Senior Technical Advisor, Health System Strengthening

Pact seeks a Senior Technical Advisor, Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) for the anticipated USAID Access Miahy activity. USAID Access Miahy’s goal is to accelerate sustainable reductions in maternal, neonatal and child morbidity and mortality through increased access and availability of quality primary health care (PHC) services. USAID Access Miahy will continue building the capacity of Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) actors and other relevant stakeholders at district, facility and community levels to design, develop, manage, deliver, monitor and evaluate health services and programs aligned with the intervention packages in their catchment areas.

USAID Access Miahy is anticipated to be a $50-$99M cooperative agreement; the anticipated release date is August 16, 2024, with an anticipated award date of October 31, 2024.

This position is subject to project award; please note that the position title, requirements, and responsibilities are subject to change depending on USAID’s final qualifications for this role.

The location of this position is anticipated to be Antananarivo.

The Senior Technical Advisor, HSS will provide strategic guidance, technical leadership, and coordinate activities with stakeholders for health systems, particularly human resources for health (HRH) and health governance, components of the Access Miahy program. The Senior Technical Advisor will lead co-development of strategies and activities with national, regional, and district government staff and oversee HSS activities at sub-national levels. This position will also guide other technical staff and collaborate across the activity to embed HSS components within relevant activities. The Senior Technical Advisor will also develop relevant, timely inputs to routine reports and work plans, lead assessments and systems strengthening strategies, and represent Access Miahy in HSS technical working groups and other relevant coordination groups.

Key Responsibilities

The specific duties to be carried out by the successful candidate:

• Lead the design, delivery, and expansion of community-level primary health care and engagement activities in collaboration with key national and regional stakeholders and other implementing partner projects, ensuring adherence to national guidelines and international best practices.
• Coach and mentor appointed MOPH and community organization teams to implement and use adaptive management principles to improve preventive and curative community-level services and engagement events at fokotany and community levels.
• Lead the development of community health, engagement, and SBC activities within annual work plans, ensuring they support the project’s overall integrated strategic approach and its coordination throughout all levels of the Government of the Republic of Madagascar.
• Collaborate with MOPH to co-develop, test, and extend models for community health worker payment and certification for retention.
• Monitor implementation of community health activities to ensure timely completion of objectives and outputs.
• Supervise relevant officer staff to execute and adapt project activities at regional and district level.
• Develop contractual deliverables (quarterly, annual, clinical assessments and mentorship plans, etc.) in conjunction with other key staff and external evaluators.
• Work closely with project staff and implementing partners to identify, document, and disseminate best practices.
• Represent Access Miahy at community health and SBC-focused technical working groups and coordinate all technical assistance requests.
• All other duties as assigned.

Basic Requirements

• Master’s degree in public health or other relevant field and a minimum of 6+ years of relevant experience of public health program technical leadership in sub-Saharan Africa or other resource-limited settings. A Bachelor’s degree in public health or other relevant field plus 8 years of experience maybe be substituted. 4 years of management experience is required.
• Minimum of 5 years leading the human resources for health (HRH), HSS, or related technical component of a USAID-funded project of similar size and scope.
• Documented hands-on practical experience developing or adapting, providing technical assistance for and assessing HSS activities for health programs in developing countries, including data quality assurance.
• Demonstrated expertise in at least one of the following areas: health systems governance, supply chain management, HRH, institutional capacity strengthening, or health service governance.
• Demonstrated flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to perform and collaborate in complex and politically sensitive project environments.
• Proven technical program management skills, including relevant experience in coaching and direct supervision of professional staff.
• Previous experience working on USG-funded health programming in Madagascar.
• Demonstrated leadership skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in complex environments, and work with and between different stakeholders, including local organizations, government institutions, private sector entities, and US Government agencies.
• Demonstrated skills in problem solving and consensus building.
• Fluency in English, Malagasy, and French (oral, writing, and reading)
• Proven ability to produce professional quality English-language documents such as progress reports, case studies, and research protocols.
• Ability to travel within Madagascar and occasionally internationally.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of the political, social, and economic context of Madagascar.
• Malagasy nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

Salary for this position is commensurate with local office salary scales and will be determined based on the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

Pact is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, citizenship status, genetic information, matriculation, family responsibilities, personal appearance, credit information, tobacco use (except in the workplace), membership in an employee organization, or other protected classifications or non-merit factors.
At Pact, we recognize your impact, offer you opportunities and support your total well-being. Our comprehensive benefit offerings may include healthcare, retirement (8.8% to 13% based on service tenure) and savings plans, paid time off, disability and life insurance programs, learning and development opportunities, wellness programs as well as other optional benefit elections .
With the continuing impacts of COVID-19 around the world, we are taking action to protect the health and well-being of our colleagues and maintain the safety of the communities where we operate. Pact seeks an environment free from COVID-19 and prefers all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Attestation of vaccination status will be required for employment with Pact. Unvaccinated employees may be subject to additional health and safety requirements to include any federal, state and/or client restrictions.