The Country Support Manager (CSM) will work with
LST to ensure the rapid scale-up and effective management of
high-quality diagnostics for high burden diseases, focusing primarily on
diagnostics for patients with HIV and TB. The CSM will work with
Ministries of Health and CHAI country teams across multiple focal
countries, helping to optimize policies and processes, expand access to
high quality diagnostics, ensure that countries have adopted best
practices in planning and implementation of testing programs, and
support forecasting and procurement of essential diagnostic
products. The CSM will also provide support in the quantification and
mapping of funding needs against available resources, helping the
government to identify funding gaps and design interventions and scale
up plans in consideration of current resources.
Historically,
the majority of diagnostic testing for HIV and TB has been conducted on
conventional, laboratory-based technologies using sample transportation
systems to expand access to testing to patients living in rural areas.
However, access to these products is limited in many countries, and
Ministries of Health require continued support to improve the efficiency
of these technologies, expand their reach, and introduce new types of
essential tests. In addition, several POC products for diagnosis,
disease staging, and treatment monitoring have recently become available
or are in development, with the potential to dramatically increase
access to treatment, improve patient retention, and make healthcare
systems more efficient. These technologies need to be integrated with
existing conventional laboratory networks, with an appropriate balance
between centralized and decentralized testing.
The
CSM will support countries in the implementation of both conventional,
laboratory-based diagnostic products and new, innovative point-of-care
(POC) products that bring diagnostics out of the laboratory and closer
to the patient. In particular, The CSM will support countries in
adopting the recently published WHO 2013 guidelines, including the use
of viral load (VL) for monitoring patients on anti-retroviral therapy
(ART), and developing strategies for scaling up testing programs, which
include HIV diagnosis, CD4 testing, Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) and
other opportunistic infections. In addition, the CSM will assist
countries with the evaluation, adoption and uptake of new POC diagnostic
products, which can reduce the burden of undergoing testing, and
improve access to essential tests, particularly in rural areas.
The
CSM will also support LST in global negotiations with diagnostics
manufacturers to lower prices, and with the development of new
procurement strategies such as instrument rental deals to enable easier
product switching. Finally, the CSM will help develop LST’s
market-shaping strategy for fostering competition in the global
diagnostics market. In doing so, the CSM will develop strong
relationships with various teams within CHAI, as well as Ministries of
Health, diagnostics manufacturers, and other external partners in
beneficiary countries.
We
are seeking a highly motivated individual with outstanding credentials,
qualitative and quantitative analytical abilities, and communication
skills. The CSM must be able to function independently and flexibly and
have a strong commitment to excellence. CHAI places great value on
relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity,
independence, energy, work ethic and emotional intelligence.
This
is a challenging but rewarding role, which will have direct and
near-term impact on thousands of patients in need of life-saving health
services. The role will be based in Nigeria with up to 50% travel in the
region.
Responsibilities:
- Serve
as a key advisor to Ministries of Health, CHAI country teams, and
in-country and global partners on the expansion of access to diagnostic
testing, and the adoption of new diagnostic products and their
integration into existing laboratory networks
- Manage and coordinate diagnostics projects across multiple CHAI focal countries, with multiple work streams in each country
- Act as the focal point to manage the relationship between LST and CHAI country teams, including country team leadership
- Share
best practices across country program to ensure knowledge is shared on
the strategies, tools and experiences of all programs
- Support countries in the adoption of the recently published WHO 2013 guidelines
- Support
countries in the development of strategic and implementation plans for
HIV diagnosis in adults and children, including EID, CD4 and VL testing.
- Support the adoption of current and new HIV and TB diagnostic products and their integration into existing lab networks
- Assist
Ministries of Health to build capacity to perform technical evaluations
to drive regulatory approvals and ensure that new technologies perform
accurately, conduct operational pilots to demonstrate the cost
effectiveness and impact of new products on patient outcomes, and assist
with analysis and writing of evaluation reports
- Develop and share deployment models and strategies for how to maximize the impact of existing and new diagnostic technologies
- Prepare impact analysis and build tools (forecasting, budgeting, work plans, etc.) to support countries’ activities
- Assist
Ministries of Health in the development of testing policies and
national implementation plans, and the creation of operational systems
to support the wide-scale implementation of new and existing diagnostic
products, such as training, quality assurance, and data management
- Work with CHAI country teams, governments, and partners to identify funding for increased investment in new diagnostic products
- Design
and implement monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems to measure
the impact of new and existing technologies and assess progress against
project goals
- Assist LST to manage global supplier relationships
through product demand forecasting, market analysis, sharing of market
intelligence, and supporting price negotiations
- Provide remote
and in-country technical assistance to CHAI country teams and
governments in support of work streams related to diagnostics