Fellowship: USAID. Global Health Fellows Program II

Global Health Fellows Program II

Technical Advisor I: HIV/AIDS Costing Analyst

Strategic Planning, Evaluation and Reporting Division, Office of HIV/AIDS, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development

Location: Washington, DC                     

Duration: Two year fellowship

GHFP II-P2-065                   

The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with CDC Development Solutions and Management Systems International. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

GHFP-II's goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by developing and increasing the capacity of health professionals with tailored development opportunities. This is accomplished through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels, and performance management and professional development activities aimed to enhance the technical and leadership skills of fellows.

   

BACKGROUND:

The US Government (USG) has made the fight against HIV/AIDS a top priority, not only for humanitarian reasons, but because the HIV/AIDS crisis threatens the prosperity, stability and development of nations around the world. USAID has been, and continues to be, at the forefront of the USG response in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, funding 10 billion dollars in activities since inception of its international HIV/AIDS program in 1986 with programs in nearly 100 countries worldwide. PEPFAR is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease. In July 2008, the United States Congress re-authorized the PEPFAR legislation in the amount of $48 billion, $35.4 billion of which is dedicated to HIV/AIDS services, $3.8 billion to tuberculosis, $4.8 billion to malaria, $1.7 billion to research and $2.3 billion to training health care workers. The Global Fund will receive at least $2 billion per year.

PEPFAR recognizes health systems strengthening (HSS) as a key strategy to secure the sustainability of its past and future achievements. PEPFAR's reauthorization provides an opportunity to strengthen health systems and health policy, as the USG's and its partners' efforts to combat HIV/AIDS transition from an initial emergency approach to a more long-term sustainable approach. The PEPFAR II legislation prioritizes strengthening HIV/AIDS health policies and health systems and assigns USAID with the complimentary task to develop and implement a plan to strengthen host country health systems and health policies to combat HIV/AIDS. USAID's HSS program provides support to ensure that developing country health systems are effective, efficient, and equitable. USAlD's assistance in the area of health systems is an integral part of creating effective basic services in maternal and child health, infectious disease and other priority services.

The overall objective of USAID's Bureau for Global Health (GH), Office of HIV/AIDS's (OHA) HSS program is to provide USAID leadership in building the sustainability of the HIV/AIDS response through investment in health systems. OHA views health systems strengthening as a continuous process of implementing changes in policies, management and systems within the health sector. Health systems strengthening activities may encompass all levels (national, district, community) and will address any of the six building blocks of the World Health Organization's health system framework -financing, service delivery, human resources for health, health information systems, pharmaceutical management, health policy and governance, including advocacy and civil society participation. OHA works collaboratively within USAID, with other US Government agencies, and with the international community to implement its HSS vision through coordinating activities, evaluating programs, developing guidance and supporting countries to ensure the application of up-to-date health systems development interventions in both the public and private sectors.

Efforts are rapidly increasing to identify and realize potential programming efficiencies under PEPFAR and to promote efficient resource allocation within partner countries' HIV/AIDS programs. Cost analysis was undertaken through the FY11 Headquarters Operational Plan in the areas of adult and pediatric treatment, PMTCT, and counseling and testing. Cost analysis is expanding to Orphans and Vulnerable Children and other prevention activities. From 2009, PEPFAR began to pilot results-linked routine expenditure analysis activities as a method to update cost estimates more rapidly. These analyses will begin to yield cross-program area cost data on a more regular basis, and over time will reduce the need for the type of time-consuming, labor-intensive special data calls to the field and reviews relied upon for this study.

INTRODUCTION:

The HIV/AIDS Costing Analyst will be assigned to the Bureau for Global Health, Office of HIV/AIDS, Strategic Planning, Evaluation and Reporting (SPER) Division, and will receive programmatic and technical guidance from the HSS Team Lead. S/he will focus on economic evaluation of HIV/AIDS programs and interventions, with primary emphasis on the generation of information to support efficient resource allocation decisions. Key technical emphases include costing, cost modeling, cost-effectiveness analysis and the use of cost information. The HIV/AIDS Costing Analyst will serve as one of the HSS Team's focal persons on costing activities within the context of PEPFAR and the Global Health Initiative, advancing OHA's vision for the use of cost information in collaboration with other technical staff.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:                             

The primary responsibilities of the HIV/AIDS Costing Analyst include:

• Provide technical assistance to other OHA divisions, USAID missions and PEPFAR country teams in the assessment, design, implementation of HIV-related economic evaluations and cost analyses
• Participate in the development, implementation, and analysis of economic evaluation studies at headquarters and in the field
• Serves as a technical specialist in analyzing cost data, especially pertaining to resource tracking, costing, and cost-effectiveness studies
• Conduct evaluations, comparative analyses, and other research tasks in support of costing and health finance related projects
• Work closely with the Health Systems Strengthening team to conduct research studies by taking the lead in one or more major research activities (e.g., site training, protocol development and/or review, data analysis and monitoring plans, project management, study implementation, data analysis, data monitoring, data management, paper/report writing)
• Provide technical assistance to the research team, interns, in-country colleagues and others as needed
• Prepares study administration and analysis tools
• Conducts data analysis
• Participate in technical meetings, seminars and conferences as needed
• Liaise with multiple technical working groups to provide technical support to cost analyses and other economic evaluation activities
• Monitor implementing partners' economic evaluation work in the field, including fulfillment of a technical advisory role on specific projects as assigned
• Support the PEPFAR Finance and Economics Working Group and ad hoc modeling working group as needed
• Serve as a technical resource to the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) and other PEPFAR implementing agencies on OHA-led and jointly led Health Economics activities
• Participate in OHA's HSS planning in PEPFAR's Headquarters Operational Plan (HOP) development
• Maintain knowledge of state of the art costing and economic evaluation practices and serve as a technical resource for OHA, USAID, and PEPFAR

Other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned based on (a) organizational and programming need and/or (b) the Technical Advisor's own interests.

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master's degree in public health, health economics, health finance, health management, health policy, or other relevant field
• 0-7 years experience in cost analysis, economic evaluation, capacity building, resource mobilization, data analysis and research design, management and implementation with or without experience in an international or resource challenged setting
• Demonstrated understanding of and ability to apply accepted tools, techniques and frameworks for economic evaluation and cost analysis of HIV/AIDS interventions
• Specific technical expertise in conducting economic evaluation and analyzing costing data
• Experience working on one or more additional areas preferred: HIV/AIDS, health systems strengthening, health policy, statistics
• Strong quantitative and qualitative research skills are required
• Excellent writing, editing, research, and presentation skills
• Knowledge of public health research methodology as related to data collection instruments, data collection and analysis
• Knowledge of statistical methods used in data analysis
• Knowledge of and ability to use electronic data processing systems to gather, store, retrieve and analyze data
• Experience using MS-Excel and preferably relevant software packages such as SPSS, SAS, R and Stata
• Demonstrated experience working with a wide range of development partners, including multilateral and bilateral donors as well as private foundations and civil society
• Demonstrated flexibility and openness in responding to changing work priorities and environment
• Demonstrated ability to grasp knowledge of internal processes within the US Government and other health sector development partners, (e.g. thematic priorities, decision-making mechanisms, and preferred funding channels)
• Strong interpersonal communication and writing skills and ability to work with diverse teams
• Strong teamwork, multi-stakeholder collaboration and management skills
• Resourceful in resolving problems and initiating solutions
• Willingness to travel up to 30% of time
• US Citizenship or Permanent Residency required

SALARY AND BENEFITS:  

Salary based on commensurate experience and earnings history. The Public Health Institute offers a comprehensive benefits package including professional development programs http://www.ghfp.net/docs/2012_Benefits_Booklet_GHFP.pdf

TO APPLY:

All applicants are required to apply for this position through GHFP-II's online recruitment system at https://www.ghfp.net/recruitment/, which allows you to store your CV, profile and bio data form in our database. A separate cover letter describing your qualifications and experience, interest and familiarity with issues relating to this position, and how this position relates to your career goals is required for each application. All applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm Eastern Time December 28, 2012.