Program Officer

Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents around the world — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — to create strong systems that support healthy, educated people. We help our partners move from knowing their goal to knowing how to reach it. We combine global expertise in health, education and nutrition with analytic rigor, practical support for decision-making and implementation and access to peer problem-solving networks. Together with our partners, we build self-sustaining systems that serve everyone and deliver lasting results. Then we share what we learn so others can achieve results for development, too.

We have a unique and vibrant culture at R4D. Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of our work environment and help advance our mission. Diversity—of ideas, identities, perspectives and backgrounds—is vital to who we are and what we do. We seek people who embrace these values and will help reinforce them. Our work culture is collaborative, creative and entrepreneurial. We operate based on trust and respect. Teams across the organization frequently collaborate on programmatic work and support each other in continuously building a better R4D.

R4D seeks a Program Officer with health systems expertise to provide technical, program management and coordination support to the Cross-Programmatic Efficiency Analysis workstream.

Cross-Programmatic Efficiency Analysis (CPEA)

The Cross-Programmatic Efficiency Analysis (CPEA) diagnostic approach, developed by WHO, detects inefficiencies resulting from the way in which health programmes and related services are articulated within the context of the overall health system. This approach helps to identify and address duplications, misalignments, and overlaps between shared functions that are common across specific health programmes. To date, the CPEA diagnostic approach has been applied in more than 13+ countries world-wide. CPEA has informed data-driven country dialogue across programme- and system-components around specific areas for improved integration and coordination to improve efficiency and enable health outcomes.

Through its application, analysis and data-informed dialogue have been built across programme- and system-components around specific areas for improved integration and coordination to improve efficiency and enable outcomes. R4D has been awarded a contract to support the next phase of this work programme which will continue to focus on country support, as well as cross-country learning and dialogue. It will leverage experience to date to enable CPEA to serve as a critical bridge between the overall health system and individual health programmes. This bridge is both critical to improve the efficiency with which resources are used across the system to maximize outcomes, but also to enable a more sustainable investment approach.

The Program Officer will report to the Associate Director and will collaborate with other members of the R4D team.

Responsibilities

The Program Officer will lead facilitation and program management activities under the CPEA workstream. This role will provide day-to-day oversight of program implementation and deliverables and coordinate with WHO liaisons, partners, and consultants to ensure the program of work runs smoothly. Responsibilities include:

Consideration for this pivotal role will be given to health policy or international development professionals with 1) experience and expertise in health financing and/or health economics; 2) experience providing project management and technical assistance to WHO, BMGF or other donor-funded initiatives; and 3) the ability to meet rigorous timelines, track results, effectively manage staff and multi-stakeholder relationships, and support decision-making at the national and sub-national level to create positive change.

• Provide overall project management of R4D’s responsibilities on the CPEA-WHO contract/ work program
• Lead external relationship management with WHO (client), including through 1:1 weekly check-ins, bi-weekly steering committee meetings
• Prepare the monthly summary report and programmatic and financial reports as required by WHP
• Leads in the development and coordination of technical products under the CPEA work program, including through:
• Leading the design and development of technical deliverables on behalf of the R4D team
• Technical review and quality assurance of all deliverables (including coordination with Associate Director and partners) prior to final submission
• Coordinate with partners to guide/coach a group of countries in implementing CPEA and/or provide technical guidance as needed
• Lead internal team coordination and management, including facilitating and documenting weekly team check-ins, coordination of team inputs in work processes
• Collaboration and thought partnership for team strategic visioning and brainstorming
• Coaching/providing oversight of junior staff supporting the work
• Providing oversight to project management infrastructure, such as knowledge management tools/processes
• Leads in all aspects of contractual and budget management to carry out work, including:
• Oversight for contracting, procurement, and performance management processes of external consultants/service providers
• Budget management for approving and monitoring all expenditures against the budget, with finance officer support on monitoring
• Submission of all payment milestones and coordination of payments/invoices for work completed, with finance officer/grants support
• Risk management to elevate challenges/risks to Associate Director/Leadership as needed
• Seek opportunities for cross-technical collaboration with SPARC
• Support project management including tracking timelines and budgets, funder reporting, and consultants
• Participates fully as a member of R4D by contributing, assisting and participating in projects, activities, and initiatives as requested by management.

Qualifications

Successful candidates are likely to have the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Public Policy, Public Administration, Economics, Finance, Business Administration, or other relevant discipline;
• Three – five years of experience working on health policy, planning, and/or financing in low- and middle-income countries;
• Demonstrated track record of providing effective technical assistance to health and finance officials at the national and/or sub-national levels in areas such as strategic and operational planning, resource needs estimation, resource mobilization, public financial management, program implementation, and financial monitoring;
• Experience working in private, public, and/or civil society sectors and experience providing technical assistance to various countries in a variety of contexts and in collaboration with a range of partners and stakeholders;
• Ability to prioritize and manage work in a fast-paced environment across multiple projects and workstreams with competing time/resource demands
• Full professional fluency in English, with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Fluency in French in written and verbal communication is desired
• Significant experience with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, as well as the ability to translate complex technical analysis for policy and lay audiences;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and to effectively manage project teams, including steering work planning, managing and mentoring junior colleagues, and overseeing compliant and cost-effective use of resources to deliver on objectives; and
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.