Technical Advisor

ThinkWell is a health sector development organization with deep experience in designing, implementing, evaluating, and diffusing new solutions to persistent health system challenges. Using approaches rooted in analytics, we have supported health financing reforms in over 30 countries.

ThinkWell is implementing the Strategic Partnership for Primary Health Care (SP4PHC) project, a five-year program focused on improving how pooled government resources are used to pay for primary healthcare services – especially family planning (FP) and maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) in the context of pro-poor health financing schemes. The project is operating in six countries of which Burkina Faso is one.

The Technical Advisor position, based in the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie Universelle (CNAMU) in Ouagadougou, will support implementation of the SP4PHC program in Burkina. Our goal is to support government to more effectively purchase family planning (FP) and maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) services in partnership with both the Ministry of Health and the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie Universelle (CNAMU) and in alignment with the Global Financing Facility (GFF).

The successful candidate will have experience in providing technical advisory services to governments and will havepolitical skills to build and navigate partnerships. The candidate must be prepared to work independently, and as part of a small, distributed team.

Job Location: This is a full-time position based in the CNAMU, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Reports to: Joint management between the ThinkWell Senior Policy Advisor at MoH and CNAMU Counterpart (TBD)

Responsibilities

SP4PHC Program

1. Provide technical support to the CNAMU on strategic purchasing, focussing on reimbursement for primary health care (PHC) services and quality, and always prioritizing poor and vulnerable populations;
2. Support the transition of gratuité scheme from MoH to CNAMU, helping to address potential challenges (including changes to claims mechanisms and pre-payment.) Provide both technical expertise and practical support to ensure the effective management of gratuité under CNAMU;
3. Support CNAMU to design and test mechanisms to reinforce quality through CNAMU payments, building on World Bank RBF experience, evidence, and finance, but always in close alignment and consultation with evolving Ministry of Health approaches to quality measurement;
4. Manage implementation of pilot schemes, under the leadership of the ThinkWell Senior Policy Advisor, building on the opportunity of a natural experiment from overlap between RBF and gratuité schemes
5. Support the incorporation of lessons from successful pilots into CNAMU policy and practice;

ThinkWell Strategy and leadership

1. Deputize for the Senior Policy Advisor to represent ThinkWell in Burkina Faso. Play a pro-active role in the development of ThinkWell strategy for Burkina;
2. Support the implementation of the SP4PHC program in Burkina, and take responsibility for specific program deliverables.
3. Actively engage key stakeholders in Burkina, supporting and guiding ongoing discussions around the purchasing of primary health care. Deploy technical knowledge and experience to contribute to technical decision making. Build consensus with partners about ways in which SP4PHC can best support plans going forward.
4. When applicable, engage in strategic and technical communications with ThinkWell staff globally to promote knowledge transfer and cross-fertilization of ideas. Actively support knowledge sharing across the company.
5. Participate in company initiatives and teams in accordance with the incumbent’s areas of interest and the company’s/team’s needs, e.g. staff development/talent management, technical, quality assurance, etc.

Qualifications

1. Masters level qualification or equivalent in public health, health economics, public administration, business/management, business administration or equivalent fields;
2. Minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience, providing national level, strategic health systems policy advice, either in government, or in an academic institution, management consulting firm, bilateral or multilateral development agency, or development NGO;
3. Fluent French, basic English

S K I L L S AN D C O M P E T E N C I E S

1. Strong interpersonal skills, approachable management style, and ability to build relationships and forge compromises;
2. Experience in managing multiple projects, tasks and deadlines, and ability to effectively set priorities and handle competing time and resource demands;
3. Experience of working with sub-national governments in Burkina, for example at District level;
4. Technical expertise in health systems work, and specifically in strategic purchasing (including, for example insurance, RBF, vouchers or output-based contract work);
5. Highly numerate, with strong ability to analyse and interpret data;
6. Clear understanding of the current health financing environment in Burkina Faso;
7. Understanding of the key public health issues facing Burkina Faso, with a sense of the importance of primary and preventative health care in general and family planning in particular;
8. Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability;
9. Ability to work in a lightly structured environment and effectively collaborate with remote team members, strong skill set in coordinating and communicating with a virtual team;
10. Strong writing and presentation skills to diverse audiences;
11. A combination of humility and confidence, open to and empowered by critical feedback;
12. Drive to challenge conventional wisdom.

Please apply directly on our website at https://jobs-thinkwell.icims.com/jobs/1153/technical-advisor--cnamu-burk....