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Policy and Innovative Financing Advisor CAMRIS International

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has contracted through CAMRIS International partnered with IAP World Services Inc., (IAPWS), to recruit and hire qualified individuals for the following position:


Title: Policy and Innovative Financing Advisor
Office of the Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health
United States Agency for International Development


Application Deadline: Open until filled


BACKGROUND:
In 2011, the Administrator of USAID announced that USAID would establish a center of excellence in the Global Health Bureau to accelerate the development, introduction and scale up of priority global health interventions. This new Center – The Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact – will promote and reinforce innovative, business-minded approaches to address the key bottlenecks in development, introduction and scale-up – applying business, management and marketplace principles to accelerate impact against some of the world’s most important health challenges.


Despite the existence of hundreds of technologies to improve global health, relatively few are available to save lives in the developing world, where morbidity and mortality burdens are greatest. An antiseptic that costs less than 10 cents could be used to reduce neonatal infection across South Asia. An injection that costs just 60 cents could halve a premature infant’s risk of respiratory distress. A set of pills costing less than 1 dollar could reduce maternal death from postpartum hemorrhage. All of these technologies exist, yet none reaches more than a tiny fraction of the mothers and babies whose lives they could save. Those technologies that do eventually reach those hardest to reach populations often take far too long to get there.


To address these and other challenges, the Center will:
• Serve as a catalyst, driving innovation and partnerships;
• Work with the Bureau’s technical offices to help prioritize existing and new innovations and interventions that align directly with the Agency’s priorities in global health;
• Support rapid introduction of and/or access to these priority interventions; and
• Seek not only to develop best practices in innovation, introduction and uptake across sectors, but to push the boundaries of current thinking to improve the health and efficiency of the marketplace.


ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
USAID is seeking a Policy and Innovative Financing Advisor to play a key role identifying and building innovative financing mechanisms and policies necessary to bring life-savers like these to the people who need them the most. The Policy and Innovative Financing Advisor will be part of a dynamic, new start-up team that will help shape the direction of the Center, building partnerships with key thought leaders globally and pushing new boundaries in this critically important area of development.


The Policy and Innovative Financing Advisor will be expected to be a thought leader on innovative financing and policy issues tied to innovation and access, represent USAID in public meetings, and cultivate strong relationships internally with technical and mission staff and externally with senior executives of companies, and senior officials from foundations and governmental, multilateral and nongovernmental organizations. He/she will also be responsible for identifying opportunities, helping to set priorities for the Center, and supporting the Global Health Bureau priorities. He/she will possess, or will be expected to rapidly develop, deep knowledge of and strategic perspectives on the range of existing innovative financing mechanisms and market incentives that exist, including the ability to think creatively about the development and application of new tools.


We are seeking a highly motivated, entrepreneurial individual with outstanding problem solving, managerial, analytical and communication skills. The candidate must be able to function well independently and in teams, and have a commitment to excellence and producing results. The Center of Excellence places great value on the following personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, energy, and positive attitude.


Responsibilities

• Work within the Center’s Policy and Research Team, helping to set priorities for the Center, seize opportunities and effectively support the Global Health Bureau priorities.
• Assess gaps and critical roadblocks to innovation, introduction and utilization for key global health interventions at the global and country level.
• Identify and develop innovative financing mechanisms, market incentives, or other policy tools to accelerate innovation for priority global health products and interventions and support their rapid deployment and uptake in the field.
• Provide support to technical offices and missions ensuring they have tools needed to integrate best practices and lessons learned for product development, introduction and uptake into their program planning.
• Build and manage key relationships with manufacturers, developers, foundations, donors and other stakeholders to advance USAID’s global health priorities, support R&D agenda-setting, in-country registration and strategic prioritization.
• Present USAID programs and policies at relevant meetings with external parties and conferences.
• Possess, or rapidly develop, deep knowledge of and strategic perspectives on the range of existing innovative financing mechanisms and market incentives that exist, including the ability to think creatively about the development and application of new tools.
• Identify opportunities and new initiatives as priorities within the Center expand.
• Prepare reports, project plans and templates as needed.
• Conduct other activities as required.


CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSE, PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OR OTHER EXPERTISE REQUIRED.
The contractor must have:
• Outstanding academic credentials. MPP, MBA or other relevant graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of policy experience in global health.
• Solid understanding of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology or medical device industries; financial markets; regulatory and procurement pathways.
• Exceptional analytical and communication (written and verbal) skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships and communicate effectively with people of varied professional, cultural, and educational backgrounds.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, including ability to think strategically, operate independently, self-motivate, be flexible, and set and achieve ambitious targets.
• Ability to be effective in high-pressure situations, juggle multiple tasks simultaneously, problem solve in a fast-paced environment and set priorities.
• Ability to understand incentive structures, and engage and persuade senior-level executives and other stakeholders.
• Ability to absorb and synthesize a broad range of information, including financial, regulatory, clinical, demographic and scientific information.
• Detail-oriented with strong organization skills.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
• Willingness to travel.
• U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a secret-level security clearance required.


This is an opportunity for employment or a contract, but we reserve the right to make no selection or award.


CAMRIS International and IAP World Services Inc. offer competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits. Please submit your resume online at www.camris.com.


CAMRIS and IAP are Equal Opportunity Employers EOE M/F/D/V