Clinton Health Access Initiative,Associate, Grant Management Jobs in Malawi

Overview

Founded in 2002, by
President William J. Clinton and Ira Magaziner, the Clinton Health Access
Initiative, Inc. (“CHAI”) is a global health organization committed to
strengthening integrated health systems and expanding access to care and
treatment in the developing world. CHAI’s solution-oriented approach focuses on
improving market dynamics for medicines and
diagnostics; lowering prices for
treatment; accelerating access to lifesaving technologies; and helping
governments build the capacity required for high-quality care and treatment
programs. Since its inception, CHAI’s programs have helped more than 11.8
million people in more than 70 countries have access to CHAI-negotiated prices
for HIV/AIDS medicines, saving the global health community billions of dollars.
For more information, please visit: www.clintonhealthaccess.org.

In 2005, CHAI signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Malawi (GoM) 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 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 (HRH), Vaccines
(pneumococcal and rotavirus), and Health Financing.

Position
Overview:

Malawi ranks among
one of the most donor-dependent countries in the world; more than 70% of total
health sector resources and 99% of HIV/AIDS-specific resources are
externally-funded by donors. In 2015, Malawi secured close to $286 million
towards the national HIV response from the Global Fund. As the principal
recipient (PR), the Ministry of Health is responsible for ensuring that funding
is appropriately executed for the activities and procurement of commodities.
However, in July 2016, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a
report highlighting severe underspend of the Global Fund grant. The results of
the OIG report identified inefficiencies and ineffective program and financial
management, leading to low absorption and over-commitment.

In response to the
risks identified, in 2016 a Global Fund Program Implementation Unit (PIU) was
instated within the Ministry of Health (MOH) to mitigate the identified risks.
CHAI is now supporting the PIU in strengthening financial management,
specifically by building the capacity of the PIU and relevant departmental
units in the MOH. In addition, CHAI is continuing to support the latest concept
note development for the upcoming funding cycle.

Based in Lilongwe,
the Grant Management Associate will play a critical role in an environment
comprised of diverse stakeholders from national programs, Ministry of Health,
and Global Fund. The Associate will work closely with the newly-established
PIU, and will be responsible to ensure that systems supporting improved
financial management are in place, and provide technical assistance as
required. The role requires high levels of coordination within PIU, the
Oversight Committee within the Malawi Global Fund Country Coordinating
Mechanism (CCM), and CHAI Malawi team to oversee the development and
dissemination of management tools and processes; thus closely collaborating
with the PIU to build capacity within the PIU’s M&E and Finance teams for
data collection and grant reporting to Global Fund. S/he will serve as a key
connection for the finance, M&E, administrative and program staff at the
PIU and thus must possess the ability to observe and understand capacities and
problems across departments and at different levels of the Malawian health
system. In addition, s/he may provide back-up support to Concept Note
development as required.

This position will
have direct and immediate impact on the lives of thousands of patients. It
presents an opportunity to work with a committed set of stakeholders to
together develop processes that will continue to support improved grant
management for a country where donor investments are critical.
Responsibilities

This position will
provide technical assistance to develop a robust financial management processes
and tools together with the PIU. Responsibilities may include, but are not
limited to:

• Develop
  and implement tools and process improvements to streamline budget
  formulation, budget execution, and monitoring and reporting against
  expenditure targets across program units, PIU, and country-level
  oversight;
• Liaise with
  PIU, program units, the Oversight Committee of the CCM, and relevant
  stakeholders to ensure routine timely and accurate financial information
  is made available for grant management decisions;
• Build
  capacity of the PIU by creating and carrying out institutionalization
  plans for the above tools and processes;
• Support
  the development of the Global Fund 2017-2019 concept note application,
  including follow-on activities after the submission is made;

• A
  minimum of a Bachelor’s degree from a well-recognised, high-calibre
  institution;
• A
  minimum of three years of professional experience;
• Strong
  analytical skills and advanced technical proficiency with MS Excel and
  PowerPoint (analytical skills and proficiency levels will be tested
  during recruiting process);
• Demonstrated
  ability to thrive in high-pressure and dynamic environments;
• Ability
  to navigate political discussions objectively and diplomatically;
• Excellent
  organisational and problem solving skills;
• Excellent
  verbal and written business communication skills.

• Bachelor’s
  or Master’s degree in Economics, Business, Public Health, or other
  relevant areas;
• At
  least three years of work experience in grant administration,
  business/process consulting or financial management in public or private
  sector;
• Experience
  and/or understanding of Global Fund rules and regulations;
• Experience
  in public financial management, particularly in developing countries;
• Experience
  developing SOPs and/or financial management tools;
• Chichewa
  fluency, both written and verbal; and
• Experience
  working in developing countries, particularly in the health sector and in
  Sub-Saharan Africa.