Country

Rwanda

City

Kigali

Type

Full Time

Program (Division)

Country Programs - Rwanda

Telecommute

No

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

The Government of Rwanda has demonstrated strong leadership and commitment to improving maternal and newborn survival through the Fifth Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP V) 2024–2029. The strategy sets ambitious targets to reduce the maternal mortality ratio from 105 to 60 per 100,000 live births, the neonatal mortality rate from 20 to 15 per 1,000 live births by 2029, the unmet need for family planning from 14% to 8%, and the prevalence of stunting among children under five from 33% to 15% prioritizing quality of care, system performance, and sustainability.

Supporting the national goals, CHAI is partnering with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to strengthen the foundations required for impact at scale. CHAI’s assistance spans access to SRMNH commodities, institutional strengthening, digital and data system enhancement, and workforce capacity development, through government structures.

CHAI will provide technical assistance to the MoH, particularly the Clinical and Public Health Services Department. This support is organized around four complementary areas of work: improving the quality and reliability of care in health facilities; strengthening data and digital systems to enable real-time performance management and evidence-based decisions; advancing workforce capability through institutionalized professional development and mentorship; and reinforcing coordination, governance, and implementation learning to ensure alignment, accountability, and scalability. The Technical advisor will be expected to bring a systems-thinking lens to all four pillars, ensuring synergy across workstreams and coherence with Rwanda's Quality of Care (QoC) agenda and the WHO Quality, Equity, Dignity Network standards

Position Overview

CHAI is seeking a Technical Advisor to be seconded to MoH in the office of the Head of Clinical and Public Health Services Department. The Technical Advisor will provide support for strategic and operational leadership to the Clinical and Public Health Services Department driving systemic improvements in Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) outcomes across the continuum of care.

In this role, the Technical Advisor will lead the translation of national RMNCAH strategy into scalable, durable system improvements — designing frameworks, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring that performance management routines are strengthened for long-term sustainability. The Technical Advisor will draw on deep expertise and strategic acuity to navigate complex institutional environments. The technical Advisor will be expected to engage with high-level policy processes including HSSP V annual reviews, national quality of care summits, and inter ministerial coordination forums on RMNCAH financing and accountability.

Working at the intersection of national policy and frontline delivery, the Technical Advisor will lead a portfolio of cross-cutting interventions and engage with various stakeholders in RMNCAH forums. The Technical Advisor will report to the Director General of Health Quality Services with streamlined reporting to the CHAI Associate Program Director — Women & Children’s Health, and NCDs. The Technical advisor is expected to function with a high degree of autonomy, demonstrating the judgment to represent the MoH's maternal unit at strategic forums and providing technical recommendations backed by evidence.

Strategic Leadership and Program Direction

• Drive the design, refinement, and execution of RMNCAH program strategy at a senior technical level, ensuring coherence with HSSP V goals and the national policy agenda.
• Support the development of multi-year operational frameworks with clear accountability structures, milestone tracking, and adaptive management mechanisms.
• Proactively identify strategic risks and systemic bottlenecks; develop and present solutions to Clinical and Public Health Services Department leadership.
• Provide technical support to Clinical Service Department in designing, implementing, and scaling facility-led quality improvement (QI) initiatives with demonstrable impact on RMNCAH outcomes.
• Anchor QI frameworks to internationally recognized standards (e.g., WHO Standards for Improving Quality of Maternal and Newborn Care in Health Facilities) and ensure alignment with national quality assessment tools.
• Provide support for strategic oversight of RMNCAH commodity supply chain management, ensuring alignment across health facilities, MoH, RBC, and RMS, and procurement partners.
• Lead the development of a maternal and newborn health Quality of Care (QoC) policy brief, translating facility level performance data into actionable policy recommendations for MoH leadership.
• Provide high level technical input into the revision and adaptation of national RMNCAH clinical protocols, guidelines, and standards of care, in collaboration with MoH technical working groups.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Knowledge Management

• Support the design and institutionalization of MEL frameworks that build lasting MCCH capacity in data governance, analysis, and use for performance management.
• Support the optimization and continuous improvement of national data systems (HMIS, eLMIS, e-Buzima, mentorship reporting) as infrastructure for evidence-based governance.
• Support complex, multi-source analyses of RMNCAH indicators, translating findings into strategic recommendations for senior government and donor audiences. This includes the ability to disaggregate equity indicators by district, wealth quintile, and facility type, identifying patterns that require targeted policy responses.
• Support the use of quarterly hospital performance data to inform systemic corrective action planning and institutional learning cycles.
• Produce high-quality project reports, evaluation contributions, learning briefs, and technical publications for national dissemination.
• Champion the use of real-time data dashboards and digital health tools (e.g., e-Buzima,) at the District Health Management Team level to ensure data-driven performance review cycles are embedded, not episodic.

Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a senior operational and strategic liaison between RBC/MOH, District Health Officers, health facility leaders and development partners.
• Build and sustain high trust relationships with stakeholders, advising on policy alignment, program design, and scale up decisions.
• Lead strategic coordination and monitor RMNCAH partner interventions and the implementation of RMNCH grants at all levels." This includes actively contributing to the national RMNCAH Technical Working Group, ensuring donor and partner interventions are coherent with MoH strategy and not fragmented.
• Participate in high-level joint supervision visits, technical working groups, and national RMNCAH forums.
• Perform other strategic duties assigned by the Clinical and Public Health Services Department leadership or CHAI Manager to advance RMNCAH strategic objectives and ensure successful service delivery.

• Clinical background with a master's degree in public health or health related field; advanced specialization in RMNCAH or health systems strengthening preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of progressively senior experience in a results-driven, complex program environment. At least 3 of these years must be in a role with demonstrated policy advisory or norm-setting responsibilities at the national or sub-regional level, not solely program management or direct service delivery.
• Demonstrated track record of translating national health strategies into measurable system-level improvements, with evidence of sustainable institutional impact.
• Exceptional ability to build and sustain senior-level relationships with government, health facilities, and donor stakeholders in complex environments.
• Advanced analytical capability — able to synthesize multi-source data, identify strategic patterns, and communicate findings compellingly to technical and non-technical audiences. Demonstrated ability to conduct or commission health systems analyses at national scale, including experience with cost-effectiveness, equity, and quality of care frameworks as analytical lenses.
• Proven experience leading and mentoring teams toward ambitious deliverables in fast-paced, resource constrained settings.
• Expert level proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word; familiarity with data visualization tools and digital health platforms is a strong asset. Proficiency in at least one statistical or data analysis tool (Stata, R, or equivalent) is strongly preferred. 
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting to senior government officials and partners. Demonstrated ability to author policy briefs, technical guidance documents, or peer reviewed contributions that have been formally adopted or cited by health system decision makers.
• Strong strategic judgment, and ability to navigate ambiguity with confidence and resilience.

Advantages

• Significant experience embedded within or providing technical assistance to Ministries of Health in sub-Saharan Africa, with deep familiarity with health system governance structures.
• Extensive knowledge of global health frameworks, including health systems strengthening, UHC, and RMNCAH quality of care agendas. Specific familiarity with MPDSR (Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response) methodology is strongly advantageous.
• Prior engagement with the Rwanda Ministry of Health or in a low- or middle-income country.

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