Technical Advisor, Health Insurance

Founded in 2002 by President William J. Clinton, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems around the world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and other illnesses. Based on the premise that business-oriented strategy can facilitate solutions to global health challenges, CHAI acts as a catalyst to mobilize new resources and optimize the impact of these resources to save lives, via improved organization of commodity markets and more effective local management. CHAI does not operate stand-alone programs, nor does it build parallel health systems. Rather, CHAI works at the invitation and in support of governments. CHAI’s teams are working side-by-side with more than 30 governments to tackle many of the largest barriers to effective health care.

CHAI is currently operating in Ethiopia carrying out a wide range of programs to support the Ministry of Health in improving access to and increasing the quality of health services. As one of CHAI’s largest field offices with more than 150 staff, the Ethiopia office operates programs across hospital management; maternal, newborn and child health; HIV/AIDS; nutrition; vaccines; and health financing. The health financing program aims to transform how the health system is financed to substantially and sustainably increase access to services, beginning with essential services for those most in need.

Responsibilities:

The Government of Ethiopia has supported significant improvements in health over the past decade and now aims to accelerate progress to deliver quality essential health services to its growing population of close to 100 Million people. To achieve this goal, Ethiopia is rolling out health insurance schemes with the goal of reaching most of the population by 2020. If successful, Ethiopia will set an example for all other countries working towards the goal of universal health coverage on the continent.

To successfully roll out this ambitious reform, the newly-staffed Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency will need to overcome technical, operational and management challenges of insurance scale-up across a large and diverse country. This includes making evidence-based decisions in key areas such as the initial design of the benefits package and premium rates, as well as setting up processes to continuously revise these decisions. There will also be a need to strengthen core operations for successful enrollment, provider payment, and financial management. As experience from other countries has shown, the early stages of launch will determine the success of the reform.

CHAI has been supporting the Government of Ethiopia in health financing over the past few years and has been asked by senior leadership to provide more comprehensive support to all of these areas in order to ensure this reform has the intended outcomes in increasing access to quality care for all in need. Ethiopia will be a flagship program for CHAI’s health financing work; shaping our engagements in health insurance in other contexts.

CHAI is seeking a highly motivated individual with outstanding technical and managerial capabilities to serve as a Health Insurance Technical Advisor, to support the Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency as the Agency oversees the launch of social health insurance (SHI) and the expansion of community based health insurance (CBHI).

The Technical Advisor will spend the majority of his/her time working from within the Insurance Agency. He or she will provide direct support to leadership of the Agency and across key directorates (Providers Affairs, Membership, Finance, Research and Information Technology). He or she will work with a range of partners and external experts. He or she will also provide management support to a growing CHAI team. The Technical Advisor will work with a global CHAI team in designing a longer term strategy for CHAI’s health insurance work in Ethiopia and across other countries.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Serve as lead technical advisor to the Health Insurance Agency’s headquarters and branch offices, responding to strategic questions from leadership as they arise.


• Work on areas including: benefits design, member management, provider management, pooling and finance, management information systems, and information technology.   This includes: Design and implementation of research and analyses to respond to key questions; Development of policies and strategies; Development of and training on standard operating procedures, processes and tools.


• Set up systems to facilitate monitoring and early identification of problem areas during the roll-out and implementation of the insurance scheme and work with management to address these problems as they arise.


• Build management and technical capacity within the Insurance Agency working closely with different levels of the Agency at headquarters and the branch offices.


• Manage a growing team of CHAI staff who are based at the Agency, overseeing training, analyses and implementation.


• Serve as a key contact for stakeholders working in Ethiopia, coordinating and participating in technical working groups.


• Leverage external expertise, working with universities and other country schemes as needed to respond to key questions from the Agency.


• Document Ethiopia’s experience for donors, stakeholders and other governments.


• Contribute to scoping and designing a medium-term strategy for CHAI’s health insurance work in Ethiopia and across other countries.


• Other responsibilities as requested by supervisor.

Qualifications:

CHAI works in a fast-paced, results-driven environment and this health insurance reform is a top priority for the government. We are seeking a highly motivated individual with relevant experience in insurance. This individual would be a fast learner who is both detail oriented and has the ability to ask the key questions or see the “big picture.” CHAI places great value on resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, flexibility, independence, energy, work ethic and humility.

Qualifications include the following:

• Master’s degree preferred in a related field such as health economics, public health, financial management, public policy, or equivalent with 10 years of professional experience in demanding, result-oriented environment in the public and/or private sector (eg. management consulting); or PhD degree (in above related fields) with 7 years of professional experience.


• Experience working in health or life insurance in developed or developing countries;


• Experience designing, managing and implementing projects and teams;


• Ability to work independently, set priorities and handle multiple tasks simultaneously;


• Ability to learn on the job quickly and absorb and synthesize a broad range of information;


• Ability to navigate ambiguous and complex processes and be flexible;


• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to achieve consensus amongst stakeholders;


• Strong communication skills, including delivery of compelling presentations and documents;


• Excellent problem solving, analytical and quantitative skills, including attention to detail and fluency in Microsoft Excel;


• Strong command of the English language required, fluency in Amharic an advantage; and


• Willingness to travel within Ethiopia as needed.

Closing date: June 24, 2016