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.

Position Overview:

We seek a highly motivated and entrepreneurial individual with outstanding credentials for the role of Routine Immunization Specialist. They will provide continuous technical and functional knowledge, Bihar context, and validation for pilot interventions developed by the program team. The Routine Immunization Specialist will critically review and strengthen key interventions across beneficiary enumeration, drop-out tracking, data recording and program reviews amongst others through immunization programme and systems knowledge gained from first hand experience . They would support the Review and Insights Manager in generating programmatic insights based on the information generated through data systems at a state level and through the RI team at the field level. The ideal candidate would have strong problem solving, and planning skills, rich experience of delivering evidence-based insights, impeccable written and verbal communication competencies, and have demonstrated excellence in generating actionable inputs for impact. We place great value on relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, energy, and work ethic.

• Support the identification of priority blocks/districts for intensive coverage improvement efforts by the Immunization team
• Support comprehensive field diagnostics in identified blocks/districts and provide oversight for the creation & monitoring of block/district-specific RI coverage improvement action plans
• Design, validate and drive innovative interventions for enhancing evidence-based decision making for the immunization programme in Bihar
• Develop and implement strategies for improving immunization data availability & accuracy
• Develop transformative programme review mechanisms to drive performance
• Ensure effective and regular engagement of the project with critical government immunization stakeholders at the state, district, and block levels
• Travel on short notice to various parts of the state
• Perform any other responsibilities as requested by the supervisor

• 5-10+ years of experience in routine immunization strengthening at the state level
• Master’s degree in medicine with public health/community medicine or a related field (management sciences, social work, etc.)
• Ability to manage multiple projects or work streams
• Demonstrated success in coordinating various stakeholders/interests (public sector engagement would be highly relevant) and developing strong relationships to drive a process successfully
• Exceptional diplomacy and interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to build strong professional relationships with a range of stakeholders in a challenging, multi-cultural environment
• Ability to navigate complex government processes and favourably influence decision-making in a professional and collaborative manner
• Fluency in English & Hindi

Preferred

• Significant government stakeholder management experience a strong positive
• Deep understanding of the Bihar health context
• Expertise in data analytics for problem solving

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