Country: Democratic Republic of Congo
City: Kinshasa

Type: Full Time

Program (Division): Infectious Disease - Malaria & NTDs

Telecommute: ..
Overview:

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.

Position Overview

NTDs affect more than one billion people worldwide, disproportionately impacting children and the world’s poorest populations. Preventative Chemotherapy (PC) NTDs, which include schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, soil-transmitted helminths, lymphatic filariasis and trachoma, can be prevented and treated with existing medicines and tools, and countries are aiming to eliminate these diseases by 2030. To achieve this goal while operating under significant resource constraints, national NTD programs must carefully target, plan, and execute mass drug administration campaigns (MDAs) within communities, and achieve adequate population coverage to drive down prevalence and accelerate towards elimination. Robust digitized data systems are essential for this process to ensure data is reliable, accessible, and actionable.

This position represents a strategic secondment to the WHO Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) to advance the dissemination, uptake, and improvement of evidence-based global goods for NTD Mass Drug Administration (MDA) digitization and data use across African endemic countries.

The role will bridge country-level implementation needs with regional and global knowledge networks through ESPEN's platform, enabling countries to rapidly adopt and scale proven digitization and data use innovations that have demonstrably improved MDA coverage and data quality across diverse contexts to accelerate progress toward NTD elimination goals. The focus of this role will be helping countries leverage and adapt existing resources, templates, and proven approaches rather than reinventing solutions from scratch, thereby accelerating implementation timelines and reducing the burden on national NTD programs.

The ESPEN secondee will serve as the dedicated liaison and driver of resource dissemination, uptake, and iteration for the NTD Data Use Resource Hub on the ESPEN portal. Working within ESPEN's established governance and technical structures, the secondee will provide hands-on technical support to countries applying these resources, systematically document implementation challenges and pain points in ESPEN data use, and facilitate continuous improvement of both the resources and the ESPEN platform itself.

This position will work collaboratively with ESPEN staff, CHAI regional and country teams, other WHO/AFRO teams, WHO country offices, national NTD programs, UNICEF, and other implementing partners to maximize the impact of digitization and data use innovations on NTD elimination outcomes.

The Associate will have a deep personal commitment to producing results and be able to work independently to drive implementation. They must be a highly motivated, entrepreneurial individual with excellent strategic thinking and creative problem-solving. CHAI places great value on relevant personal qualities including resourcefulness, tenacity, independence, patience, humility, and strong work ethic.

The position will report to the Director of Digital Health within CHAI’s global malaria and NTD team, with day-to-day oversight by the Surveillance Officer & Data Analyst at ESPEN.

Responsibilities:

Global Goods Dissemination and Training (10%)

• Lead systematic outreach and training to NTD endemic countries through webinars, workshops, and targeted communication campaigns to raise awareness of available digitization and data use resources on the ESPEN portal
• Coordinate dissemination activities with WHO country offices, national NTD programs, and regional partners
• Train the ESPEN AI Assistant in optimal responses to digitization and data use related queries

Technical Support to Countries (75%)

• Provide hands-on technical assistance to three countries in tailoring and implementing global good resources to digitize MDA campaigns, including remote support for M&E frameworks, geospatial microplanning, data management, and data quality improvement, working through local NTD programs, Ministry of Health digital units, and technical/implementing partners; provide lighter-touch guidance and support to additional countries as needed and feasible
• Guide focus countries in developing evidence-based geospatial microplanning approaches, including triangulation methods for population estimation, data-driven IU-level workplan development, integration of multiple data sources, and systematic identification of missed populations or geographic gaps to improve targeting accuracy
• Guide the design of operational workflows for digital data collection, working through national NTD programs and local technical partners to support tool configuration and establish operational readiness for digitization in focus countries
• Assist focus countries in developing fit-for-purpose dashboard designs and data review meeting structures that enable real-time monitoring, rapid identification of low-coverage areas, and mid-campaign course correction to maximize population reach
• Support focus countries in the development of comprehensive data quality audits and assurance plans to diagnose root causes of data quality issues and effectively respond
• Coordinate with CHAI country teams and regional technical staff to ensure consistency and leverage implementation experience across contexts
• Coordinate with other WHO/AFRO teams providing NTD related technical and infrastructural support, including the Digital Finance Team (for MDA payment digitization) and the Polio Team (for the DIGIT-HCM initiative)

ESPEN Platform and Resource Improvements (10%)

• Systematically document feedback, challenges, and lessons learned from country applications of global goods
• Lead regular updates and refinements of global goods based on country experience, ensuring resources remain current, relevant, and responsive to evolving program needs
• Conduct systematic documentation and analysis of ESPEN platform user challenges and pain points, document recommendations, and develop and implement comprehensive action plans to address gaps

Knowledge Management (5%)

• Facilitate knowledge exchange between countries implementing similar interventions
• Contribute to progress reports, case studies, conference presentations, and publications on digitization and data use innovations in NTD programming
• Maintain up-to-date information on 1) the landscape of data collection tools and software used by NTD programs, MOHs and partners for campaign related data collection and use; 2) the status of integration of NTD data in HMIS and national data repositories, and; 3) a calendar of upcoming public health campaigns that can be leveraged for integrated campaign digitization purposes, including from JRSMs and the Health Campaign Coalition’s Campaign Hub

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Health Informatics, Digital Health, Epidemiology, or related field; Master's degree preferred
• Minimum 5 years of experience in the implementation of public health programs, preferably in Africa
• Demonstrated experience with mass campaigns for public health
• Demonstrated experience with monitoring and evaluation systems, data quality improvement, and data use for decision-making
• Proficiency in data visualization and dashboard development concepts
• Strong training and facilitation skills for webinars, workshops, and remote technical assistance
• Self-directed with strong organizational skills to manage parallel workstreams across different countries and contexts
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders
• Cultural sensitivity and ability to adapt approaches to different country contexts
• Ability to travel up to 30% of time
• Fluency in English

Advantages

• Direct experience with NTD programs, particularly PC-NTD MDA campaigns
• Familiarity with ESPEN portal, JAP/TEMF/EPIRF reporting requirements, and WHO NTD guidelines
• Experience with integrated campaign digitization or cross-program health initiatives
• Knowledge of Digital Public Goods (DPGs) and open-source health technologies
• Experience conducting user research and platform usability assessments
• Proficiency in French or Portuguese

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