Director, Immunisation Financing and Sustainability (Temporary)

Job Description

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together implementing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of more than 822 million children and the prevention of more than 14 million future deaths.

Under the supervision of the Managing Director, and as a member of the Gavi senior leadership group, the Immunisation Financing and Sustainability Director is responsible for leading the Immunisation Financing and Sustainability team. The Director will supervise and manage the team to ensure an effective implementation of Gavi’s co-financing and transition. The position requires high level technical expertise, representation, liaison and negotiation skills and the ability to build and maintain productive relationships with country Governments and other Alliance partners.

KEY FUNCTIONS AND DELIVERABLES

• Oversee the successful implementation of the co-financing policy, including the update and implementation of waivers;
• Finalise the strategy for domestic financing of immunisation service delivery, including roles and responsibilities for Gavi’s internal teams and Alliance partners and levering and managing new PEF investments;
• Achievement of the relevant key performance indicators (co-financing and transition);
• Ensure timely and accurate monitoring and reporting in the implementation of the co-financing and eligibility policies
• Effective partnership and collaboration arrangements with a wide range of stakeholders on the matters related to financial management, immunisation financing and long-term financial and programmatic sustainability of immunisation programmes;
• Provide leadership to align the immunisation and health financing agendas to Gavi’s Strategy and Goals and represent Gavi in international fora;
• Support the COVAX team to design and implement Gavi’s Middle Income Countries (MICs) strategy;
• Represent Gavi in external fora around financial management, immunisation financing, and overall health financing and sustainability leading to better programming and outcomes as well as closer coordination/cooperation with other institutions;
• Effective management of human and financial resources of Immunisation Financing and Sustainability team of Country Programmes.

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Management & Coordination:

• Lead and manage the team responsible immunisation sustainability and financing;
• Work collaboratively with other departments and teams in the Secretariat to achieve Gavi’s mission by ensuring that the IF&S team provides guidance and inputs to different internal Gavi processes;
• Build and maintain productive working relationships with UNICEF, WHO, World Bank and regional development banks, the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria and other relevant partners to deliver on Gavi’s mission;
• Mentor and coach the IF&S team and finalise the alignment of the team to the new structure in Country Support and Country Programmes;
• Be an active member of the Country Programmes Management Team.

Programme Finance and Sustainability:

• Lead and provide oversight of Gavi’s engagement and support to countries on matters related to the immunisation financing and transition at the country level to ensure their long-term sustainability;
• Finalise the review of the co-financing and eligibility policies in collaboration with the Policy team;
• Manage Gavi’s engagement with transitioning countries: ensure assessment of transition country needs, coordinate development of transitional plans for them and carry out policy dialogue and advocacy;
• Build and maintain partnerships with various technical agencies, financing institutions, and advocacy groups to ensure efficient and effective management of Gavi resources at country level and financial sustainability of immunisation programmes;
• Ensure that Gavi Senior Country Managers (SCMs) receive adequate technical support in their engagement with countries on matters related to immunisation financing and transition;
• Oversee various types of analytical activities related to immunisation financing, country-level cost and expenditure analysis, fiscal space assessment, knowledge generation and knowledge sharing activities related transitions, etc.;
• Ensure that necessary capacity building and technical support is delivered to countries by Gavi’s implementing partners in the area of immunisation financing;
• Represent Gavi and provide leadership in the Sustainability Financing and Health Accelerator (SFHA) and ensure the achievement of deliverables of the grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;
• Provide advice to the Managing Director of Country Programmes and the Executive Team of Gavi Secretariat on matters related to immunisation financing, implementation of co-financing policies and engagement with transition countries.

Note: The essential functions listed in this section are not exhaustive of the job responsibilities; other duties may be assigned consistently with the department needs.

QUALIFICATIONS

ACADEMIC

• Advanced university degree in public health, social sciences, health economics or related fields.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 15 years of professional work experience in managing programmes at national or international levels in the field of economics and health financing with an excellent understanding of health systems is required;
• Minimum 5 years of relevant working experience of managing and leading collaborative, engaged and service delivery teams in low- and middle-income countries is essential;
• Extensive experience and understanding of the strategic importance of country sustainability, particularly in relation immunisation programmes, health financing and health sector reforms is a plus;
• Proven expertise and experience in leading and managing transition processes of global aid organisation;
• Proven expertise and experience in leading and managing cross-cultural teams;
• Proven expertise and experience in working collaboratively with WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, USAID and other multilateral or bilateral development agencies, to deliver results, particularly in the area of immunisation and health financing.

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

• Experienced manager with a successful track record of working at a senior and strategic level with relevant stakeholders in low and middle-income countries;
• Experience of working in highly complex and demanding environments is highly desirable;
• Extensive knowledge of immunisation and health financing to enable sustainable implementation within the relevant country context is essential;
• Up-to-date knowledge of international efforts in improving sustainability and experience with performance-based aid in the health sector;
• Demonstrated experience of working in and delivering through multi-partner environments and experience of delivering results through a matrix-style management structure;
• Demonstrated capacity to successfully manage situations of considerable complexity and/or political sensitivity;
• Demonstrated experience of representational duties at international level and conferences;
• Experience in roles requiring extensive networking, relationship and alliance building;
• Significant strategic, analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Extensive knowledge of the characteristics of well-functioning health systems and health impact assessment;
• Extensive knowledge of computers applications (web-based information systems, databases and spreadsheets);
• Collaborative management style;
• Ability to work in an international and global environment with a global perspective;
• Must be confident and have reasoned decision making ability;
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills;
• Organised and detail-oriented;
• Potential to manage multiple projects simultaneously and maintain focus on priorities;
• Work independently and must be flexible within hours;
• High standards of personal conduct and integrity;
• Ability to work unsupervised.

LANGUAGES

• Written and spoken fluency in English is required;
• French/Spanish/Russian an asset.

CONTACTS

Internal contacts:

• Gavi Secretariat.

External contacts:

• Gavi Governance bodies; Gavi Alliance partners, including UNICEF, WHO, implementing country representatives, donors, civil society, vaccine manufacturers, product development partnerships, academic researchers.

If you wish to apply, please provide a cover letter and resume through our Careers webpage and apply by clicking on “Director, Immunisation Financing and Sustainability”. Deadline for applications is 7 July 2021.

Become part of our community and join us on Facebook and Twitter for updates about our mission to save children’s lives! You can also follow our hashtag #vaccineswork.

About the Organization

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children's lives and protecting people's health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of nearly 822 million children and the prevention of more than 14 million future deaths.