborating closely with colleagues from the GH and other USG agencies on malaria issues fundamentally important to the African context, including participating in policy meetings.
  • Serving as an activity manager for malaria related activities within AFR’s portfolio of programs, including liaising with WHO AFRO, African Union, and other partners as relevant.
  • Reviewing and analyzing regional and country data, in collaboration with various analytic units and supporting the development of strategies for translating data into actionable interventions.
  • Participating in consultations and working groups with colleagues from across USAID and the USG on new malaria activities, requests and initiatives that impact USAID health and development programs in Africa.
  • Engaging with technical and programmatic staff within USAID, and other agencies in the USG, WHO, UNICEF, World Bank and other UN agencies and bilateral organizations on strategic malaria health priorities to promote African leadership, capacity and improved coordination in Africa.
  • Participating in relevant international meetings and conferences.

International and domestic travel approximately 25%.

TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (7%)

  • Keeping abreast of current literature, policies, frameworks, research, and latest developments in the fields of malaria and health programming.
  • Deepening knowledge of malaria interventions, policies and programming.
  • Improving communication, writing, and presentation skills to relay critical health and development messages to non-health audience.
  • Participating in interagency and intra-agency working groups as appropriate to the scope of work.
  • Participating in professional continuing education and skills training within the purview of GHFP-II.

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

  • Master’s degree or higher in public health, health sciences or a related discipline.
  • Minimum five (5) years’ experience in the design, implementation and evaluation of public health programs, with malaria program experience preferred, with at least two (2) years’ experience in an international or resource challenged setting.
  • Experience in conducting analysis and evaluation of technical and programmatic aspects of proposals and programs.
  • Field-based health and development experience, especially in the context of working with communities.
  • Excellent analytical, written and oral communication skills, including demonstrated publication and/or presentation skills.
  • Experience working with or familiarity in analyzing routine public health data systems and sources used for surveillance, reporting, and decision making at the international and country level.
  • Broad knowledge of African countries and specific knowledge of their relationship to US policy guidelines, including perspective on their historical relationship in the health sciences with the United States.
  • Understanding of programs and organizational aspects of major international donors, multilateral agencies, and NGOs/PVOs supporting the social sector, with a focus that includes malaria or other infectious diseases. Experience with USAID programming, budgeting, and evaluation functions and procedures, both in USAID/Washington and in USAID Missions, is preferred.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team, including cross-cultural teams.
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a dynamic environment.
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently, exercise sound professional judgment to problem solve, and to make strategic decisions.
  • Ability to travel internationally.
  • Working proficiency in French and/or Portuguese required.
  • US citizenship required.

 

SALARY AND BENEFITS

 

Salary based on commensurate experience and earnings history. The Public Health Institute offers a comprehensive benefits package including professional development programs.

 

TO APPLY

 

All applicants are required to apply for this position through GHFP-II’s online recruitment system at https://www.ghfp.net/recruitment/, which allows you to store your CV, profile and bio data form in our database. A separate cover letter describing your qualifications and experience, interest and familiarity with issues relating to this position, and how this position relates to your career goals is required for each application. All online applications must be submitted by April 22, 2016 by 5:00 pm Eastern time. We are proud to be an EEO/AA Employer.