Health Systems Strengthening Lead, Act to End NTDs at RTI International

Responsibilities

• Responsible for overall management of Act | East’s work to mainstream NTDs into national systems, ensuring that activities are designed towards sustainably achieving national goals for all World Health Organization-identified NTDs.
• Collaborate with USAID’s NTD Division and other implementing partners (including Act | West) to set strategic direction and tactical approaches for HSS across the USAID NTD portfolio.
• Lead the implementation and evolution of Act | East’s HSS strategy based on USAID guidance for assessing countries’ progress toward sustainability and identifying gaps, approaches, and strategies for NTD mainstreaming efforts.
• Provide technical leadership for mainstreaming of NTD programming into national health systems and other relevant policies and processes, including activities to ensure NTD programming is adequately funded and included in national and/or subnational annual budgets, NTD indicators are included and monitored among national health indicators, and national policies are in place to accomplish essential NTD activities.
• Manage project support to selected countries to develop, politically validate, review, and revise (where necessary) NTD sustainability plans.
• Ensure sustainability strategies and activities remain technically sound and are aligned with disease specific strategies and priorities, as well as with appropriate global HSS strategies (e.g., the USAID Vision 2030 for Health Systems Strengthening).
• Supervise select staff and provide expert HSS guidance for the wider Act | East team (both RTI and partner organizations), so that all are more conversant on HSS strategies and can identify opportunities to use the program platform to strengthen health systems.
• Collaborate across the program to monitor and evaluate Act | East’s contribution toward increased sustainability and stronger health systems in Act | East supported countries and globally.
• Oversee technical assistance for areas relating to HSS activities including financing, budgeting, and governance.
• Identify opportunities for cross‐sector collaboration (i.e., education, water, sanitation, hygiene, maternal and child health, and vector control) in line with achieving sustainable programming.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with donor/client organizations, relevant government agencies, bilateral organizations, NGOs, and other key stakeholders working toward strengthening health systems.
• Ensure and lead documentation of the program’s HSS and sustainability work through client-required reporting, communications, and knowledge management. Products may include technical and policy briefs, blogs, webinars, and content for the Act | East website and NTD Toolbox.
• Lead strategic learning for Act | East’s HSS and sustainability work through the Act | East learning agenda and application of USAID’s Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) principles.
• Contribute to global thought leadership related to HSS and sustainability through participation in relevant working groups, contributions to global meetings and conferences to showcase programmatic impacts and key learnings.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, international development, public policy or related field and 15 years or relevant experience or Master’s degree in public health, international development, public policy or related field and 12 years of experience
• 10+ years of global and in‐country experience in implementation of health systems strengthening programs and/or health policy reform, including addressing cross-sector issues
• Progressive experience leading HSS on USAID-funded activities and/or programs
• Demonstrated experience in implementing robust HSS programs in a low-income country context, with technical expertise in one or more of the following areas: policy reform, service coverage, workforce alignment and/or related areas of health system strengthening.
• Demonstrated experience implementing HSS programs that incorporate non‐health sector and/or multi‐health sector programs.

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Demonstrated capacity to operate within the HSS community and function as a leader on diverse matters related to HSS in low and middle-income countries.
• Demonstrated management, leadership, decision making, and interpersonal skills.
• Full professional proficiency in English with excellent oral and written communications skills.
• Demonstrated ability to create and maintain effective working relations with senior government personnel, international organizations, NGO partners, host country governments, and U.S. Government Agencies.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills as well as interpersonal skills.