Background: Founded in 2002 by President William J. Clinton and Ira Magaziner, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is global health organization committed to saving lives, reducing the burden of disease and strengthening integrated health systems in low- and middle-income countries. 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 delivering high-quality health services. CHAI does not operate stand-alone programs, nor does it build parallel health systems. Rather, CHAI works at the invitation and in support of governments.
The Government of Ethiopia is rolling out health insurance with the goal of reaching most of its population of close to 100 million people by 2020. The government is scaling up community-based health insurance for the informal sector, rolling out social health insurance for the formal sector, and harmonizing these two schemes under a national insurance scheme. This is one of the most ambitious health financing reforms on the continent, with the potential to transform the health system and move the country closer to its goal of universal health coverage.
To successfully roll out this ambitious reform, the newly formed Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency will need to overcome technical, operational and management challenges. There is a need to develop management structures with clear roles and responsibilities. There is also a need to generate evidence and inform design decisions such as the benefits package, contribution rates, pooling strategy and provider payment mechanisms, and to develop robust end to end processes for successful enrollment, claims management and financial management.
CHAI has been asked by the Minister of Health and senior leadership of the Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency to provide comprehensive support in all of these areas to support implementation of the national Health Care Financing Strategy and to ensure that the insurance reform has the intended outcomes increasing access to and utilization of essential health services. Ethiopia will be a flagship program for CHAI’s work in health insurance, shaping our engagement in other countries.
The Ethiopian healthcare system is increasingly facing a range of complex issues that need innovative solutions to expand access and deliver high-quality healthcare services, while controlling costs. These pressures will only increase as the country seeks to implement universal health coverage (UHC), and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3: “to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages” by 2030. Hence, Ministry of Health is increasingly looking for innovative partnerships and contracting models to finance and deliver care.
Following the recent expansion in engagement with the private sector by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFEC) as one way for government institutions to implement their programs, Ministry of Health (MOH) has identified PPPs as a key mechanism to improve access, efficiency and quality of health services that are currently offered at public facilities.
CHAI is currently carrying out a wide range of programs to support the Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency in improving access to and the quality of health services. As one of CHAI’s largest field offices with more than 160 staff, the Ethiopia Office operates programs across: maternal, newborn and child health; Child Survival; HIV/AIDS; Cancer; woreda transformation; Laboratory Service; vaccines; HRH and health financing. The health financing program aims to transform how the health system is financed to substantially and sustainably increase access to services, beginning with essential services for those most in need. To pilot the PPP approach and address key health system challenges, CHAI is providing technical support to MOH to design and implement a PPP pilot program in public hospitals and health centers in Addis Ababa. When proven successful, the pilot initiative will be rolled out at scale throughout the country. The PPP initiative will be pilot tested in five clinical and non-clinical departments: laboratory and pathology, imaging, laundry and equipment sterilizations, and pre-hospital services.
Job Summary: under the supervision and guidance of the Country Director, the Senior Program Manager will provide both management and technical support to the Health Financing Program to ensure that Health Financing and Health Insurance-(CBHI & SI) program planning and execution Projects are executed effectively. The Senior Program Manager will also manage the administrative requirements associated with HI and HF project grants, specifically in the area of reporting, budget management, and operational plan tracking
The Senior Program Manager (SPM) will lead the Health Financing team.
REPORT TO: Country Director
Supervises: Program Managers-CBHI Pilot, Health Financing and Health Insurance, PPP (Public Private Partnership)
JOB REPONSIBILITIES:
· Oversee the implementation of the Health Financing program work plans including planning, budgeting, forecasting, monitoring and reporting;
· Ensure effective communication with CHAI Country leadership and with HF teams
· The Senior Program Manager (SPM) will lead CHAI Ethiopia’s engagement in health financing by supervising the health financing program managers and the team in working across directorates in both the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency (EHIA).
· This SPM must have a strong understanding of the Ethiopian health financing and health insurance context.
· The SPM will develop partnerships with both MoH and EHIA leadership as well as their regional offices, and act as a thought partner, providing technical and strategic input to help shape the long term direction of health financing and health insurance in Ethiopia.
· Conduct needs assessments at the Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency and support design of CHAI’s strategy to meet these needs as well as a long term technical assistance plan to help coordinate efforts of other stakeholders.
· Work with CHAI staff and the government in health financing areas ranging from economic evaluation and identifying and addressing inefficiencies, to resource tracking, to resource mobilization.
· Work with teams to design systems that facilitate monitoring and early identification of problem areas during the roll-out and scale-up of the insurance scheme, working with management to prioritize and address these problems as they arise.
· Engage stakeholders working in Ethiopia, coordinating and participating in technical working groups.
· Leverage external expertise, working with universities, partners and other public insurance schemes to respond to key strategic questions from the government.
· The SPM will be responsible for fundraising so that the team can continue to provide technical assistance to the government’s health financing priorities.
· The SPM will be the face of the Ethiopian health financing team, managing relationships with donors, other partners, CHAI leadership and CHAI global teams. Internally, he or she will be responsible for budget and team management.
· Document Ethiopia’s experience for donors, stakeholders and other CHAI teams and governments.
· Build and maintain strong relationships with CHAI donors as a strategic partnership
· Perform any other activities assigned by the Country Director
Minimum Qualifications:
· Advanced University degree in Medicine, Public Health, Health Economics, financial management, public policy preferred;
· 7-10 years of professional experience in demanding, results-oriented environments in the public sector and/or private sector (e.g., management consulting);
· Experience in the planning and execution of large scale projects; including budgeting and activity planning
· Excellent problem solving, analytical and quantitative skills, including attention to detail and experience in modeling using Microsoft Excel;
· Experience managing team members with diverse backgrounds and skills
· Experience structuring and leading evidence-based decision making processes
· Proven track record working in challenging multi-stakeholder environments
· Ability to work independently, set priorities and handle multiple tasks simultaneously;
· Ability to learn on the job quickly and absorb and synthesize a broad range of information;
· Ability to navigate ambiguous and complex processes and be flexible;
· Strong interpersonal skills and ability to achieve consensus amongst stakeholders;
· Strong communication skills, including delivery of compelling presentations and documents in Microsoft PowerPoint and Word and
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
· Excellent strategic thinking and analytical skills, ability to identify and pursue high-impact strategies in complex, uncertain, and evolving environments
· Change-oriented and results-oriented
· Ability to build strong relationships and influence senior stakeholders
· Strong track record of tackling complex challenges with multiple and varied stakeholder groups and applying evidenced-based decision making.
· Strong project management and documentation skills, Ability to set and meet and deadlines
· Humility and willingness to work hard in difficult conditions, patience with bureaucracy
· Strong organizational skills with the ability to work in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment and handle multiple tasks simultaneously
· Strong command of the English language required and Amharic preferred
· Excellent computer skills including MS word, Excel, and Power point
· Comfortable working in a diverse setting with varied cultures
· Training on health Insurance
Additional Qualifications which come as an advantage:
· Knowledge of Health Insurance ( CBHI) and SHI
· Experience working with governments and demonstrated ability to favorably influence decision making processes in a diplomatic and collaborative manner
Experience working with MOH Ethiopia and knowledge of health systems in Ethiopia