Health Systems Strengthening Specialist at RTI International

Duties and Responsibilities

Technical guidance and management support to national NTD programming:

1. Provide technical advice to Act | East country teams and government counterparts on the mainstreaming of NTD programming into national health and planning processes
2. Ensure programs are designed towards sustainably achieving national NTD goals, consistent with global technical guidance for health systems strengthening and sustainability. For this position the emphasis will be on governance, policy and planning, financing (including basket funding), and multisectoral coordination mechanisms.
3. Design and lead strategies to assist countries to assess their progress toward sustainability, and identify gaps, strategies and approaches for HSS mainstreaming and sustainability.
4. Ensure sustainability strategies and activities are aligned and/or linked with individual NTD disease strategies and priorities.
5. Promote strengthening of cross‐sector collaboration on NTDs in countries, based on the country context, including with education, water, sanitation, hygiene, and maternal and child health to maximize efficiency and effectiveness of NTD-related resources.
6. Provide matrix management of field-based Act | East HSS advisors in assigned priority countries.
7. Play a dynamic role in proactively identifying potential implementation bottlenecks, key decision processes and decision-makers, and helping to expedite implementation of HSS and sustainability measures as per relevant USAID and Act | East guidance and strategies,  annual work plans and country sustainability plans.
8. Ensure activities to support the sustainability of NTD interventions are included in assigned country workplans and adequately budgeted. Prepare or contribute to project reports and define budgets for health system strengthening activities.

Global Technical Leadership:

1. Lead technical guidance in assigned area(s) of expertise within HSS (e.g., Governance and related areas noted above) and effectively coordinate with other team members in other HSS technical areas.
2. Lead or contribute to development of technical and policy briefs, technical reports, abstracts for conferences, peer-reviewed journal articles, etc. 
3. Contribute to global technical guidance and other scientific stature and technical leadership activities.

Project level management support

1. Lead or contribute to the implementation of the Act|East HSS and sustainability strategy
2. Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with the broader Act | East team, donor/client organizations, relevant government agencies, bilateral projects and others.
3. Engage in identification of opportunities for partnership leading to cost share and elevating technical profile of Act | East.
4. As HSS focal person for an assigned group of countries, represent the HSS team in the cross-functional team meetings for those countries; provide timely technical and management support for planning, budgeting and implementation monitoring for HSS activities for the countries.
5. Support client-required reporting and ensure knowledge management and documentation of effective application of HSS tools and resources to NTD programs

Other

1. Consistent with agreed time allocation on this primary assignment, contribute to other RTI GHD initiatives such as business development, short-term technical assistance to other projects, etc.

Requirements

Education and Experience:

1. At least a Master’s degree in public health, international development, public policy, or related field.
2. Minimum of 10 years’ global and in‐country experience in implementation of health systems strengthening programs and/or policy reform and domestic resource mobilization, preferably addressing cross-sector issues.
3. Demonstrated experience in successfully designing and implementing robust HSS programs in a developing country context, with technical expertise in one or more of the following areas (generally in order of priority): governance, policy and planning, financing (including basket funding, universal health coverage and design of benefits packages), multisectoral coordination mechanisms  and/or related areas of health system strengthening.
4. Demonstrated experience producing written products, including conference abstracts, presentations and reports, in areas related to HSS and/or NTDs.
5. Demonstrated experience implementing HSS programs that incorporate non‐health sector and/or other health sector programs and services.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

1. Demonstrated capacity to operate within the HSS community and function as a technical advisor on diverse matters related to HSS in developing countries.
2. Demonstrated management, leadership, decision making, and interpersonal skills.
3. Full professional proficiency in English with excellent oral and written communications skills required;  proficiency in French preferred.
4. 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. This should include a record of successfully influencing opinion leaders and policy-making processes to achieve desired goals and objectives.
5. Willingness and ability to travel internationally and domestically, as required.
6. This position is not eligible for international allowances.