Technical Advisor-ORHB | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Founded in 2002 by President William J. Clinton, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), 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

CHAI Ethiopia is currently carrying out a wide range of programs to support the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia in improving the health status of the country by ensuring access and quality of health services. We are committed to increasing our effectiveness through an innovative program approach that optimizes quality, impact and scale.  Being the one of largest CHAI field offices worldwide, we currently employ around 126 staff working in the following programs: Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Cancer, HIV, Lab Services, Child Survival, Vaccines Introduction, Health Financing.

Project Description

CHAI has been supporting the Government of Ethiopia in designing and implementing various health financing initiatives over the past years and has been asked by the government to provide more comprehensive support at federal and regional levels. The health financing program aims to transform how the health system is financed towards the government’s goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030. As part of its continued support to the Government of Ethiopia, CHAI has been supporting Regional Health Bureaus by recruiting and placing highly qualified professionals as secondees to help regions achieve their health financing and related goals.

With the objective of increasing availability of medicines and supplies at an affordable price in the region, the Oromia RHB has been supporting the establishment and functioning of Community Pharmacies (CPs). These CP are formed and operated under a hospital or health center and currently there are over 252 such pharmacies in the region. These CPs are part of the broader effort of the RHB to build an effective and efficient, highly performing health system with core principle of equity and quality in alignment with health sector transformation approach i.e solving medicine supply problem in the region through fully engaging all stakeholders to provide range of support and ownership at all levels of the health system and administration. Given the promising results of these CPs in improving availability of medicines and supplies as well as the potential for reducing out of pocket expenditures for Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) Members, the Oromia RHB is committed to strengthening the efficiency of these CPs and expand them across all Woredas in the region in a sustainable manner.

To this end, Oromia and CHAI are seeking a highly motivated individual with outstanding technical capabilities to provide technical assistance in supporting the Oromia RHB in improving the efficiency of existing community pharmacies and expansion of same to more Woredas in the region. The Technical Advisor will support the RHB in putting in place a robust monitoring and evaluation system, enhance capacity of the RHB team in data analysis and evidence generation.

Duty station – Addis Ababa

Report to (for CHAI) – CHAI HF Program Manager

Position overview:

The ORHB and CHAI are looking for a Technical Advisor to:

·        Provide technical advise and guidance to the team of experts in the operation and management of the CPs

·        Support the RHB in developing strategic framework to guide efficiency improvement and expansion of CPs including revisiting financial sustainability model and practices

·        Strengthen data generation, analysis, documentation and reporting system and capacity with the CP team and provide support in evidence generation for policy decision

·        Support the development of interactive tool / dashboard for facility, woreda, zonal and regional managers and leaders to give them visibility on selected KPIs on regular basis to facilitate informed and timely decisions

·        Draw lessons from other regions and countries to identify good practices that could be adapted to improve system and performances of CPs in Oromia

·        Provide technical assistance to ORHB to better support health facilities in the establishment of CPs and put in place mechanism for auditing CPs

·        Support the ORHB in identifying and listing of CP specific medicines in collaboration with stakeholders

·        Provide technical support in preparation of CPs implementation SOP at HFs and supporting APTS implementation in CPs

·        Support the design and implementation of robust monitoring and evaluation system to assess and measure the performance and impact of CPs, document and disseminate findings

·        Conduct capacity building and technical needs assessments at the RHB and CPs, and supporting design initiatives to meet these needs

·        Provide on the job capacity building support and skill transfer to ORHB team and other key stakeholders at zonal, woreda and facility levels

·        Support RHB in building capacity of CPs in medicines selection, quantification, procurement, storage and quality assurance practices

·        Support the RHB in resource mobilization to support the expansion of CPs including but not limited to drafting of concept note and working on proposals for submission to potential donor partners

·        Support the RHB in developing communication tool to create awareness among regional government/administration to engage leadership at all levels to expand and sustain CPs

·        Develop tools to be used for conducting continuous supportive supervision by the regional health bureau and health facilities to the CPs and support documentation / dissemination of findings from such assessment

Requirements:

ORHB and CHAI seek results-driven, highly motivated individual who is fast learner, detail oriented and has the ability to adapt to dynamic and demanding work environment. ORHB and CHAI place great value on resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, flexibility, independence, energy, work ethic and humility.

Requirements include the following:

·        First degree in Pharmacy and advanced degree (Masters or above) in a related field such as pharmacy, (pharmacoepidemiology pharmacoeconomics), health economics, public health, public policy preferred;

·        7+ years of professional experience in demanding, results-oriented environments in the public sector and/or private sector (e.g., management consulting);

·        Experience working in pharmacy and supply chain related works; including APTS, CPs, IPLS; Experience designing, managing and implementing projects and teams;

·        Excellent problem solving, analytical and quantitative skills, including attention to detail;

·        Ability to work independently, set priorities and handle multiple tasks simultaneously;

·        Ability to learn on the job quickly and absorb and synthesize a broad range of information;

·        Ability to navigate ambiguous and complex processes and be flexible;

·        Strong interpersonal skills and ability to achieve consensus amongst stakeholders and to navigate political sensitivities.

·        Strong communication skills, including delivery of compelling presentations and documents.

·        Strong command of verbal and written English, Afan Oromo and Amharic languages;

·        Willingness to travel within the region and other parts of the country as needed.