The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. For more information, please visit: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

Background

Through the prioritized implementation of high impact public health interventions like immunization, access to safe drinking water, improved neo-natal and infant care and access to effective treatment for pneumonia and diarrhea, India has reduced its infant mortality rate (IMR) from 89 in 1990 to 32 in 2017 and Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR) from 126 in 1990 to 39 in 2017. India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is one of the largest public immunization programmes in the world. It caters to 26 million infants and 30 million pregnant women annually through 9 million planned sessions. The programme provides access to vaccines against 11 Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs) at the national level and against two VPDs vaccines at the sub-national level.

Under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and state governments, the entire immunization ecosystem has demonstrated proactive commitment for achieving universal immunization coverage in the country in recent years. Strategic projects in this direction include but are not limited to introduction of new vaccines, rolling out of data systems, strengthening of national immunization centres such as Immunization Technical Support Unit (ITSU) and National Cold Chain & Vaccines Management Resource Centre (NCCVMRC) and successful piloting of initiatives for bolstering health worker capacity building. Coupled with these initiatives, MoHFW launched Mission Indradhanush (MI) in 2014 and Intensified Mission Indradhanush (iMI) in 2017: catch up and system strengthening campaigns to target underserved, vulnerable, resistant, and inaccessible populations. iMI has resulted in an increase of 6.7% in full immunization coverage (FIC) after the first two phases in prioritized districts. However, the government and partners recognize the need for further efforts in this direction to reduce the 802,000 infant deaths and 989,000 under-five deaths that occur annually in the country.

Bihar, the third most populous state of the country, contributes to about 11% (2.9 million) of India’s annual birth cohort of 26 million children. Government of Bihar has shown great commitment for increasing immunization coverage, wherein the immunization coverage (FIC) has almost doubled to 61.1% (NFHS) in 2015-16 from 2005-06. Additionally, recent surveys post targeted catch up campaigns like Mission Indradhanush (MI) and Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) show an average increase of 15 percentage points in immunization coverage across Bihar’s 16 IMI districts from 56.5% in 2015-16 (NFHS) to 71.8% in 2018. Over the years, inequities in immunization coverage across socio-economic groups in the state have reduced, but are still high. Government of Bihar (GoB) aims to achieve 90% full immunization coverage (FIC) across the state, sustain the coverage across age group cohorts and strengthen health systems for improving long term immunization outcomes.

Program Overview

CHAI in partnership with its India affiliate, William J. Clinton Foundation's (WJCF) has been working in India since 2004 in close partnership with and under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) at the central and state levels on an array of high priority initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes. Currently, CHAI/WJCF programs, supports government initiatives on HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C, tuberculosis, cancer, immunisation, and health financing. Additionally, CHAI/WJCF supports many state governments on large-scale programs to arrest childhood and maternal mortality due to malnutrition, anaemia, diarrhoea and pneumonia, and helping increase access to quality family planning services.

CHAI/WJCF’s India immunization program supports the MoHFW’s UIP at the national level and in the focus states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. CHAI/WJCF provides catalytic support to NCCVMRC, based out of National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), on national projects for improving availability and efficacy of vaccines and efficiency of vaccines systems. CHAI/WJCF also supports national and state governments on broader operational aspects such as planning, capacity building and systems improvements for immunization service delivery.

In Bihar, CHAI/WJCF will provide catalytic support to GoB for achieving and sustaining 90% FIC. CHAI/WJCF will help in setting up effective program management & review mechanisms, identifying pressing challenges as well as best practices in RI, enhancing impact of well performing interventions, developing & deploying effective solutions to pressing challenges and undertaking multi-year planning for long term immunization systems strengthening.

Role Overview

We seek a highly motivated and entrepreneurial individual with outstanding credentials to lead the implementation and assessment of targeted demand generation initiatives. The Demand Manager will directly supervise the Demand Analyst and Community Engagement Officer in intervention design and validation, field implementation and assessment, analysis of existing demand interventions and assessment of key community demographics. The Manager will report to the State Team Lead directly and will work with senior stakeholders across the immunization ecosystem to drive programme outcomes. They will also be responsible for engaging with government and partner stakeholders to leverage existing efforts and pilot innovations on strengthening demand generation and provide actionable insights to effectively customize interventions in priority blocks. The ideal candidate would have strong strategic management and planning skills, rich experience of delivering evidence-based insights, impeccable writing, and verbal communication competencies, and have demonstrated excellence in leading high calibre teams for impact. The ideal candidate will bring proven experience of having successfully delivered community facing and contextualised demand interventions and projects for complex and behaviourally driven public health and/or rural consumer marketing. We place great value on relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, energy, and work ethic.

• Lead and execute, under the guidance of the State Team Lead, demand generation initiatives under the programme, including driving existing efforts and pilot demonstrations for new innovations in priority blocks
• Design, validate and drive interventions and pilot innovations to strengthen demand generation
• Provide evidence-based decision-making support to government stakeholders to help customise demand interventions in the priority blocks. Submit results of field demonstrations in priority blocks to the state for further scaling to similar geographies/communities across the state
• Lead, guide, and mentor a high-powered team to support demand generation initiatives and provide strategic leadership to aid in the design and delivery of impactful solutions in swift timelines
• Lead the strategic and operational planning of demand generation initiatives and analyses, and undertake regular strategy reviews for course correction
• Build effective and functional relationships with immunization partners in the state to identify synergies
• Travel on short notice to various parts of the state
• Perform other responsibilities as requested by State Team Lead

• Relevant work experience of 8+ years and Master’s degree in management, economics, public administration, public health or allied areas
• Proven expertise in a demanding results-driven environment, in the public and / or private sector, with relevant program management experience
• Prior experience in strategic and operational planning / consulting for large organizations
• Proven expertise in rural marketing, consumer research or social mobilization
• Ability to think strategically, handle ambiguity, and problem solve in a fast-paced, limited-structure, multicultural environment
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to build strong professional relationships with a range of stakeholders in a challenging, multi-cultural environment
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills required
• Proven experience in mentoring and leading teams in a fast-paced and changing environment
• Fluency in English & Hindi

Preferred:

• Strong understanding of immunization context
• Significant government stakeholder management experience
• Strong experience in management consulting with highly reputed consulting firms

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