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

Liberia Office Overview:

In 2006, CHAI was the first international NGO to help Liberia’s government rebuild after a decade-long civil war in Liberia, which had killed an estimated 270,000 people, decimated the nations’ health infrastructure and hindered the country’s ability to deliver vital health and social services. The partnership between Liberia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and CHAI evolved from being HIV specific to addressing cross-cutting health systems challenges. CHAI has since supported the MOH in strengthening supply chain management, accreditation and capacity-building program, setting-up the national diagnostic unit, infrastructure unit, health workforce, health financing, and provided technical assistance across various vertical programs including HIV, maternal and neonatal health, sexual and reproductive health, malaria, cancer, essential medicines, and assistive technology.

CHAI Liberia is seeking a Deputy Country Director to oversee a number of work streams including the following:

• Sexual Reproductive Health:

Liberia has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, and it has nearly doubled over the last two decades.  In 2018, CHAI Liberia commenced a sexual reproductive health (SRH) program which focused on reducing maternal mortality by increasing uptake of services.  Building upon the trusted and close partnership with the MOH, and progress made during the first phase of CHAI’s SRH program CHAI will continue to support Ministry counterparts to increase access to comprehensive SRH services for women and girls. CHAI will take an integrated approach working across multiple MOH units to ensure system-strengthening activities are embedded in the broader program objectives. In 2021, CHAI aims to institutionalize and sustain routine capacity-building in health facilities, strengthen supply chain and health information systems, and implement national strategies to increase access to the full spectrum of SRH services.

• Oxygen/Respiratory Care:

The delivery of high-quality oxygen therapy has long been a challenge in Liberia, with access to oxygen impeded by gaps that span across the health system: availability of biomedical equipment (BME) and supplies, and their procurement & supply management (PSM); health facility infrastructure and set-up; human resources for health (including availability of clinicians and biomedical personnel); national strategy and financing; and the overall complexity of integration and coordination. In many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Liberia, these challenges have been exacerbated and amplified by the current global pandemic and emergence of COVID-19 – an acute respiratory tract disease that lead to hypoxic respiratory failure, and in the most severe form, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).  In light of these challenges, CHAI has commenced a partnership with the Ministry of health to scale-up access to oxygen in Liberia.

• Assistive Technologies:

Assistive technologies (AT) or assistive devices are those whose primary purpose is to maintain or improve an individual’s functioning and independence, to facilitate participation, and to enhance overall well-being. AT can improve mobility, hearing, vision, or communication capacities, with examples such as wheelchairs, prostheses, hearings aids, spectacles. Between September 2019 and January 2020, CHAI Liberia was contracted by the Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub, under the AT2030 programme with funding from UK aid, to conduct a country capacity assessment (CCA) aimed at understanding the landscape of AT in Liberia. CHAI Liberia is committed to supporting the MOH and other government agencies (Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection [MGCSP], National Commission on Disabilities [NCD]) in the operationalization and implementation of priority activities laid out in the CCA report. 

Position Overview:

Reporting to the Country Director (CD), the Deputy Country Director (DCD) is responsible for managing all programmatic work streams as well as providing oversight for all country team operations.  The DCD will support the CD to set strategy and direction for all program areas, including SRH, Assistive Technologies and Respiratory therapies. They will directly manage the team’s programmatic work areas and support team members to achieve program objectives. They will act as a technical and program advisor to the government, attending technical working groups and liaising closely with Ministry officials leading the respective programs.

The Deputy Country Director will manage relationships across all stakeholders including government counterparts, implementing partners, bi-lateral organizations and donors. The DCD will work with CHAI’s global teams to resource mobilize for existing programs in addition to identify funding opportunities for new programmatic areas.  The Deputy Country Director will escalate key priorities and challenges for the Country Director’s input and decision-making. 

The Deputy Country Director will directly manage the Associate Director of Finance and Administration and provide oversight to all operational functions including safety, logistics, human resources and finances. In addition, the DCD will flag operational and programmatic risks for the country office to CHAI’s global leadership teams and develop mitigation strategies in consultation with the Country Director.

Program Leadership:

• Provide comprehensive oversight for all program implementation for the CHAI Liberia office.   Lead and support staff to ensure optimal delivery of CHAI’s program activities
• Establish effective communication and coordination mechanisms across all work-streams to ensure maximum impact of activities and optimization of resources
• Support the development of national policies and guidelines as requested by the MoH to ensure strategic documents are in place to guide partner activities and donor investments. 
• Develop presentations, reports and other communication materials to ensure programmatic impact is both demonstrated and communicated to relevant parties (MoH, Global Teams, partners, etc.).  Represent CHAI Liberia in public forums, Technical Working Groups (TWG’s) and subcommittees. 
• Provide strategic and high-quality technical assistance to the government as needed/requested, and nurture a trusted relationship with government partners based on a track record of delivering results that exceed expectations in speed and quality.
• Identify key impediments to the successful execution of the program strategy and work with the MOH and partners to develop and implement solutions to rapidly address these bottlenecks
• Resource mobilize for existing program interventions well positioned for expansion and identify funding opportunities for new programmatic areas. 
• Facilitate donor communication and manage monitoring and reporting of financial and programmatic progress
• Build and leverage strong effective relationships with key partners and stakeholders, identify and establish additional partnerships as appropriate
• Foster a team-based approach to work streams that balances priorities and resources to execute deliverables in an efficient manner

Operations:

• Directly oversee the Associate Director and Finance Administration (ADOFA) to ensure the office's daily operations, including contracting with vendors, ensuring compliance with local laws, and interfacing with CHAI's legal, security and financial teams.  Support management activities for operational staff where necessary. 
• Work with the ADOFA to develop and manage annual office and program budgets in collaboration with program staff. 
• Support robust financial, administrative, and human resource policies and systems, ensuring they are aligned with CHAI global policies and compliant with local law
• Oversee hiring processes for all new staff members and ensure adequate on-boarding for new staff, identify training needs and professional development opportunities for existing team members
• Maintain appropriate bi-directional communication with CHAI’s global financial and operations departments to ensure that CHAI's global capabilities are being fully leveraged 
• Other responsibilities as needed

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent plus 10 years work experience with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership or Advanced Degree (Master in Public Health or Master in Business Administration preferred) or equivalent plus 8 years work experience with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, and a track record of consensus building and managing relationships with a range of stakeholders across sectors
• Excellent diplomacy skills, work ethic, and flexibility
• Highly motivated, independent, dynamic and entrepreneurial thinker with strong managerial experience and interpersonal skills
• Proven experience as a strong leader, with substantial experience building, managing and mentoring large teams with diverse backgrounds and skill-sets
• Demonstrated strategic project management skills; ability to attend to details while always maintaining focus on larger goals
• Experience managing finance and operations functions, including the development and management of multi-million-dollar program budgets
• Experience and understanding of monitoring and evaluation for large, complex projects
• Ability to demonstrate high performance conceiving, planning, and executing on complex programs in unstructured and demanding environments without extensive operational support
• Experience living and working in resource-limited setting, and willingness to learn in a culturally diverse work environment. Prior experience working in Liberia or West Africa is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated strong problem solving, analytical and quantitative skills, including high level of proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and internet applications

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