Associate, Health Systems

ABOUT VILLAGEREACH

VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone, so that each person has the health care needed to thrive. We develop solutions that improve equity and access to primary health care**.** This includes making sure products are available when and where they are needed and primary health care services are delivered to the most under-reached. Radical collaboration with governments, the private sector and other partners strengthen our ability to scale and sustain these solutions. Our work increases access to quality health care for more than 58 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. VillageReach is incorporated in Washington State and has offices in Seattle (USA), Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Mozambique.

Summary

VillageReach invites qualified candidates to apply for the position of Associate, Health Systems team. The Health Systems team takes a systems and cross-technical approach to ensure delivery of equitable primary health care. The Associate will support across different workstreams in the team, such as demand, and human resources for health. The successful candidate will be a person motivated by mission, by a highly dynamic and entrepreneurial environment, and by the understanding that their contribution can and will impact the success of VillageReach. Candidates eligible to work in DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa are eligible to apply. This position does not qualify for relocation or work permit sponsorship. This is an immediate hire and candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Description

VillageReach seeks an Associate to support across different workstreams in the Global Technical Health Systems team, such as vaccine demand, human resources for health, and equity.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities of the Associate, Health Systems include the following. Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time.

Promoting Equity through Supply Chain (50%)

VillageReach developed a framework for promoting an equity lens in supply chain to improve supply outcomes of availability, potency, and access. The framework is available here: https://www.technet-21.org/en/library/main/6441-promoting-equitable-health-product-access-%20.

• Support the deployment and implementation of supply chain equity guidance by identifying opportunities in countries where VillageReach works
• Collaborate with country governments to communicate the importance and value of equity, in relation to efficiency
• Collaborate with other supply chain partners to identify opportunities for deployment of the guidance where VillageReach does not have presence
• Build partnerships with donors and governments to use the supply chain equity framework in their funding applications
• Socialize the equity framework through multiple mechanisms, such as organizing webinars, posting on forums, writing blogs etc.
• Create presentations and materials for country teams to use with governments
• Document learnings

Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Human Resources for Health: (40%)

VillageReach is leading research and advocacy work related to the use of Community Health Workers (CHWs) as vaccinators. This technical brief provides some framing for this work: https://www.villagereach.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Community-health-workers-as-vaccinators.pdf

• Support research and advocacy efforts related to leveraging CHWs as vaccinators
• Support development and implementation of supply chain interventions to improve vaccine supply availability for CHWs
• Support desk review to synthesize the existing HrH landscape and inform new areas of work
• Contribute to the development of educational materials and/or training curriculum
• Provide surge support as needed to contribute to donor reports and new business development opportunities
• Synthesize lessons learnt from work for dissemination across countries and support writing blogs or papers
• Implement strategies to improve human resources for health (HrH) related to health worker capacity development, community-level service delivery, health worker wellness, community health workers, supply chain workforce development

Cross-cutting team support: (10%)

• Helps organize meeting agendas and action items
• Support with project management across multiple grants, by tracking deliverables and timelines
• Support demand generation and community engagement to improve equity
• Liaise with VillageReach advocacy and communications team to produce communications materials including white papers, collateral, and/or blogs relevant to VillageReach project work

Competencies:

The following competencies reflect what is expected of all VillageReach employees; including examples of how one might demonstrate each of these competencies in one’s role.

• Personal Motivation and Drive: Is self-directed in one’s approach to work, but asks for help when needed; holds oneself accountable; undertakes self-development activities; seeks to build and master new skills; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities within the organization
• Collaboration & Effective Communication: Establishes and maintains effective relations with coworkers, partners & stakeholders and external parties; works collaboratively with others to accomplish organizational and team goals and objectives; works actively to resolve conflicts; expresses ideas and thoughts effectively; selects and uses appropriate communication methods and maintains meaningful communication with virtual coworkers and other parties to keep them informed
• Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Takes personal responsibility for and supports others across the organization in creating and sustaining a diverse work environment where individuals are welcomed, valued, respected and supported; personally committed to attaining cultural competency including self-awareness of one’s own attitudes about culture and cross-cultural interactions; exhibits the willingness and ability to engage openly and respectfully around issues of race, colonialism, identity and culture; upholds equity in access to sharing of information, ideas, and opportunities throughout VillageReach
• Commitment to Excellence: Produces a high output of work, both in terms of quality and quantity; looks for ways to improve and promote quality; monitors work to ensure quality; has a personal commitment to the mission of VillageReach
• Solution Orientation & Innovation: Focuses on results and desired outcomes and how to best achieve them; gets the job done; sees opportunities for creative problem-solving while staying within the parameters of good practice; sees old problems in new ways and has novel approaches to solving those problems; contributes original and/or resourceful ideas to their area of responsibility; is able to consider and articulate risks and consequences of proposed innovations and factor these into decision-making

REQUIREMENTS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Education & Experience:

• BA/BS with 3-5 years of relevant program experience;.
• Strong project management experience working across time zones and multiple offices
• Understanding of inequities in health care with ability to apply equity lens and anti-racism principles to all work, required
• Ideal candidates will have specific skills & direct project implementation experience in at least one of the following technical areas: immunization, community health, training/workforce development, equity, demand generation
• Demonstrated understanding of challenges with working in rural, underserved and low-income context. Experience living in and/or working in a low-income country a plus
• Skillful written and verbal communication with ability to synthesize and deliver information to diverse audiences in a clear and concise way, required
• Understanding of global partnerships and country stakeholders, preferred

Other Qualifications:

• Ability to manage complex relationships and partnerships with donors, technical partners, and governments
• Experience or ability working with diverse stakeholders and collate information from multiple sources
• Self-motivated; independent worker able to set and meet deadlines with minimal coaching. Proactive about reaching out to colleagues to complete responsibilities or asking for direction when needed
• Proven record of accomplishment balancing detailed execution with strategy and partner/opportunity landscape
• Comfortable taking on a role that will evolve/change based on emerging needs. Ability and desire to learn new skills and technical areas quickly while on the job.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable in a fast-paced technical environment with many technologies in use
• Fluency in spoken and written English required. French and/or Portuguese is a bonus
• Comply with VillageReach policies, including COVID-19 vaccine policy

Environment and Physical Demands

Depending on the employee’s location and specific job requirements, employees may work remotely or at office locations in Washington State (USA), DRC, Malawi, or Mozambique. VillageReach has no private offices, employees work in a shared, open environment with task and conference rooms accessible to employees for privacy and meetings. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. Due to the time zone differences between our Seattle office and our Country Offices our global HQ and Country office staff are expected to be available for late afternoon/evening meetings up to 7pm CAT.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION:

VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most underserved and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

This is an immediate hire and therefore resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis until filled. To apply, please submit your resume, a cover letter and a one-page writing sample to our online portal: http://www.villagereach.org/join-us/

Safeguarding:

VillageReach is committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults, and beneficiaries with whom it engages. We expect everyone working with us to share this commitment through our code of conduct.All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which may include criminal records. VillageReach participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, in line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Compensation:

VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. We hire people into the established range based on one’s experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history.