Associate, HIV Access & Health Systems Integration in Lusaka, Lusaka at Clinton Health Access Initiative

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.

CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.

At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication, and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion, and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture.

Program Background

Following the USG stop work order (SWO) in effect January 2025, a comprehensive Zambia health sector gap analysis was conducted, leading to the development of a prioritized Technical Assistance (TA) roadmap for the Ministry of Health. Results from the analysis established that Zambia's health sector requires urgent technical support to transition from donor-dependent service delivery to sustainable, government-led and managed systems. CHAI in collaboration with other stakeholders responded to the Ministry of Health's validated Technical Assistance Roadmap by identifying areas that could be supported in the immediate to short term.

In line with this, CHAI prioritized technical assistance needs in service delivery, health information, human resources for health and leadership/ governance aspects of the health system building blocks. Building off several work pieces that have already begun through complementary investments, CHAI will provide technical support to the MOH to address the following five priority intervention areas articulated below:

• Scale up the HIV Access program, with a focus on proven HIV treatment and prevention interventions. To ensure that the gains made in the HIV space over the years are not reversed given the changes to the HIV funding landscape in 2025 and beyond.
• Technical Assistance to facilitate the set-up and operationalization of Zambia’s National Digital Health Intelligence Hub (NDHIH) in collaboration with the MOH and other TA partners.
• Support Towards Improved Health Service Delivery ensuring the minimum package of health services is finalized, roll out and implemented effectively.
• Health Workforce Prioritization, supporting the MOH to rationalize and prioritize the essential HRH to avoid disruptions to provision of health services.
• Strengthening MOH Capacity for Sector Coordination and Governance, helping the MOH in redesigning and evaluating leadership and governance structures such as the TWG’s to make them more effective in responding to the needs of the evolving health system.

Position Overview

CHAI seeks an experienced, strategic, and highly motivated Health Economist to support implementation of the Health Systems Integration program, with a focus on implementation of Zambia’s Health Systems Integration agenda, with a focus on optimizing health funding, strengthening supply chains, enhancing service delivery of prevention and ART, supporting digital health transitions and integration of HIV programming into general health system delivery. The Associate HSI will support the HSI Program Manager in the execution of initiatives critical to improved health systems delivery in light of changes in the health financing architecture.

Planning, budgeting, allocation and prioritization

• Support governments to strengthen national and sub-national health planning and budgeting processes to adapt to funding and implementation gaps.
• Provide technical assistance in setting priorities based on cost-effectiveness, disease burden, equity, and financial sustainability.
• Use data to facilitate transparent, participatory processes for resource allocation and prioritization across competing health needs.

Technical efficiency

• Identify inefficiencies in health system spending (e.g., procurement, service delivery, human resources) and support governments to implement reforms that improve value for money.
• Analyse program costs and performance data to inform strategies for more efficient service delivery, particularly at the primary care level.
• Support design and implementation of strategic purchasing reforms (e.g., performance-based financing, capitation, output-based payments).

Domestic resource mobilization

• Support governments to assess and advocate for increased public funding for health, aligned with macro-fiscal realities and competing national priorities.
• Provide analytical inputs to support dialogue between Ministries of Health and Ministries of Finance, including return-on-investment analyses and health investment cases.
• Help design and assess innovative financing mechanisms and approaches where relevant.

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, Health Economics, International Development, or a related quantitative discipline
• Master’s degree in the above fields will be an added advantage
• A minimum of 5+ years of experience in a relevant field (e.g health economics, health management or health systems strengthening) in the public or private sector with increasing responsibilities
• Demonstrated experience using quantitative and economic analysis to inform health sector policies, with preference for candidates familiar with cost-effectiveness, fiscal space, or efficiency analyses
• Proven track record of working with or supporting low- and middle-income country governments, statutory bodies and donor agencies
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with proficiency in Excel and statistical tools (e.g., Stata, R) and a strong understanding of health system performance metrics
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing high-quality policy briefs, technical reports, and presentations for government and donor audiences
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams independently and adapt to changing priorities in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment
• Understanding of national, regional and global health care financing

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