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Country Support Associate - Diagnostics

Overview:
Founded in 2002 by President William J. Clinton, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) works to broaden access to life-saving treatment for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria patients in the poorest parts of the world. As part of this mission, CHAI’s “Access Programs” approach global public health challenges with market-based strategies, using simultaneous engagement on both the supply and demand sides of the market. On the supply side, CHAI engages with suppliers of essential drugs and diagnostics to improve access to products by lowering prices, accelerating new products to market, and sharing market intelligence. On the demand side, CHAI organizes and consolidates demand for health commodities by helping governments to scale up treatment programs, mobilize new resources, improve procurement processes, and enhance local human resource capacity. Working with over 30 governments and other partners, CHAI is focused on large-scale impact on many of the largest barriers to effective treatment and care.

The Laboratory Services Team (LST) is a key source of support for Ministries of Health and CHAI's country teams, and works to address barriers to access and foster a healthy competitive marketplace for essential diagnostic testing. LST plays the lead role in coordinating work globally on access to diagnostics, working closely with diagnostics manufacturers, governments, and multilateral organizations to lower prices, increase access to testing, and accelerate the entry and uptake of new innovative products.

Recent news about CHAI's work on access:
HIV/AIDS
PBS, October 2011:
CHAI press release, May 2011:
New York Times, May 2011:
Malaria
Wall Street Journal, July 2008:
Responsibilities:
The Country Support Associate (CSA) will work with LST to ensure the rapid scale-up and effective management of high-quality diagnostics for endemic diseases, focusing primarily on diagnostics for patients with HIV and TB, and in the process become a trusted advisor to governments and CHAI country teams alike. Specifically, the CSA will travel frequently between countries helping to optimize policies and processes to ensure access to high quality HIV and TB diagnostics, and other essential diagnostics.  In addition, the Associate will also work to ensure that countries have adopted best practices in planning and implementation of HIV and TB programs, and  forecasting and procurement of HIV and TB diagnostics and other essential diagnostics. 

The CSA must be able to support countries in adopting the recently published WHO 2013 guidelines, especially the use of viral load  (VL) for monitoring ART patients and developing strategies for scaling up VL testing programs. The CSA must also support the rational deployment of conventional (centralized testing platforms) and point of care diagnostic products for TB and HIV/AIDS. The CSA will assist countries with the adoption and implementation of new and innovative point-of-care (POC) diagnostic products. POC diagnostics bring tests out of the laboratory and closer to the patient, reducing the burden required for lab infrastructure, and improving access to essential tests, particularly in rural areas. Several POC products for diagnosis, disease staging, and treatment monitoring have recently become available or are in development, with the potential to dramatically increase access to treatment, improve patient retention, and make healthcare systems more efficient. However, despite the potential advantages of these new technologies, there are existing conventional systems in countries, which need to continue functioning properly. LST works with high-volume, early-adopter countries to rationally deploy POC against existing conventional platforms, overcome barriers and build a healthy, competitive global market for these products, while negotiating with manufacturers to lower prices.

The CSA will also provide analysis to support LST in global negotiations with diagnostics manufacturers, and the development of new procurement strategies such as instrument rental deals and split tenders to enable easier product switching. Finally, the CSA will help develop LST’s market-shaping strategy for fostering competition in the global diagnostics market. In doing so, the CSA will develop strong relationships with various teams within CHAI, as well as Ministries of Health, diagnostics manufacturers, and other external partners in beneficiary countries.

We are seeking a highly motivated individual with outstanding credentials, qualitative and quantitative analytical abilities, and communication skills. The CSA must be able to function independently and flexibly and have a strong commitment to excellence. CHAI places great value on relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, energy, work ethic and emotional intelligence.

Responsibilities:
  • Serve as a key advisor to CHAI country teams and in-country and global partners on the adoption of the recently published WHO 2013 guidelines, especially the use of viral load  (VL) for monitoring ART patients.
  • Support countries developing VL strategic and implementation plans.
  • Support the adoption of current and new HIV and TB diagnostic products and their integration into existing lab networks.
  • Assist Ministries of Health to build capacity to perform technical evaluations to drive regulatory approvals and ensure that new technologies perform accurately, conduct operational pilots to demonstrate the cost effectiveness and impact of new products on patient outcomes, and assist with analysis and writing of evaluation reports
  • Develop and share deployment models and strategies for how to maximize the impact of existing and new diagnostic technologies
  • Prepare impact analysis and build tools (forecasting, budgeting, work plans, etc.) to support countries activities
  • Assist Ministries of Health in the development of testing policies and national implementation plans, and the creation of operational systems to support the wide-scale implementation of new diagnostic products, such as training, quality assurance, and data management
  • Work with CHAI country teams, governments, and partners to identify funding for increased investment in new diagnostic products
  • Design and implement monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems to measure the impact of new testing technologies and assess progress against project goals
  • Assist LST to manage global supplier relationships through product demand forecasting, market analysis, sharing of market intelligence, and supporting price negotiations
  • Provide remote and in-country technical assistance to CHAI country teams and governments in support of work streams related to diagnostics
Qualifications:

  • Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s degree plus 2-5 years work experience
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare and deliver compelling presentations
  • Strong analytical, problem solving, and quantitative skills
  • Ability to think strategically, handle ambiguity and work in a fast-paced, limited-structure, multicultural environment
  • Ability to learn on the job quickly
  • Detail-oriented with strong organization skills
  • Ability to handle multiple work streams simultaneously and work independently
  • Available for up to 50% travel
  • High level of proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word
Advantages:
  • Previous CHAI experience
  • Policy and program management experience
  • Experience working in management consulting, investment banking, or similar environment
  • Experience living or working abroad, particularly in developing countries
  • Familiarity with global health issues
  • Fluency in French, Portuguese and/or Spanish
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