Strategic Purchasing Specialist - Health Financing (Improvement Program) at Abt Associates

Abt Associates

Position: Strategic Purchasing Specialist - Health Financing (Improvement Program)

Job Time: Full-Time

Job Type: Contract

Place of Work: Addis Ababa, Addis Abeba - Ethiopia

Posted date: 8 months ago

Deadline: Submition date is over

The Opportunity 

The USAID-funded Health Financing Improvement Program seeks to strengthen and institutionalize health financing functions and systems to support universal health coverage of quality primary health care (PHC) services for Ethiopian citizens. Project objectives include increasing domestic resource mobilization for enhanced provision of quality PHC services, streamlining pooling of risk-sharing/insurance mechanisms for wider access to PHC services with reduced financial barriers, facilitating strategic purchasing of health services from public and private health providers, and improving governance, management, and evidence-generation for health financing reforms and health facilities. Abt Associates seeks candidates for a Strategic Purchasing Specialist responsible for technically leading and coordinating project activities related to strategic health purchasing. The position is based in the project’s central office in Addis Ababa, with local travel as required.

Core Responsibilities 

• Provide technical assistance in designing appropriate provider payment mechanisms (PPMs) that support the provision of quality and affordable healthcare services for health insurance members by both public and private providers. 
• Provide technical and coordination support to EHIS, regional health bureaus (RHBs), and other stakeholders in implementing these PPMs.
• Coordinate and technically lead an exploration of alternative PPMs, including testing piloting and scale-up, as appropriate. Provide technical and coordination support to RHBs and EHIS branch offices in the pilot design, implementation, and scale-up, if pursued.
• Assist in designing user fee revision tools and provide technical and coordination support to RHBs and health facilities in their implementation and use.
• Explore tools that can be used to revise user fees in public health facilities to enhance cost-sharing and efficient use of health resources.
• Provide EHIS with technical assistance in developing a strategy or operational procedure for engaging private providers.
• Provide technical support to the project’s regional technical team in areas of strategic purchasing, PPM, user fee setting and revision. 
• Produce high-quality and timely inputs for monitoring, evaluation and annual learning and implementation plans, quarterly/annual/final performance reports, and other reports and deliverables.
• Contribute to the project’s generation of evidence for policy use in both PPM and user fees setting and revision in collaboration with project’s health care financing, health insurance, and MEL teams, and with project partners and other stakeholders.
• Write and/or contribute to project learning materials such as articles for project newsletter, presentations, and other inputs to support the project’s learning agenda. 
• Foster and manage strong working relationships with government counterparts.
• Assist in managing the work of subcontractors/sub-grantees involved in PPM, user fees, or other related to strategic health purchasing and help ensure that all program assistance is technically sound and appropriate.

What We Value

• Bachelor’s Degree + 9 years of relevant experience, or Master’s Degree + 7 years of relevant experience, or PhD + 4 years of relevant experience.
• Master’s degree in health economics, health finance, economics, finance, management, health policy, public health, health management or other relevant field.
• At least 6 years of relevant professional experience in health insurance, health finance or other relevant experience. Experience working on USAID-funded projects is highly desirable.
• Significant experience in the health sector planning, designing, health services costing, health facility and health facility financial management. 
• Experience in health services fees and commodities prices setting; and use of other PPM. 
• Experience in health insurance management including claims processing.
• Demonstrated ability to work with a minimum of direction and supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to work both as a member of a team and as a team leader, with the ability to accept the inputs of other team members and to contribute to other colleagues work.
• Strong management and planning skills in project tasks and budgets.
• Demonstrates leadership and teamwork produces high-quality work in a timely, cost-effective manner and has excellent writing skills.
• Proven experience of capacity building and teamwork with other stakeholders, notably government counterparts at different levels.
• Excellent organizational and interpersonal communication skills.
• Fluency and strong writing skills both in English and Amharic languages is required.
• Computer literacy (MS Word, MS Excel).

What We Offer

We foster an environment where you can Thrive Your Way. Our innovative total rewards programs are designed to help balance your work and personal life. The approach toward your wellbeing centers around comprehensive benefits and professional development.

Abt Associates is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse workforce. Abt Associates provides market-competitive salaries and comprehensive employee benefits. Local candidates strongly encouraged to apply.

Disclaimer: Abt Associates will never ask candidates for money in exchange for an offer of employment.

Abt is committed to creating a safe and inclusive work environment. All offers of employment will be subject to appropriate background checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. Abt Associates also participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.