Health Financing Lead & Project Director

Overview

Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is seeking a qualified candidate to serve in the dual role of Project Director and Senior Advisor for Health Financing within its Global Health Systems Innovation Department. As Project Director, s/he will be responsible for leading a two-year global initiative to collect and analyse data on the cost of primary health care (PHC) services and systems in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Nigeria. In this role, s/he will lead the technical design and day-to-day operations of the project, oversee a team of staff and consultants, be accountable for project performance reporting and quality of results, and manage donor and government relationships.

As the Health Financing practice Lead, s/he will provide thought leadership to MSH and its clients in the areas of resource mobilization, revenue collection, public financial management; risk pooling; strategic purchasing and resource allocation; and benefit entitlement design. S/he will support MSH project activities and increase worldwide knowledge and understanding of MSH’s health financing work publications in journals; presentations to donors, stakeholders, and other development partners; and at conferences. S/he will also identify other project opportunities with health economic and financing elements and participate in developing new business development proposals as well as lead and design new projects and proposals for funding by major donors; and 5) manage and grow a team of experts in the practice area of interest.

Technical (50%)

• Lead the existing PHC costing project technical activities and drive the development of MSH’s strategy for international programs in this practice area, leading new initiatives and seeking opportunities for improvement.
• Define long and short-term area priorities and plans in close collaboration with the other Practice Leaders and provide strategic and technical leadership to the practice area activities.
• Develop and implement MSH’s conceptual framework for practice area technical assistance, focusing on design, implementation and monitoring of programs, drawing upon MSH’s expertise in a range of practices, health areas and settings.
• Increase MSH presence at relevant strategic meetings/global forums.
• Lead MSH research to identify, evaluate and promote innovative approaches for achieving practice area goals, internally and externally; publish in peer-reviewed publications and other venues; represent MSH at conferences and other technical forums. Participate in relevant advocacy work as needed.
• Develop a practice network of interested MSH staff and consultants who can organize around the vision and mission and support our efforts in the practice area.
• Partner with MSH colleagues and projects to develop a strategic approach to building MSH’s project portfolio in this practice area, based on present work, our capabilities and the needs going forward.
• Interact with and support projects, technical and country teams to pioneer and apply a superior technical lens and input into all MSH activities.

Business Development (20%)

• Use network and connections to identify and build relationships with strategic partners and funders on practice priorities.
• Develop strategic plans for growing the business portfolio for MSH in practice area.
• As a technical leader, participate in new business development efforts and act as a reviewer of proposals.
• Work in close coordination with MSH's Business Development (BD) BD Unit reviewing bid opportunities, determining the opportunities that MSH should pursue in the practice area.
• Provide critical strategic guidance and insight into pre-positioning for practice area bids as needed.
• Work in coordination with BD Unit to track funding opportunities. Lead and/or participate in pitching ideas to donors and funders on practice area topics.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key players among US government and non-US government donors and partners.
• Partner with MSH's BD in scanning both the market and potential competitors.

Team Management (20%)

• Lead and manage practice area team members assigned to be supervised by this position.
• Ensure all staff performance annual reviews are completed by all practice unit members supervised by this practice area leader.
• Monitor the workflow and work volume of all direct reports to maximize efficiency and productivity of practice area staffs supervised by this practice leader.
• Review, approve, or request additional information for timesheets of direct reports.

External (10%)

• Ensure strong representation of the MSH to local, regional and global partners - including funding agencies, governments, and donors -- in the practice area. Strengthen collaboration with these partners to advance MSH's global mission.
• Establish and manage relationships with partner organizations. This will include prime and subcontractors.
• Partner and build strong relationships with thought leaders and engage new audiences in the area of practice.
• Represent MSH at industry conferences and workshops as appropriate and as funding permits.

EDUCATION

Required: A postgraduate degree in health economics, public health, global health or similar related to the practice area.

Preferred: Health Economics, MD, PhD, or equivalent in a relevant field of study. An advanced degree in public health or in a related field with compelling, relevant experience will be considered

EXPERIENCE

Required

• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant work experience in leading health sector projects and activities in low-resource settings with an emphasis on managing and coordinating health sector costing projects, economic evaluations and analytical assessments.
• Five (5) or more years of experience managing, leading, and/or developing a strong team of staff, program/project managers, and technical professionals in low-resource settings.
• Significant and successful experience in providing technical assistance in the area of health sector costing and cost-effectiveness analysis as well as the development, design, implementation, and evaluation of health finance policies and programs at the country level.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Strong analytical and quantitative analysis skills with experience in model development and data analysis.
• Demonstrated success in leading successful proposals to donors, especially USAID, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, or the World Bank.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a track record of publications in the field of health economics in established peer-viewed journals and presentations at international conferences.
• Extensive experience in providing capacity-building training in LMICs.
• Good interpersonal and relationship-building competencies in both developed and developing country settings coupled with strong written and oral communication skills.
• Energetic, forward thinking, independent, creative person with intellectual depth and high ethical standards.
• Fluency in English required, working professional knowledge of French, Spanish, or Portuguese language preferred.

COMPETENCIES

• Collaborative leadership approach that contributes to positive team environment, and builds strong relationships with people from all backgrounds, genders, cultures and viewpoints.
• Excellent ability to build personal networks at all levels, resulting in securing new opportunities and strategic growth for the organization in relation to the practice area.
• Energetic, forward-thinking and creative with intellectual flexibility and depth and strong ethical reasoning.
• High level capacity to work in a variety of cultural settings, complex environment and fragile states.
• Proven record of aligning diverse, multi-level teams towards a shared vision.

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