Senior Program Officer – Innovation, Research & Scale

Senior Program Officer – Innovation, Research & Scale

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Your Role

The Senior Program Officer (SPO), Research, Innovation, and Scale will be a key part of the EIHT and will lead the foundation’s programming in innovation, research, and scale of new and proven health products, interventions, and approaches in the sector. In addition, they will contribute to the foundation’s programming to strengthen healthcare service delivery mechanisms in Ethiopia.

Given the focus areas above, the post holder will strategically develop and lead one or more portfolios of grants and contracts requiring high-level grant leadership skills, monitoring, and evaluation. As a key advisor on strategy initiatives, the SPO is expected to identify key issues and priorities emerging from Ethiopia’s health sector context – through coordination, collaboration, and cultivating partnerships with GOE, development partners, NGOs, research institutions, and other collaborators (including multilateral agencies). In doing so, they will contribute to the continued development of the team’s strategic vision, while partnering closely with team leadership to set the overall strategy and goals for the team. Finally, the SPO is expected to be self-sufficient and able to deliver the required results with minimal direction.

What You’ll Do

The selected candidate will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Inclusively lead, shape, and handle support for research (including clinical, and implementation research), innovation, and scale of new products, interventions, and approaches in Ethiopia – using a data-driven approach;
• Contribute to the implementation of the health service delivery portfolio;
• Support the execution of foundations’ country health and nutrition coordinated plan of support in close partnership with fellow EIHT members – to ensure responsiveness to the Ethiopian context and health sector needs. Analyze and use data to interrogate team hypotheses and support better decision-making;
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and other health ecosystem collaborators around pathways to scale coupled with helping navigate research (Implementation and clinical research) translation to policy and practice to achieve institutionalization of the selected innovations in the health system;
• Cultivate strong working relationships with multiple teams within the foundation, government partners, and other national collaborators to strengthen the pathway for innovation, research, and scale of health interventions. Proactively identify and pursue synergies, areas of leverage, and opportunities for co-managed and/or co-financed collaborations to achieve foundation and country goals;
• Work with the EIHT Senior Program Officer for Monitoring, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) and Data, and the Deputy Director to supervise regular progress tracking for those bodies of work and investments led by the incumbent – to supervise foundation programming in innovation, research, and scale in contributing to national health impact targets. Help operationalize processes, which will feed data and analysis from grants and research back into key strategy and portfolio management decisions;
• Design, negotiate, and lead complex grant portfolio(s) that include collaborating with grantees to achieve the desired impact of grants; conduct site visits when appropriate, provide technical mentorship, convene meetings, and apply and evaluate milestone-based performance objectives. Ensure appropriate documentation, grant budgeting, and reporting, as well as operational efficiency and effectiveness;
• Keep tabs on relevant local and global developments and needs in the health sector, as well as grant/program changes and progress to advise and recommend tools and strategies to increase investment performances and results against the agreed-upon results framework and in alignment with the broader EIHP MLE plan;
• Work on complex problems; analysis of situations and/or data requiring in-depth evaluation of various factors;
• Exercise good judgment within broadly defined practices and policies to select methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results;
• Independently identify issues, formulate and design plans, and implement ideas for major initiatives;
• Consult with grantees and other partners to enhance the impact of projects and ensure grants are meeting strategy goals. This may include – site visits, providing operational mentorship, and convening meetings of key stakeholders;
• Contribute to the design of new strategies, collaborations, and implementation plans to ensure long-term sustainability and impact;
• Represent the foundation to key program-related external constituencies, as appropriate, on committees related to the area of expertise and responsibilities of the position. This may also include engaging in global conferences and forums to share experience of implementation in Ethiopia and learn about relevant health interventions and opportunities that could be applicable in the Ethiopian context;
• Embed diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into the implementation of day-to-day work, interactions with colleagues, and investments.

Your Experience

• Advanced degree in public health, epidemiology, health care management, medicine, nursing, or related field;
• Minimum 8 years of experience in international public health with a focus on Reproductive Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH), or specific areas therein – preferably comfort/facility with novel products/innovations;
• Clinical and implementation science research experience;
• Experience or familiarity with government innovation efforts, including a strong conceptual and practical understanding of innovation tools and the role of human-centered design, data, and policy in the public sector;
• Work experience in Low and Low Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) contexts;
• Experience as a technical resource in clinical and/or implementation research;
• Demonstrated experience in institutionalizing/scaling health interventions (new and/or proven) is a plus;
• Knowledge and understanding of potential funding scale mechanisms is a plus; these include Gavi, Global Fund, World Bank, private sector, and government opportunities.
• Expertise in health-related program development, project management, and implementation;
• Strong leadership skills;
• An excellent teammate with strong social skills;
• Proven track record to lead and influence others (e.g. government officials, donors, local NGOs, and academia), in a constructive manner and to build and sustain collaborative relationships;
• Demonstrated success working with, and as a part of, cross-cultural teams;
• Ability to operate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing, including conveying technical ideas and information, as well as analysis and recommendations to support strategic decision-making;
• Strong quantitative analytic skills and knowledge of relevant methods including impact evaluation, clinical and/or implementation research, and modeling;
• Effective as a collaborator in complex internal and external organizations;
• Demonstrated initiative to solve unstructured problems with little oversight, creativity, high energy, and a positive attitude;
• Handles complexity and ambiguity effectively: proven ability to be flexible, efficient, and tactful in a fast-paced environment;
• Creative problem solver with a rigorous approach. Highly organized and efficient; able to prioritize work based on minimal direction and multiple competing priorities;
• Strong understanding of shaping and managing sustainable and scalable ventures.

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