Open Positions

Regional Advisor for Severe, Chronic NCDs in Southern Africa  

Reports to: Associate Director of Programs

FTE: 100%

Must be based full time in any of the following SADC countries: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, or Zimbabwe

Summary/Overview of Position:

The NCDI Poverty Network—a partnership of health ministries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean, as well as advocacy, policy, funding, and technical partners from around the world—seeks to expand access to lifesaving treatments for the world’s most vulnerable children, adolescents, and adults. The Network has two co-secretariats: the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique.

For now, the Network largely focuses on PEN-Plus, an integrated care-delivery model that enables low- and lower-middle-income countries to provide care to people living with severe, chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, sickle cell disease, and childhood heart disease. At present, 14 countries are implementing PEN-Plus, and an additional 15 countries are preparing for implementation.

The Network is looking for a Regional Advisor for the Southern African region to expand its clinical team to better respond to the large demand from countries to support the initiation and expansion of PEN-Plus services.

Candidates interested in this position must be based in any of the following SADC countries: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, or Zimbabwe.

The Regional Advisor will travel up to 30–50% time to provide direct on-site clinical and programmatic support for implementation. The Advisor will also provide frequent virtual support and consultations, create and revise training materials and other resources, contribute to strong communication and knowledge management systems, and participate in global forums and partnerships.

This person will be passionate about social justice and think boldly about expanding care to rural and impoverished populations. This person will be excited to work in a rapidly evolving and creative environment with team members based in many different countries.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide routine technical support to PEN-Plus implementation teams and sites in Southern Africa as well as act as core member of PEN-Plus global leadership team:

Provide direct support for PEN-Plus implementation through frequent travel to country sites to provide on-site support for clinics, staff, and teams, which can include the following:

• Providing clinical mentoring and teaching;
• Providing technical assistance on program design, clinic workflow, and other PEN-Plus activities;
• Supporting data system design, implementation, and data quality;
• Reviewing and adjusting budgets as needed;
• Supporting medication, equipment, and supply chain issues as needed;
• Reviewing results and data with program and clinical teams;
• Ensuring implementation reflects PEN-Plus Programmatic Standards;
• Providing written reports and action items after site visits;
• Liaising with the communications team as needed for updated content and stories to advocate for and fundraise for PEN-Plus; and
• Traveling to work on-site with country teams up to 30-50% of time.

Identify, develop, and manage partnerships to support NCDI Poverty Network activities at the national level:

• Engage in national-level meetings with Ministries of Health, academic colleagues, and other stakeholders to support national operational planning for PEN-Plus;
• Engage with other in-country partners, support uniform approaches to PEN-Plus, and ensure strong communication across teams, funders, and stakeholders;
• Provide coordination and technical support for National NCDI Poverty Commissions and PEN-Plus planning initiatives in which PEN-Plus has not yet been established (may include meeting preparation, facilitation, and/or documentation; coordinating work across partners; and contributing to written reports and presentations); and
• Work closely with the Policy Team to support collaboration with key regional or global partners, including WHO, UNICEF, Africa CDC, and others, with a focus on activities and partners impacting activities in the assigned countries.

Proactively organize, lead, and participate in communication and coordination, including a substantial amount of virtual support:

• Set agendas, contribute to minutes, and coordinate follow-up and action items for routine program check-in calls;
• Provide routine virtual and cross-site support by leading Technical Sessions, ad hoc calls, and other sessions, including participation in global forums;
• Continually identify, share, and operationalize best practices for communication and site support, and routinely consolidate regional experiences for dissemination across sites;
• Ensure communication feedback loops are strong across PEN-Plus and internal teams;
• Collaborate closely with interdisciplinary teams, including advancement, advocacy, communications, finance and administration, and policy; and
• Support systems improvement on an ongoing basis (e.g., program management, budgeting, communication, knowledge management).

Contribute to technical and clinical work, support, and resources to strengthen the PEN-Plus model, resources, and partnerships: 

• Engage with the technical teams and other Regional Advisors to support PEN-Plus standardization and sharing of best practices and contextual adaptations;
• Assist in grant reporting and other writing as needed;
• Represent the NCDI Poverty Network and PEN-Plus externally through presentations and in-person engagements as needed;
• Support ongoing codification and improvement of PEN-Plus by creating and/or modifying technical materials (e.g., training, protocols, program documents) and acting as a thought leader in identifying key themes, challenges, and solutions to implementation;
• Proactively participate in comprehensive and high-quality documentation to support all aspects of program implementation and technical support; and
• Fulfill other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in medicine with a specialty in Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, or the equivalent—or—an advanced degree in clinical nursing with clinical experience caring for patients with complex NCDs, including type 1 diabetes, sickle cell disease, and heart failure
• Master’s in Public Health or a related field an advantage
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a rural and resource-limited setting in the health sector
• Strong clinical background in rural health care settings; experience with management of noncommunicable diseases is preferred
• Experience in clinical teaching, training, and mentorship
• Extensive experience in program management and implementation in rural settings
• Strong English communication skills, both written and oral. French or Portuguese skills highly desirable
• Impeccable communication skills in a virtual environment and the ability to manage work in different time zones and across many teams and stakeholders
• Experience in training, professional development and mentorship
• Strong technical writing skills specifically for clinical training materials and protocols, with experience independently drafting and editing technical documents for various audiences
• Ability to develop high-quality presentations

Skills and Competencies Required:

•  Flexible disposition and ability to work in complex environment while maintaining an optimistic outlook and a collaborative, team-based approach
•  Willingness to travel up to 50% FTE to support partners and country teams
• Commitment to social justice and health equity
• Proven ability to build relationships with a range of stakeholders and drive immediate results
• Exemplary interpersonal communication skills, verbal and written, required to effectively engage with senior leadership, partners, and clinicians on sensitive political and confidential issues
• Demonstrated ability to interact professionally with culturally diverse staff, clients, and consultants

Working Conditions:

• Person may be based in home country with the expectation for 30-50% travel to project sites
• Busy office environment, both in person and virtual
• Significant time on international video phone calls; high degree of virtual work
• Communication across a variety of teams in a complex environment
• Flexibility regarding time zones for communicating with colleagues in USA, Africa, and Asia; evening calls will be needed as well as weekend travel
• Given employment and reimbursement structure, must be able to self-fund parts of travel (e.g., hotels, meals) and be reimbursed after the trip (per diems or advance payments not allowable within the organization)

Interested candidates should send their CVs and a cover letter stating their interest in the position to integrationscience@bwh.harvard.edu.