Technical Director – USAID Frontier Health Markets (FHM) Engage

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.

Results for Development (R4D) is seeking a highly motivated and dynamic Technical Director for the Frontier Health Markets (FHM) Engage project, funded by USAID. The Technical Director will be responsible for overall technical leadership and strategic direction for the project and will provide thought leadership in the operationalization of market development approach (MDA) for improving the functioning of family planning (FP) and other health markets and increasing effective public-private engagement to achieve improved health outcomes. This is an exciting position offering the opportunity to be on the forefront of applying a market lens and systems thinking to effect long-term change.

FHM Engage is a USAID global cooperative agreement to provide technical assistance (TA) supporting local actors to improve the ability of health markets to meet supply-side capacity gaps and demand-side issues such as consumer preferences, contributing to equitable provision of and access to high-quality FP and other health services and products in mixed health systems. FHM Engage is led by Chemonics and its core partners, co-technical lead Results for Development (R4D), Pathfinder, and Zenysis. FHM Engage’s robust partner network includes 16 local, regional and international partner organizations. The FHM Engage project uses a market development approach to identify root causes of underperforming health markets to co-design with market actors sustainable solutions to deliver the lasting behavior change needed to evolve health markets.

This position is based in Washington, DC and reports to R4D’s Managing Director, and Chemonics’ FHM Project Director.

Background

The public health sector faces many constraints and cannot meet the growing demand in family planning, maternal newborn and child health, HIV/AIDS, TB malaria services in low- and middle- income countries. The market development approach is a facilitative, inclusive process that begins with an understanding of current market performance in terms of core market operations (supply and demand) as well as market systems and relevant market actors. This analysis determines who the market is failing (e.g. consumer groups), how and why the market is not performing (e.g. poor functioning market operations and systems) and potential interventions to address market failure. FHM Engage, using market intelligence, supports local market actors to co-design a market strategy that shapes market actors’ incentives and behaviors to address the root causes of market underperformance. Based on the market strategy, FHM Engage facilitates the market actors to jointly implement the interventions and to monitor and make mid-course corrections to ensure the market strategy is achieving its proposed objectives of equitable and sustainable access to quality FP services and products.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall strategic leadership and technical direction for MDA for the FHM Engage project, enable project partners, field staff and local actors to develop and operationalize tools and methodologies to implement the four step MDA process (i) Describe/Diagnose, (ii) Design, (ii) Deliver, and (iv) Adapt and Learn.
• Serve as senior member of the FHM Engage leadership team, including participating in regular meetings with USAID and Mission AORs to advance MDA concepts, align technical approach with Mission priorities and monitor progress of core and field support technical activities. Advise USAID and other stakeholders, as appropriate, on market development technical trends and programming priorities.
• In collaboration with the Project Director, ensure high quality of all major technical deliverables and country programs. The Technical Director is responsible for establishing and managing quality oversight systems to ensure timely deliverance of activities and products.
• Manage a small team of Technical Advisors who are responsible for direct technical management and oversight of project products and country programs. The Technical Director ensures technical quality of technical assistance offered and technical products such as tools and methodologies, technical reports, case studies, and agreed-on deliverables.
• Enable the Technical Advisors and/or project experts in market system functions (stewardship, market intelligence, rules and regulations, financing and quality) to define, develop tools and methodologies specific market functions and to support FHM Engage field staff to implement them to shape the different market system functions.
• Provide thought leadership to advance MDA, and clearly and compellingly describe the FHM Engage’s MDA approach in global forums and dissemination events. Facilitate FHM Engage team and activity design to generate evidence, learning, and innovation to advance the global community’s understanding of local health markets and strategies to address market failures.
• As a part of the Leadership Team, support the development of FHM core work plan and country programs, design activities and draft relevant sections as appropriate. Travel, as needed, to anticipated field support countries and existing buy-in countries to introduce MDA and align the field support workplan to Mission identified priorities.
• Partner with different project staff to advance technical knowledge and learning on MDA. Collaborate with the project’s monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive learning (MEAL) team to identify and document accomplishments, how these accomplishments connect to changes in country/local health markets, and how the market systems change over time. Collaborate with the communications team to disseminate key learnings for internal and external audiences through different communication channels.
• Work closely with Chemonics’ Partnerships Director and Project Management Unit to participate in the selection process to identify local or regional organizations to implement MDA activities. Ensure, through the Technical Advisory team, that the work completed by partners is aligned with the FHM Engage approach and of high quality and alert PMU in shifts in implementation.
• Oversee R4D’s staff implementing core and field support. Tasks include providing guidance on strategy development, direction of technical activities, and quality assurance and problem solving on implementation challenges.
• Oversee Technical Advisory Team’s efforts to identify and recruit individuals with technical expertise for short- and long-term assignments to operationalize core work plan and field support work planning activities.
• Establish and maintain collaborative working relationships with local implementing partners, government counterparts, USAID mission staff and other stakeholders.
• Serve on R4D’s management team
• Participates fully as a member of R4D by contributing, assisting and participating in projects, activities, and initiatives as requested by R4D management.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate for this position will be a highly motivated individual with demonstrated technical, management, communication, and interpersonal skills who is capable of effectively carrying out a diverse array of technical and managerial responsibilities. S/he will have demonstrated effectiveness in a highly collaborative environment, balancing strong leadership with the ability to build relationships, communicate a vision, understand the perspectives of all stakeholders, solve problems, and forge compromises.

Qualifications include:

• Advanced degree in public health, health economics, health administration, health policy, or a related social science field.
• At least fifteen (15) years of experience in international health programming, with at least 5 years’ experience in senior level management positions and experience leading large and complex projects primarily focused on private sector in health;
• Demonstrated expertise in market shaping or market dynamics, or implementing market-based approaches specifically in the areas of family planning, MNCH and other priority health areas;
• Knowledge of USAID rules and regulations , Previous experience on complex global USAID projects preferred;
• Proven track record of working collaboratively with implementing partners, local country partners, donors, international organizations, country government representatives, and other stakeholders;
• Strong interpersonal and capacity building skills including mentoring and coaching;
• Strong organizational skills, and a capacity to handle multiple tasks under tight deadlines;
• Excellent communication skills, including fluency in both verbal and written English; proficiency in a second language is preferred but not required.