Associate, Malaria

Country
Sierra Leone
City
Freetown
Type
Full Time
Program (Division)
Country Programs - Sierra Leone
Additional Location Description
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Overview

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 Overview

CHAI established its presence in Sierra Leone in 2015, evolving from initial Ebola response assistance into a strategic partner for health systems strengthening, initially focusing on human resources for health and supply chain projects. Building on strong government relationships, CHAI expanded its programs to include sexual and reproductive health, vaccines, assistive technology, geospatial data, medical oxygen, and malaria elimination. This strategy consistently prioritized maximizing sustainable, government-led impact at national scale, with global learning dissemination.

Position Overview

In 2024, CHAI began supporting the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) within the Ministry of Health (MoH). At the outset, CHAI worked with the NMCP to understand strengths and gaps within the malaria programme, the broader health system, and the landscape of partner and donor support. Through a set of technical and operational assessments – including a surveillance assessment, stakeholder consultations, a supply chain landscape assessment, a community health worker (CHW) desk review, and epidemiological analysis – CHAI and the NMCP collaboratively defined priority interventions and milestones to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality. CHAI is now supporting the NMCP to translate these priorities into delivery, with an increasing focus on implementation discipline across the malaria portfolio.

Specifically, Sierra Leone's National Malaria Elimination Strategic Plan (NMESP) 2026–2030 targets a 75% reduction in malaria incidence and mortality compared to the 2024 baseline. The entire population of 9.2 million remains at risk, and integrated vector management (IVM) represents the dominant programmatic investment of the five-year budget. The NMESP deploys a layered vector control strategy: mass long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) campaigns, targeted indoor residual spraying (IRS), and complementary tools including larval source management (LSM) and spatial emanators to tackle residual transmission. Malaria vectors are highly resistant to pyrethroids, necessitating ongoing entomological surveillance and evidence-based insecticide rotation.

CHAI is recruiting a Malaria Vector Control and Prevention Associate who will play a crucial role in supporting Sierra Leone’s NMCP across all IVM pillars. Primarily, this position involves the planning, implementation, and evaluation of spatial emanators across Bonthe Island and Tonkolili Province. More broadly, the Associate will work closely with the NMCP, CHAI teams, and government partners to identify evidence-based solutions aligned with the recently updated National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP) and the Malaria NMESP priorities through analyses of epidemiological and entomological data. The role requires a blend of technical expertise, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement to effectively address malaria control challenges in Sierra Leone. The Associate will report to the CHAI Malaria Program Manager and is based in Freetown, with periodic travel required.

Responsibilities

Program Implementation & Evaluation

  • Lead the finalisation of the spatial emanator study protocol and coordinate its submission for ethical review and regulatory approval; ensure all fieldwork is conducted in strict adherence to the approved protocol.
  • Plan and conduct household surveys and community acceptability interviews across field sites; liaise with relevant stakeholders to ensure protocol compliance throughout implementation.
  • Collaborate with government and partners to identify and prioritize malaria prevention intervention coverage gaps.
  • Rapidly develop and adapt work plans to address emerging challenges with minimal supervision.

Technical Support & Entomological Expertise

  • Collaborate with the NMCP, partners, and research institutes to coordinate entomology surveillance and insecticide resistance monitoring for the spatial emanator evaluation.
  • Provide technical assistance to the NMCP on vector control interventions and entomological surveillance.
  • Conduct rigorous analyses of data – both epidemiological and entomological – to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of vector control strategies.

Strategic Planning, Reporting & Knowledge Management

  • Support the development of programmatic and donor reports, lessons-learned documents, and external communications such as concept notes, peer-reviewed manuscripts, and policy briefs.
  • Contribute to the formulation and drafting of strategic plans, national technical guidelines, operational manuals, and donor proposals as well as stakeholder capacity building.

Stakeholder Engagement & Other Responsibilities

  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with government stakeholders, CHAI teams, and implementing partners.
  • Review and refine data collection tools for malaria vector control, prevention campaigns, and entomological surveillance, ensuring alignment with national reporting requirements and indicators.
  • Oversee the merging and integration of collected data into national repositories; enforce validation rules and quality assurance procedures to maintain data integrity throughout the data management cycle.
  • Identify new opportunities within and beyond the initial project scope, proactively anticipate risks, and propose solutions.
  • Perform any other duties as assigned by management to support CHAI’s malaria program.
Qualifications
  • Candidates must have at least 2 years of relevant professional experience, demonstrating success in managing a diverse portfolio of projects, particularly in malaria vector control.
  • A Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Medical Entomology, or a scientific field is required for this position.
  • Knowledge of entomology and vector control interventions, M&E, or field research coordination in sub-Saharan Africa contexts.
  • Demonstrated strong quantitative and analytical skills paired with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint; experience with electronic data capture platforms (KoboToolbox or equivalent) and DHIS2 is preferred.
  • Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously, deliver high-quality outputs within tight timelines, and work with limited day-to-day supervision.
  • Proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with government counterparts, partners, and colleagues, and to contribute constructively in multi-stakeholder settings.
  • Willingness and ability to travel as required.
  • Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Advantages

  • An advanced degree in a relevant field is strongly preferred and may enhance a candidate's competitiveness for the role.
  • Experience with insecticide resistance bioassays or entomological fieldwork.
  • Direct experience with malaria programmes – specifically within vector control and/or entomology – in Sierra Leone or similar settings.
  • Fluency in Krio or other local languages of Sierra Leone.

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