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Home > Jobs > Employment Opportuni... > Professional/Technical

Job #	082291
Job Title	Health Specialist
Job Family	Health, Nutrition & Population
Location	Washington, DC
Appointment	International Hire
Job Posted	07-Nov-2008
Closing Date	26-Nov-2008
Language Requirements	English [Essential]; French [Desired]; Portuguese [Desired]
Appointment Type	See Job Description Below

Background / General description

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE RECRUITING FOR 7 - 10 POSITIONS.   THESE  MAY BE BASED IN NAIROBI, KENYA  & DAKAR, SENEGAL.  

As part of the implementation of the HNP strategy, the World Bank has created a “Health Systems Strengthening for the MDGs” program to support countries –jointly with Development Partners- to implement country-led health sector programs to reach the MDGs.  Working with country authorities and partners, the Bank will step up its efforts to provide policy advice and technical support to countries in critical Health System Strengthening implementation, particularly in health financing and health insurance, human resources for health, governance, supply chain management and infrastructure planning.  The program will focus mainly on Africa, given the urgent need to accelerate progress towards the MDGs in that region, but will also provide support to other regions. The program will be two pronged: first it would help strengthen staff engagement on analytical and policy work as well as implementation with client countries and partners and; second it would help leverage additional funding to support the scaling up of services and activities to reach the MDGs. The program will build on the work that the Bank has been doing mostly in Africa, using the International Health Partnership and the Global Campaign for the Health MDGs platforms.

The program will initially support the countries under the International Health Partnership (IHP+) in their scaling up for health efforts. The countries are: Benin, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia.  The program will also provide support two Asian countries that are part of IHP: Cambodia and Nepal. It will also work closely with other initiatives (including GAVI HSS, Gates, Norway and UK’s initiatives on health systems and MDGs 4&5) in a consolidated country framework. It will be implemented in strong partnership with the Health 8 (H8) organizations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GAVI Alliance, Global Fund, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and World Bank) and also the Harmonization for Health in Africa Framework (HHA).  The Harmonization For health in Africa mechanism brings together the Bank with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNAIDS and the African Development Bank.
The program will focus on health systems strengthening to accelerate progress towards the MDGs.  The Health System team will support countries in the areas of Health Financing including results oriented planning and budgeting, results based financing (RBF), fiscal decentralization and health insurance. It will also have a strong focus on Governance and Service Delivery, including public finance management, fiduciary systems, transparency and accountability of management and service delivery as well as harmonization and monitoring and evaluation. A particular emphasis will be given to Human Resources For Health, focusing on addressing the shortage of health workers through pre-service training and supporting countries to develop wages and remuneration policies as well as retention schemes. The program will provide assistance to countries on Supply Chain and Logistics, including building capacity on international competitive bidding and implementation of effective pharmaceuticals policies. Finally, the program will also support Infrastructure and ICT, helping countries design and implement health systems which will respond to the challenges of the 21st century.

To implement the Health System Strengthening for the MDGs program as part of the new HNP strategy, the World Bank is seeking to recruit 7 to 10 highly experienced senior experts on Health Systems –Health Economists, Labor Economists, Health Planners, Public Finance Specialists, Governance and Political Economy Specialists, Supply Chain Specialists, Pharmaceutical Specialists, Specialists in Human Resources for Health to be based in Africa (Dakar and Nairobi). The staff members will (i) lead policy dialogue on specific Health Systems issues; (ii) lead the analytical and advisory work on health system strengthening and; (iii) assist Governments in collaboration with other development partners to prepare and implement Health Systems Strengthening Proposals.

Duties and Accountabilities

1.	Provide support to country health teams in the area of health systems including: i) Health Financing, ii) Governance, Service Delivery, Public Finance, Decentralization and Health Information Systems, iii) Human Resources For Health, and iv) Supply Chains, Logistics and Pharmaceuticals.
2.	As part of a country health team, lead the policy dialogue on specific health systems areas.
3.	Lead priority analytical work on health system strengthening, 
4.	Work with the country health teams on strengthening the links between analytical work and operations development and implementation. 
5.	Work jointly with GAVI, GFTAM, WHO and UNICEF and other development partners to prepare joint Health Systems Strengthening proposals as part of HHA and IHP+.

Accountabilities

The selected candidates will report to the Director of the Human Development Africa department, will be based in Nairobi or Dakar and are expected to work in close collaboration with country health teams.

Selection Criteria

1.	A Masters/ Ph.D in Economics or Health Economics/Public Finance or an MD with a masters/PhD in Health Policy/Finance/Management or other relevant field
2.	At least 12 years/10 years (PhD) of relevant professional experience, of which at least 3 in Africa.
3.	At least 10 years in the area of health system financing, planning and management, leading reforms at country or regional level. 
4.	Excellent analytical and prioritization skills, with ability to follow assigned projects from concept through completion.
5.	Highly effective oral communication skills in English or French. Portuguese is desirable.
6.	Excellent writing skills in English. French and Portuguese are highly desirable 
7.	      Strong interpersonal and team skills, with ability to work in multicultural teams.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background.  Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.  All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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