Technical Advisor, Visceral Leishmaniasis Initiative

*POSTING*: Technical Advisor, Visceral Leishmaniasis Initiative

LOCATION: Ethiopia

REPORTS TO: Project Manager, Visceral Leishmaniasis Initiative

TERM: Fixed term, through mid-2023

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS: Up to 40% (once travel safety resumes)

SALARY: The anticipated starting base salary range for this position is 1,278,982-1,534,778 Bir annually

POSTING DEADLINE: This position will close at 11:59 pm EDT on March 23rd

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

The END Fund is the world’s leading collaborative philanthropic investment vehicle dedicated to controlling and eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). NTDs are parasitic and bacterial infectious diseases – including intestinal worms, river blindness, trachoma, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis – that affect over 1.7 billion people globally. The END Fund’s vision is to ensure people can live healthy and prosperous lives free of the risk of NTDs and has set out to accomplish this by:

• Mobilizing and investing resources for maximum impact,

• Advocating for innovative, integrated and cost-effective NTD programs; and

• Facilitating philanthropic and private sector engagement to end these diseases.

By engaging a community of activist-philanthropists and taking a systems approach, the END Fund works in collaboration with governments, local and international NGOs, pharmaceutical companies, and academic partners on the global campaign to control and eliminate the most prevalent NTDs by 2030.

Since our founding in 2012 through 2020, with our partners, the END Fund has provided over 1.1 billion treatments for NTDs worth more than $1.3 billion. In 2020 alone, we reached more than 91.9 million people with more than 133.6 million NTD treatments, representing an almost 10-fold increase from 2012. The END Fund works globally in 25 countries, with a primary emphasis in Africa.

You can learn more about the END Fund and our 2020 impact story here.

ABOUT THE END FUND’S PROGRAMS TEAM

The Programs team is responsible for sourcing, designing, managing, supporting, and monitoring the END Fund’s programmatic investments, projected to exceed $30 million in 2021 across three investment funds: the Flagship Fund, the Deworming Innovation Fund, and the Reaching the Last Mile Fund.

The Flagship Fund currently operates in 18 countries supported by the END Fund. Since the END Fund does not implement programs directly and instead relies on implementing organizations – local nonprofits and governments – the successful candidate must be capable of excellent engagement with grantee partners throughout the program design, execution, and financial and impact monitoring cycle; this includes providing capacity building and organizational development support for implementing organizations in their investment portfolio.

THE OPPORTUNITY

In 2021, the END Fund operationalized a three-year VL Initiative in collaboration with private philanthropists and the World Health Organization to fill an urgent gap. The END Fund is committed to leaving no one behind in the elimination of VL, which will require expanded and innovative case finding and early treatment. During this two year initiative, the END Fund is partnering with the governments of ​​Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan to advance elimination of visceral leishmaniasis as a public health problem, defined as < 1% case fatality rate due to primary disease.

This fixed-term (through mid-2023), full-time Technical Advisor role will report directly to the Project Manager, VL Initiative, with a primary focus on:

1. High-quality and timely VL reporting and accompanying documentation, including but not limited to: quarterly diagnosis and treatment reports, standard of care and quality assurance, annual drug applications, quarterly financial reporting etc. to the MOH NTD Team Coordinator and the VL Program Manager;

2. High-quality and timely quarterly updates on VL data entry, report generation, and use of leishmaniasis data for decision making at the Regional Health Bureaus and implementing partner levels to the MOH and Regional Health Bureaus, NTD Team Coordinator and to the VL Program Manager;

3. Ensure High quality service to VL diagnosis and treatment;

4. Expansion of VL diagnosis and treatment facilities which is integrated to routine health system; and

5. Improved VL supply chain management.

The successful candidate will be able to work independently with minimal oversight, and have a demonstrated track record of effectively prioritizing and managing multiple activities, and possess the professionalism to engage successfully with a wide range of technical and non-technical partners. Considering the highly technical aspect of this project, this person will be expected to bring a sophisticated understanding of all its components, in order to provide effective guidance to the Federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia and partners and guarantee the quality of all activities implemented. This is an individual contributor position with no direct reports.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & CORE COMPETENCIES

• Planning and Coordination: Work with the END Fund’s VL Project Manager and the Ethiopian NTD Team Coordinator and disease focal persons to:

• Support for the implementation of an integrated VL control and treatment programs;

• Advocate for improved national and regional capacity and ownership;

• Coordinate and facilitate periodic programme review and meetings with the MOH, regional bureaus/district/county departments and other stakeholders;

• Liaise with the FMOH and Regional Bureaus to facilitate planning, funds transfer, facilitate its implementation as per the partnership agreement with the END Fund and submit reports to the END Fund country lead as per the agreement;

• Build NTD partnership for planning, integration of VL services and resource mobilization;

• Perform other related activities as requested by the NTD program.

• Diagnosis, Referral and Treatment: Work with the Ethiopia NTD Team Coordinator and disease focal persons to:

• Support in strengthening and scale up of the leishmaniasis diagnostic and treatment sites in high endemic regions as part of the implementation of the National NTD Master plan for the control of leishmaniasis;

• Provide technical and coordination support to the development of standardized VL training material as part of the WHO recommendation and based on the National guideline;

• Capacity building of regional health bureaus and health care providers in leishmaniasis prevention, control, diagnosis and treatment;

• Provide technical support to VL treatment sites in highly endemic regions for the provision of quality VL services including quality drugs and diagnostic supplies;

• Strengthen health care providers in early case detection, prompt diagnosis, referral and treatment;

• Support social mobilization in hot spot areas in case finding and active case detection.

• M&E Surveillance and Outbreak Investigation: Work with the END Fund’s VL manager and NTD Team Coordinator and disease focal persons to:

• Support in improving the national capacity for disease surveillance and specially to detect and respond to outbreaks;

• Monitoring and evaluation of the leishmaniasis program activities, standard of care assessment and laboratory quality assurance in collaboration with the Regional Health Bureaus, regional Laboratories and Federal Ministry of Health;

• Capacity building of regional health bureaus and treatment facilities staff in M&E, surveillance and Outbreak investigation;

• Support routine reporting of leishmaniasis data through HMIS DHIS 2 system.

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

• Doctor of Medicine from a recognized University required; Medical Doctor with postgraduate in Public Health desired

• At least 5 years proven work experience in communicable disease prevention and control programs with more than one-year practical experience on leishmaniasis required; At least 2 years proven experience in leishmaniasis project management or other related public health activities preferred

• Fluency in English and the local language (Amharic) required

• Experience building capacity of healthcare workers on leishmaniasis and NTDs, and strengthening leishmaniasis disease surveillance required

• Strengthening the national leishmaniasis control programme in line with the country NTD master plan WHO Road map

• Ability to foster integration and teamwork

• Ability to build and promote partnerships across the organization

• Comfortable moving forward in a changing environment

• Ability to communicate credibly and effectively, verbally and in writing

• Ability to work in Ethiopia required

OUR PHILOSOPHY AND BENEFITS

The END Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. It is our policy and intent that all qualified persons be given full and equal opportunities for employment, training, promotions, wages, benefits, and all other privileges, terms, and conditions of employment.

The END Fund offers a competitive compensation package intended to motivate employees to perform at the highest level by acquiring superior skills and competencies. Our philosophy is shaped by the following guidelines: 1) understandable, 2) fair and defensible, 3) competitive, and 4) flexible.

The END Fund is at an exciting stage of organizational growth and we are rapidly expanding our global footprint in order to bring on the most talented team members to help advance our mission. Currently, the majority of our team is based in the United States. We maintain physical headquarters in New York City, and other team members work from their homes across the US, Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

The offer for this role will be informed by country-specific market data that we will commission late in the recruitment process.

Our benefits packages are also informed by local contexts to ensure appropriateness and competitiveness within specific markets. Regardless of location, all END Fund team members receive cell phone and WiFi connectivity support, flexible work arrangements, a healthy annual professional development allowance, and more. In the United States, the END Fund offers 100% employer-paid health and life insurance benefits and twelve weeks fully paid family care leave; similar benefits will vary modestly by country of residency. **