Manager- Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights

Job Description

As CIFF’s ambition in supporting comprehensive sexual & reproductive health has grown, we are increasingly investing to shape the overall architecture for how markets serve end users with the products they need to control their health. This includes new partnerships to coordinate market strategy, as well as efforts to shift the procurement & financing of commodities to more sustainable futures.

This role will manage a portfolio of existing and new investments with the aim of making sexual & reproductive health (SRH) product markets function more effectively. The role includes a strong emphasis on public-private partnerships, new product introduction, and strengthening market data & analytics – anchored on CIFF’s support to establish a new entity for country-driven market strategy (SEMA Reproductive Health). This role will also develop new investment opportunities to transform the procurement of SRH commodities and to strengthen the manufacturing and regulatory contexts in our countries of focus. We are seeking an entrepreneurial leader who combines deep knowledge of SRH and other global health domains with a nimble problem-solving mindset.

Background

CIFF’s SRHR Sector has a growing investment portfolio with a five-year goal to: Accelerate a demographic transition through choices that prevent unplanned pregnancy and improve comprehensive sexual and reproductive health.

The current objectives of the portfolio are to:

1. Change facts-on-the-ground: Through a self-care revolution that equips millions with the tools and choices to take control of their SRH

2. Youth centred design & delivery: Demonstrate, deliver and inspire others to adopt a next generation of youth-focused SRH programmes, leveraging the digital transformation in health

3. Provide philanthropic leadership on demographic transition and health systems

4. Build sector resilience by confronting opposition tactics and defending SRHR spending

5. Leverage: Increase the proportionality and diversity of co-funding

The Sector is growing, with a highly localized and multi-disciplinary team. We are currently 16 based in Addis Ababa, London, Nairobi and Delhi. We are supported by cross-cutting Evidence, Measurement & Evaluation (EME), Finance, and Legal teams.

Role purpose

• Ensure effective management of existing investments to strengthen the SRHR landscape & ensure access to commodities (see examples below), establishing effective relationships with grantees and other partners, actively course correcting where needed, and building the confidence of CIFF leadership in the results that our programmes yield.
• Develop a pipeline of new investment opportunities, with an emphasis on new mechanisms for commodity procurement, financing, and distribution partnerships that increase efficiency, build country ownership, better integrate the private sector, and accelerate access for the under-served.
• Serve as a team resource on organizational development, global health governance, and supply chain analytics.

Management dimensions

• The role’s portfolio management will largely sit under the accountability of CIFF’s Director of SRH Markets, while direct line management will depend on the Manager’s office location.

This role may eventually have oversight of an Analyst, subject to portfolio growth and people management experience of the successful candidate.

Role Responsibilities

Strategy and planning

• In collaboration with the broader Commercial Solutions team, strengthen CIFF’s strategy on the future architecture for SRH commodity access, drawing on external expertise to build confidence in our management approach.
• Lead through influence – working cross-functionally and serving as a resource/mentor to managers and analysts from other teams and CIFF country offices and partners.

Programme development, delivery & performance

• Serve as primary programme manager for an existing grant portfolio of ~$50M, including the launch and growth of SEMA Reproductive Health, a new initiative to strengthen global and country strategies on SRH product introduction & access, with core funding from CIFF and other donors.
• Work closely with the management and governance structures of SEMA to strengthen organizational performance, establish key performance indicators, and develop a pipeline of new programmatic initiatives to be supported via SEMA funds.
• Develop internal coordination mechanisms for effective matrix management of existing programmes that will be integrated into SEMA.
• Building on an ecosystem analysis to be finalized in Q1 2022, work with the CIFF SRHR leadership team to scope a “big bet” investment on commodity procurement & financing mechanisms.
• Ensure that all new programme proposals adopt a commercial, sustainable and innovative approach to permanently solving the most challenging problems.
• Manage risk by upholding and applying relevant due diligence and risk management practices across the portfolio and at every stage, to ensure the interests and reputation of the Foundation are protected.
• Working in partnership with the Evidence, Measurement & Evaluation team, identify and embed appropriate monitoring and evaluation processes to all proposals and programmes.
• In collaboration with partners, conduct regular reviews of the progress and performance of programmes under delivery to identify problems and delays, and implement effective solutions.

Sector knowledge, partner management and profile-building

Requirements of the role holder

• Progressively responsible leadership roles in demanding and diverse organisations.
• Deep knowledge of health product markets in low- and middle-income countries, including procurement mechanisms, regulatory environments, and the manufacturer landscape.
• Working knowledge of the sexual & reproductive health sector, and an understanding of key players and debates.
• Established networks in key global health institutions, ideally relevant to sexual & reproductive health product and service access (e.g., UNFPA, Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, key donors, Global Fund, WHO); ability to draw on lessons from market shaping partnerships in other health areas (e.g., experience with Unitaid, Gavi).
• Networks in and knowledge of key stakeholders in priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (e.g., Ministries of Health, civil society organisations).
• Experience in supporting public sector decision-making, especially knowledge of domestic health budget dynamics.
• Quantitative skills, including financial modelling, costing tools, and business plan analysis.
• Outstanding communication skills using a variety of presentation techniques.
• Strong management skills with a background of leading, inspiring and empowering others, plus demonstrable experience of supporting workplace diversity.
• Experience in a professional services context (e.g., strategy consulting) is advantageous.
• Proficiency in French and/or local languages in our countries of focus is advantageous.

About the Organization

The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) is an independent philanthropic organisation, employing around 200 people across offices in Addis Ababa, Beijing, London, Nairobi, and New Delhi. CIFF works with a wide range of partners seeking to transform and empower the lives of poor and vulnerable children and adolescents in developing countries, with the ultimate goal of solving seemingly intractable challenges to ensure all children and adolescents have the chance to survive and thrive.

CIFF aims to play a catalytic role as a funder and influencer to deliver urgent and systemic change at scale. Areas of work include empowering adolescents and young people to control their sexual and reproductive health to avoid unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion and HIV/AIDS; improving children and mothers’ health and nutrition; preventing low birthweight babies; eliminating deaths from severe acute malnutrition, nested within a more integrated approach to childhood development; and deworming efforts to break transmission for good. CIFF’s child protection work focuses on ending child labour and sexual exploitation by enabling an environment that reduces vulnerability of communities and increases protection of children. The organisation’s climate portfolio is driven by a vision of a climate-safe future for today’s children and future generations that also bear the benefits of cleaner air, energy security and sustainable jobs. Across these areas of work, we seek to be the gold standard in grant making and foundation operations, and place significant emphasis on quality data and evidence.

We are privileged, as a financially independent philanthropy, to be able to work in challenging areas that others can’t and we often elect to work on what can be controversial issues that others won’t. For example, CIFF is pro-choice with respect to women’s reproductive rights along with the prioritisation of access to reproductive information and to contraceptive choices. It is imperative to the CIFF family, therefore, that prospective candidates are aware of the issues we work on and embrace all our programmatic work with fully open minds to the huge number of ways in which we seek to empower young lives.

Building and harnessing diversity of perspective and experience within CIFF is critical to us achieving our bold goals. We strive to deliver a work environment which is diverse, equitable and inclusive, respecting and embracing individual differences and needs, and enabling all members of the CIFF family to be at their best.

We consistently work to enhance our policies and practices, ensuring that they actively support this intent. And we offer a flexible, hybrid model of working which seeks to accommodate the individual needs of our people and enhance employee wellbeing.

For more information please visit www.ciff.org – we recommend you review our website to gain an oversight of all our programmes. If you would like to join CIFF, please apply via the Careers section of our website. If you need to speak with us for any reason, please don’t hesitate contact our Recruitment team by email, at recruitment@ciff.org.

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