The Senior Technical Advisor will cover all key aspects of pandemic preparedness, response and recovery, with an emphasis on: local leadership and governance; epidemic surveillance and information systems; health planning; preparation for and management of COVID-19 and other pandemic-prone infections, including infection prevention and control, and triage; continuity of non-COVID health care; risk communication and community engagement; and multi-sectoral partnership development for planning and coordination for the response and for equitable allocation of resources, including possible vaccines and treatments. S/he will liaise and collaborate with other experts particularly for emergency supply chain, laboratory services including testing, and other areas and keep up to date on the latest scientific developments in the field. S/he will apply lessons and adapt approaches from other epidemic and pandemic response efforts, and ensure that the latest WHO, CDC and other relevant guidance is used.
The Senior Advisor will work closely with and under supervision of the MSH’s Sr. Director for Pandemic Preparedness, Response and Recovery and be a key member of MSH’s COVID-19 technical working group and other epidemic emergency technical working groups. S/he will also advise MSH’s epidemic emergency task force. S/he will engage with project partners, donors and subject matter experts to design, monitor, evaluate and implement learning and coaching/mentoring, and assist with customizing strategies to build the capacity of both external and internal stakeholders.
The Senior Technical Advisor will have significant experience and expertise in pandemic preparedness and response, an understanding of global health security and all-hazards preparedness and experience working on programs in low and/or middle income countries. This position will initially be home-based until MSH resumes office-based work. At that time, the location of the position will be re-evaluated, and possibly move to an MSH office in Arlington, VA or Medford, MA. The position will be contingent on availability of funding.
Specific Responsibilities Include:
Education: Master’s degree in epidemiology, public health or a related discipline, or equivalent (required); medical degree preferred, with strong expertise in pandemic preparedness and response
Experience: Minimum 7+ years relevant experience and thorough knowledge of pandemic preparedness and response, GHSA and IHR.
Knowledge & Skills:
Competencies
Systems Thinking - Ability to understand, affect, connect, and leverage various parts of a system while maintaining sight of the whole system
Assessing, Managing and Measuring Work - Ability to set clear objectives, coordinate resources, people, and processes, and manage feedback loops to adjust approaches as necessary
Creativity and Innovation - Generates unique ideas and solutions and is good at bringing the creative ideas of others to the table. Exhibits good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work
Comfort with Ambiguity - Ability to deal with a lack of clarity in role definition, work processes, and decision-making and to create clarity for others when little exists
Flexibility - Ability to accept the unexpected and adjust to what the situation now requires rather than what was planned
Collaboration - Respect and fairness are the cornerstones of collaborative relationships. We appreciate others’ contributions and offer ours with humility.
Empowerment - The success of our colleagues and partners is at the heart of our work. In this spirit, we support local leaders in finding local solutions for their challenges.
Management Sciences for Health, an international nonprofit organization, is dedicated to closing the gap between what is known and what is done about public health problems. MSH saves lives and improves health by helping public and private organizations throughout the world to effectively manage people, medicines, money, and information. Working from more than 30 country offices and our US headquarters, our staff from 65 nations is highly regarded for its technical expertise, integrity, and commitment to making a lasting difference in health.
Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is a nonprofit international health organization composed of more than 2,000 people from 73 nations. Their mission is to save lives and improve the health of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health. Together with their partners, they are helping managers and leaders in developing countries to create stronger management systems that improve health services for the greatest health impact.
EXPERTISE
MSH takes an integrated approach to building high-impact sustainable programs that address critical challenges in leadership, health systems management, human resources, and medicines. Simply put, they support stronger health systems for greater health impact.
Their expertise in these areas falls into the broad categories of management functions—for example, leadership and governance or pharmaceutical management—and health areas like tuberculosis or maternal, newborn, and child health. They apply their expertise by
Leadership, Governance, & Management
They work with in-country partners to build stronger health systems to improve:
Health Service Delivery
MSH combines extensive public health expertise, proven service delivery approaches, and evidence-based interventions in five critical areas:
Human Resources for Health
MSH helps governments develop multisectoral strategies and policies to plan and manage their health workforces. We use a comprehensive approach that addresses all the facets of human resources for health needed to achieve an adequate supply of well-trained and motivated health workers. MSH offers capabilities in leadership, human resource management, education, partnerships, policy, and finance to achieve these goals.
Pharmaceutical Management
Vital to our success is a participatory approach to project design and implementation, which cultivates broad-based support from all stakeholders. We also build and improve infrastructure and local capacity to effectively purchase, store, deliver, and use quality essential medicines.
Health Care Financing
MSH helps governments and NGOs assess their current financial situation and systems, understand service costs, and develop initiatives to use existing funds more effectively and generate additional revenue—all with the goal of supporting a nation’s health priorities.
Health Information
MSH has developed proven methods for rapidly strengthening the analysis and use of existing health data—normally at the province, district, and facility levels—without revising existing recording and reporting requirements. With an emphasis on learning through action, district teams undertake assessments of health services, identify gaps in performance, and design solutions to support better decision-making and, therefore, better management of improved services.
MSH has worked closely with the Health Metrics Network of the WHO to develop a comprehensive approach for enhancing the performance of health information systems and data by employing a practical, strategic planning process that can be carried out by national working groups.