Deputy Country Director, Sierra Leone

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. For more information, please visit:

CHAI established presence in Sierra Leone in February 2015. While CHAI’s original intent was to provide assistance related to the Ebola response, it became clear based on preliminary conversations with the government that the real need for partner support was in the realm of health systems strengthening. After conversations with the Ministry of Health (MoH) in early 2015, CHAI developed a scope of work focusing on Human Resources for Health (HRH) and Supply Chain (SC), supporting the HRH Directorate within MOH and the National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit (NPPU) respectively. Based on this request, CHAI worked with the government to design a robust program of support to these Directorates. CHAI also then worked closely with MOH to strengthen the overall supply chain and health workforce management systems in the country, including improving commodity data collection, visibility and use to support distribution planning and ascertaining key health workforce gaps following the Ebola crisis and instituting measures to address these.

During this time, CHAI made significant progress in both areas of focus and was able to build trust and establish strong relationships with the government. In HRH, CHAI primarily focused on generating data and information that helped inform decision-making at the HRH Directorate. Within Supply Chain, CHAI focused on supporting the successful operation of the Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI).

Alongside HRH and the supply chain, CHAI currently provides technical assistance to the MoH through accelerating the rollout of lifesaving vaccines (data systems strengthening and new vaccine’s introduction), improving access to Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives - LARC’s and advancing post abortion & comprehensive abortion care services, building MoH capacity on geospatial (GRID3) data use for improved health policy decisions, and increasing access to assistive technology. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that the government of Sierra Leone lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.

The Deputy Country Director, Sierra Leone, will support the Country Director to oversee all elements of CHAI’s operations in Sierra Leone and will be responsible for ensuring that CHAI’s existing programs continue to deliver exceptional results while aggressively expanding CHAI’s operational footprint to better support the Government of Sierra Leone to improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable.

Responsibilities

The Deputy Country Director will report to the Country Director and will be responsible for the following tasks:

Support the Country Director in defining overall strategy, develop clear operational plans for execution, and continually identify opportunities for CHAI to add value and maximize impact.

Maintain robust financial, administrative, and human resource policies and systems, ensuring they are aligned with CHAI global policies.

Maintain a thorough understanding of the health landscape in Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation’s key priorities and challenges.

Build and sustain trust with key external stakeholders at National, Regional and District levels, at the Ministry of Health & Sanitation and other government departments, at both ministerial and administrative levels, as well as international agencies, NGOs, and donors

Serve as the key internal liaison between the country team, global/regional teams, and operations teams

Develop and manage program budgets and performance indicators in collaboration with program staff.

Identify and support development of new program and funding opportunities and develop and manage relationships with existing and potential donors.

Oversee internal management of the office’s daily operations, including contracting with vendors, ensuring compliance with local laws, safety & security, and interfacing with CHAI’s legal and financial teams

Support human resources management, including recruitment, management, and professional development of existing staff

Lead processes for internal and donor reporting

Oversee all program strategies, activities, work plans, M&E, and reporting

Develop communication materials, make presentations and represent CHAI at public forums

Given CHAI's lean staffing model, take responsibility for some direct programmatic work when and where needed in support of the country team and provide high-quality technical assistance to the government as needed/requested.

Other activities and responsibilities, as needed

The role will be based in Freetown, with potential travel to districts (maximum 10%).

Qualifications

CHAI places great value on relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, energy, and work ethic. We seek a highly committed and adaptable individual with a desire to be part of a team delivering quality results with limited resources. The individual must be able to function independently and flexibly in a swift manner. The ideal candidate will possess cultural sensitivity skills and demonstrate high emotional intelligence, as they will be working closely government and external partners.

Minimum qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in public health, medicine, business or equivalent experience

Strong analytical skills and willingness to actively engage in the substance of the work

Strong program management experience

At least seven years of work experience in a demanding, results-oriented environment, with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership

Ability to manage within sensitive political contexts and develop strong relationships.

Proven ability to inspire, mentor, and lead teams for consistently high performance

Ability to work within limited budgets and human resources

Comfort working on highly complex problems without extensive structural or operational support

Efficiency in negotiating and achieving consensus

Exceptional problem-solving skills, ability to manage numerous work streams simultaneously,

Ability to build and nurture relationships in a challenging multicultural environment.

Proficiency in working independently to solve complex problems without extensive structural or operational support from HQ

Ability to achieve maximum efficiency and impact with limited human and financial resources

Mentor, manager, role model and team player who demands 100% performance from self and entire team

Excellent understanding of MS Office with proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word

Proven ability to be effective in high-pressure situations

Ability to work within budgetary constraints

Excellent business-oriented oral and written communication skills

Exceptional strategic thinking, problem-solving, team building and interpersonal skills.

Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills

Fluency in English, both written and oral

Willingness and ability to travel as needed.

Advantages

Fluency in Krio or other local languages of Sierra Leone

Experience working with external partners in Sierra Leone

Working experience in Sub-Saharan Africa

Previous CHAI experience

Experience:Bachelor's Degree or equivalent plus 10 years work experience; or Advanced Degree or equivalent plus 8 years work experience; or equivalent work experience

Full Time