Program Associate - Health
Opportunity:
R4D seeks one or more Program Associates (PAs) to support the day-to-day operations of project teams within our dynamic Health portfolio. They will play an integral role in administrative, operational, and technical aspects of the projects in close collaboration with team members in Washington, DC and around the world.
These positions will be based in our Washington, DC office and will report to Senior Program Officers.
Project assignments will depend on each PA’s background, skills, and timing of availability. Illustrative examples of ongoing projects potentially requiring support include:
Indonesia Health Financing. Following its successful launch of national health insurance in 2014, the Government of Indonesia faces a range of options for how to continue to increase coverage, efficiency, quality, and sustainable financing. R4D is the health financing lead for two projects in Indonesia related to sustainable financing for nantional health insurance and improving access to high-quality tuberculosis services in the private sector.
Joint Learning Network Provider Payment Collaborative. The Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) connects practitioners and policymakers across countries to help bridge the gap between theory and the practical 'how to' of implementing reforms to achieve universal health coverage. The JLN Provider Payment Technical Initiative has been working with JLN countries since 2010 to identify practical challenges and creative solutions related to health care provider payment systems and better leveraging them for universal health coverage goals.
Act to End NTDs | East. Act | East support supports 13 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean to sustainably eliminate and control five neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). R4D leads the project’s health financing activities within broader efforts to more fully incorporate NTDs programming into the mainstream health system. Together with partners, R4D will support government officials and communities to assume greater programmatic and financial responsibility for the NTDs response.
Health System Strengthening Accelerator. This 5-year USAID-funded project will develop a global platform to connect locally-driven health system innovations with global knowledge, accelerate countries’ journeys to self-reliant health systems, and improve the institutional architecture for evidence-based and sustainable health system strengthening.
Responsibilities:
The Program Associate will be expected to provide a broad range of project functions that include: project monitoring and tracking of project activities against set objectives; development of project progress reports; coordination of development and submission of project deliverables; and business development support across the organization.
Other responsibilities include:
- Performing and supporting internal administrative processes critical to the functioning of a rapidly growing team and organization;
- Developing user-friendly templates and efficient processes for regular project reporting;
- Facilitating and supporting routine business processes, such as recruitment, procurement, contracting, and payments;
- Contributing to the development of high quality work products, including presentations, concept notes, briefing materials, blog posts, newsletters, meeting summaries, and more;
- Supporting the development and maintenance of positive relationships with multiple stakeholders, including within R4D and with partner and funding organizations;
- Over time, making increasing contributions to technical activities, such as conducting qualitative and quantitative analysis on technical and policy issues related to health systems and financing;
- Providing organization and logistics support for convening of stakeholder meetings, workshops, and other collaborative forums.
Program Associates are expected to be self-motivated, able to work independently within a multi-functional team, and have a high degree of flexibility to be responsive to the needs of colleagues and other project stakeholders. Ideal candidates should have strong written and oral communication skills, pay close attention to detail, have a strong commitment to excellence and the ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced, multicultural environment. They should also have the interest and ability to learn quickly, with an eye toward developing strong competencies in health financing and health systems strengthening.
Qualifications:
- Successful candidates are likely to have the following qualifications:
- Undergraduate training in Public Health, Economics, Business Administration, Management, Public Policy, Political Science, International Affairs, or other relevant discipline;
- Up to three (3) years of relevant work experience in a research institution, government, bilateral or multilateral development agency, consulting firm, NGO, or think tank.
- Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills;
- Experience working in a team environment;
- Demonstrated interest in health, health financing, and/or social sector policy development;
- Ability to delivery high-quality outputs and results within tight timeframes;
- Familiarity with routine administrative and project management functions;
- High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word; and
- Full professional fluency in written and spoken English; French fluency highly desired.
Additionally, R4D prizes people who are:
- Good and active listeners and facilitators;
- Productive, energetic, creative and task oriented;
- Adept at exchanging constructive feedback;
- Multilingual;
- Skillful communicators before scientific, policy and lay audiences;
- Equally comfortable and capable working independently and in teams;
- Highly collaborative and approachable; and
- Enthusiastic about joining a diverse and inclusive work environment.