Director, Women’s & Newborn Health
Country Malawi
Type Full Time Program (Division) Women and Children’s Health – Global SRH
Additional Location Description CHAI program country in Africa, pending CD approval
Telecommute Yes
Overview
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.
CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work in conjunction with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis.
Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology.
Program Summary
Every year, over 300,000 mothers die from complications around pregnancy and childbirth. Ninety-nine percent occur in low- and middle-income countries and unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortion, particularly among adolescents, significantly contribute to these deaths. For children, the first four weeks of life are the most vulnerable. Each year, an estimated 2.6 million infants are stillborn. Almost one million newborns do not live past their first day, while another million do not survive their first week.
Simple and effective interventions are available to prevent unintended pregnancies, treat pregnancy and labor complications and save the lives of newborns, but many countries face critical gaps which prevent the interventions from being implemented.
CHAI’s Women’s and Newborn Health (WNH) cluster aims to significantly reduce unmet need for modern contraception and the incidence of unsafe abortions in program countries and end preventable maternal and neonatal mortality. We pursue global and country-focused market shaping opportunities for WNH products to create an enabling environment for the introduction and scale-up of quality-assured products and services in LMICs.
Position Summary
As Director of the Delivery group for the Women’s and Newborn Health team, you will lead at least two senior managers to support interventions at the country level to strengthen delivery of quality WNH products and services. You will work collaboratively with 10+ country teams to design and support implementation of programs, assess program progress against overall objectives, and identify key risks and opportunities.
The Director will support country teams to remain abreast of global best practices and evidence related to SRH and to translate this information into improvements in country-specific programs and approaches. In addition, you will support country teams to design and conduct analyses that inform program strategy, monitor and evaluate program progress toward milestones, and work with other CHAI program teams to achieve the grant goals.
The Director will work with WNH leadership to develop and refine CHAI’s overall WNH strategy and to develop other multi-country grant opportunities. The Director will report to the Vice President, Women’s and Newborn Health.
Responsibilities
Program strategy and management
- In collaboration with country teams, drive and oversee the development, initiation, execution, growth and monitoring of WNH delivery programs at CHAI in line with CHAI’s overall global strategy for Women’s and Newborn Health
- Develop and maintain standards and guidelines for support to country teams across the Delivery group
Relationship and Partner Management
- Establish and cultivate relationships with CHAI teams – with leadership and staff in-country, and in program teams – to understand priorities and goals, inform and influence program strategies and explore new workstreams
- Maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including donors, as a respected and trusted thought leader within CHAI and within the global and regional women’s and newborn health community
Team and people management
- Maintain a high-performing team who can work across the organizational matrix to ensure progress toward program outcomes
- Make hiring and compensation recommendations; support recruitment and onboarding of new team members
- Cultivate a supportive environment for direct reports to develop professionally
- Provide regular coaching and feedback to team members; receive and adapt to feedback from team members.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree, and 10+ years of progressive experience in the field of women’s health, in the context of global health or international development
- 5+ years of experience in a senior leadership and supervisory role, with demonstrated ability to recruit, manage, evaluate, and develop staff and contribute to the fostering of a diverse and results-oriented team
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills in English (written and verbal)
- Proven ability to identify, cultivate and manage strategic external partnerships, including experience engaging with key donors and other CHAI country and global teams, including with stakeholders at high levels of seniority
- Passionate about people development and able to help diverse team members improve skills and performance through coaching and consistent supportive accountability
- Strong work ethic, integrity, credibility, and dedication to CHAI’s mission
- Ability and willingness to travel, approximately 30% of the year.
