Senior Program Officer, Pediatric HIV Systems

The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) under the leadership of former United States President William Jefferson Clinton III has worked since 2002 to reduce the pricing of HIV/AIDS medicines and tests, and to work with governments around the world to further turn the tide on the disease by building the systems needed to deliver care and treatment.  In ten short years, President Clinton and CHAI have made a substantial impact in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  This includes seven breakthrough price reductions for drugs and diagnostics.  Today, more than two million people living with HIV/AIDS are on lifesaving treatment using medicines purchased under CHAI agreements with manufacturers.  This includes two out of every three children who are on HIV/AIDS treatment.  CHAI’s greatest work is as a trusted partner to national governments whose efforts have made possible tremendous gains in HIV/AIDS services and public health. In addition to programs focused on HIV/AIDS, CHAI has expanded in recent years to assist efforts to fight malaria, lowering the prices and improving access to malaria medicines.  CHAI has also worked with a number of governments on improving the underlying systems needed to deliver comprehensive health care.  In 2005, CHAI signed an MOU with the Malawi government to strengthen health systems in the most challenged districts, provide national support to HIV/AIDS drug pricing and programmatic work, support the pilot and scale-up of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) initiatives, expand access to ART for children, strengthen the Malawi’s Lab system, and scale-up an integrated nutrition program for children. CHAI’s support to Malawi has expanded to include Human Resources for Health, Vaccines (pneumococcal and rotavirus), Nutrition, Supply Chain, Health Financing and Malaria Testing and Treatment. Position Overview: Based in Lilongwe, the Senior Program Officer for Pediatric HIV Systems will work on the HIV Systems Team and report to the Program Manager. The Senior Program Officer will work with the Program Manager and other members of the team to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) and development partners on the following high level Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) and Pediatric HIV programmatic areas: Supporting functionality and sustainability of Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) software to improve results management Leveraging information technology skills and expertise to transition LIMS and technical skills to MOH counterparts Improving EID service delivery, patient tracking, patient management, and patient initiation in Malawi Improving central laboratory efficiency and capacity Building capacity of the MoH to improve EID efforts in Malawi related to patient identification, sample collection, and results management The Senior Program Officer may also be called upon to assist with efforts to drive the scale up and uptake of routine viral load (VL) testing in Malawi and solidify linkages between EID and VL (i.e. SMS printers, LIMS, Connectivity results management, etc)

Responsibilities:

Working in close collaboration with the MOH and other members of the HIV Systems Team, the Senior Program Officer for Pediatric HIV Systems will focus on the following workstreams: Improve patient management and results management through mHealth and technical interventions Provide technical support to the LIMS Program Manager at the Ministry of Health (MOH) to improve LIMS functionality and sustainability Monitor EID data in LIMS and make information widely available to partners and MOH Work with CHAI’s mHealth Officer to design and implement sustainable solutions for EID and VL to improve results and patient management Work with MOH staff and partners on EID initiatives in Malawi and support resource mobilization efforts on behalf of CHAI and the MOH Provide technical advice and assistance to MOH (HIV Department) and partners in the implementation of pediatric HIV policy and for EID initiatives and data Improve identification and sample collection for HIV exposed infants in Malawi Measure impact of EID mentoring and transfer capacity to national and district Ministry of Health colleagues to continue mentoring efforts Improve linkages between diagnosis of HIV in children under five years of age and the initiation of treatment Implement a laboratory efficiency and mentoring program to help build capacity at central labs Support partners and team in developing presentations, forecasts, and spreadsheets when necessary. Support the Program Manager to develop and manage work plans, budgets, schedules and logistics plans for key activities, and implement critical programmatic activities related to EID

Qualifications:

A Bachelors Degree from a well-recognized, high-calibre institution; A minimum of 3 years experience in private or public sector enterprise or in health care systems work Knowledge of work-streams related to health systems strengthening, HIV testing, diagnostics, treatment, and strengthening sustainable health supply chain systems; Strong analytical skills and technical proficiency with MS Excel and PowerPoint Experience conceiving, planning and executing programs/projects with verifiable results and little external support; Experience developing training materials and/or reports for broad consumption; Ability to navigate complex government processes with multiple influencers, and achieving consensus; Ability to solve challenging problems without extensive structural or operational support; Able to adapt to fast-paced and changing environment, both internally and externally; Excellent business-oriented verbal, visual and written communication skills; and English language fluency, both written and verbal required. Advantages A Masters Degree from a well-recognized, high-calibre institution Strong information technology background and understanding of infrastructure, programs, and software Previous successful experience supporting treatment programs for MOH or partner/ donor organizations in resource constrained environments in Africa or the developing world; and Demonstrated growth in responsibility in current or previous roles Knowledge of Malawi healthcare systems and HIV landscape

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