Senior Program Director, Primary and Community Health Care

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 Senior Program Director with expertise in health system strengthening to provide strategic and technical leadership to a growing portfolio of work supporting primary and community health care. COVID-19 highlighted the importance of primary and community health care systems for ensuring continuity of care and addressing urgent health system needs. There is renewed attention to these frontline levels as countries focus on building more resilient and equitable health systems, specifically through workforce strengthening, and learning from challenges and innovations introduced in response to the pandemic.

The Senior Program Director will be a recognized leader in the field of primary and community health care, with experience in health workforce issues and primary health care service delivery innovation, and expected to build a pipeline of impactful work within a growing practice. The Senior Program Director will report to one of R4D’s Managing Directors and will collaborate with other members of the R4D leadership team. The preferred location of the position is the Washington DC area.

In their first year, the Senior Program Director will provide technical leadership over a newly launched community health workforce activity under the Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator (Accelerator), with an emphasis on education, recruitment, and financing of frontline community health workers. The Accelerator is a five-year program funded by USAID that provides catalytic support to countries as they tackle vexing health systems challenges and accelerate innovation and self-reliance. The Accelerator focuses on strengthening countries’ capacity to drive health systems change in a sustainable and institutionalized manner, while helping them tackle specific systems issues that hinder progress toward improved health outcomes. In addition to R4D, the Accelerator consortium includes the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF), ICF and a growing number of local and regional organizations. More information about the Accelerator can be found at: https://www.acceleratehss.org/.

In addition and increasing over time, the Senior Program Director will provide technical expertise and strategic leadership of program creation for a portfolio of other primary health care innovation and strengthening work led by R4D, building and expanding on R4D’s prior experience such as that under the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI [http://improvingphg.org]).

Responsibilities

• Provide overall strategic leadership, technical direction and thought leadership for the primary and community health care practice
• Lead new business initiatives in the primary and community health care practice
• Lead the overall planning and implementation of the Community Health Workforce Activity within the Accelerator project, including leadership of a team dedicated to the work. In collaboration with Project and Technical Directors, ensure high quality of all major technical deliverables and strong partnerships with select country stakeholders and USAID activity managers.
• Provide overall strategic leadership and technical direction in community and primary health care innovations across R4D’s health portfolio, particularly around health workforce.
• Effectively manage intersections among related R4D programs in community and primary health care, such as the Joint Learning Network (JLN) for Universal Health Coverage, the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI), the Strategic Purchasing Africa Resource Center (SPARC), the Learning Network for Countries in Transition (LNCT) and various bilateral country programs.
• Develop and oversee institutional partnerships related to primary and community health care with a wide network of global, regional, and local technical partners including potential donors (e.g., BMGF, Rockefeller Foundation, Global Financing Facility), key multilaterals (WHO, World Bank, UNICEF), and civil society organizations.
• Participate in public forums and effectively engage local and international audiences to ensure strong communication about R4D’s work in community and primary health care.
• Lead and publish global knowledge and analytic products and present to external audiences on global and country panels and conferences
• Coach and mentor junior staff on best practices for primary and community health care
• Promote a highly engaged organizational culture of excellence and continuous improvement that values learning and innovation, entrepreneurship, and commitment to organizational diversity, equity, inclusion and professional growth.
• As a member of the R4D Management Team, contribute to organizational strategy, policies and operations and design platforms through the Accelerator that could be replicated and/or utilized for other programs in health, education and nutrition.
• Participates fully as a member of R4D by contributing, assisting and participating in projects, activities, and initiatives as requested by management.

Qualifications

Specific competencies and skills required for the position include the following:

• R4D is seeking a leader with deep experience and passion for strengthening primary and community health care systems around the world and broad consensus-building experience across diverse constituents and contexts. They will have significant leadership experience on USAID-funded projects and direct experience with in-country implementation. They will be excited about R4D’s organizational strategy and motivated to work with key stakeholders to create effective, feasible operational approaches. The successful candidate will be a health systems expert and an energetic, mission-driven and collaborative senior leader with a track record of building diverse, high-performing teams and multi-stakeholder partnerships with strong communication and decision-making processes.
• Consideration for this pivotal role will be given to health policy, and/or international development professionals with 1) experience and expertise in primary and community health care, including health workforce issues; 2) experience providing project management and technical assistance to USAID- 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.
• At least Master’s and preferably doctorate in relevant field (medicine, public health, public/social policy, public administration or similar) or equivalent experience, with recognized expertise in health systems. Clinical experience is desirable.
• At least 15-20 years of experience, including at least 5 years with supervisory and program creation experience, with increasing leadership responsibility in government health agencies, global development nonprofits, foundations, donors, multilateral institutions, or international health systems. Experience should include designing, securing funding for, and leading community/primary health care programs.
• Demonstrated leadership showing strategic thinking in designing and executing projects, including steering work planning, managing and mentoring junior colleagues, and overseeing compliant and cost-effective use of resources to deliver on objectives
• Significant experience working with government leaders in multiple countries to design and implement primary and community health care reforms.
• Strong analytical and research skills, including clinical or programmatic implementation research, political economy analysis and/or program evaluation.
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills for both smaller, internal teamwork and larger, external events.
• Experience leading complex organizations or initiatives with multiple partners, interrelated workstreams, and operations around the world.
• Experience in leadership roles with USAID-funded programs required; experience in leadership roles with additional donor-funded programs desirable.
• Experience living and/or working in low- and middle-income countries, with experience working in the West Africa region preferred.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Proficiency in French (verbal and written) desirable.