Job Title: Senior Associate, Health Economist
Organisation: Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI)
Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda
About US:
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance.
Job Summary: In June 2022, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), CHAI began scoping a program to support the Ugandan Ministry of Health to strengthen financial management and delivery systems to improve universal access to integrated SRHR and PHC. Between 2023 and 2026, CHAI will anchor Technical Assistance around two key health reforms (National Health Insurance Scheme and Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer Reform Program) to provide impactful and sustainable support to the MoH and the GoU.
Job Summary: To be based in Kampala, CHAI is seeking a qualified Senior Associate to join the Uganda Country Health Financing Team to support the finalization of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) design, map available resources for Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), build MOH capacity to write successful proposals and mobilize external and domestic resources. To ensure funds are efficiently utilized for service delivery, the Senior Associate will work with six focal districts to assess and improve implementation of Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer (UgIFT) and the new Results Based Financing (RBF) framework, developing a model for subnational Public Finance Management (PFM) capacity-building that can be scaled up to improve budget absorption and accountability.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Carry out needs analyses to validate the Essential HealthCare Package (EHCP) for establishment of the National Health Insurance (NHIS) benefits package
- Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current coverage of SRHR services within existing community-based and private health insurance scheme benefits packages in Uganda, to inform their inclusion within NHIS
- Systematically map resources available for SRHR using data from the recent National reviews (including the recent endline review of the Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child, and Adolescent Health investment case)
- Work with the MoH and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) to assess MDA compliance to gender and equity consideration requirements and evaluate their impacts on equitable allocations and outcomes
- Conduct a gender disaggregated analysis of NHIS enrollees once the NHIS is rolled out to inform improvements to design/implementation and increase the equity of coverage
- Assess sub national implementation of UGIFT and RBF within the district’s PFM system, disseminating results to the MOH on financial management bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement
- Support district, and local government leadership to leverage routine data (e.g., from DHIS2, annual health sector performance reports, facility monitoring reports) and identify financial and management bottlenecks to service delivery
- Work with identified focus districts and their health facilities focusing where there is greatest evidence of low budget absorption to improve district workplan management and audits to ensure efficient utilization of resources
- Lead preparations to assess Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development’s (MoFPED) district budget performance dashboard in 2024 to evaluate its functionality and identify opportunities for improvement, to enable more effective reporting against budgets
- Support MOH to write successful proposals and mobilize external and domestic resources
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The applicant must hold a degree in Economics with an MSc degree in Health Economics, Development Economics, Quantitative Economics, Economic Policy and Planning, with a strong focus on health as added advantage
- Three to five years of working experience and preferably 2 years of which will have been spent in research in conducting systematic literature reviews, data collation, analysis and write-up of economic data
- Outstanding analytical skills with proficiency to work on highly complex problems without extensive structural or operational support
- Ability to navigate complex government processes with multiple influencers, and effective at negotiating and achieving consensus
- Ability to work independently, as well as collaboratively as part of a team, and proven ability to meet project deadlines
- Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing
How to Apply:
All candidates should apply online at the link below.