The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.
CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.
At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication, and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org
CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion, and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture.
Program Overview
CHAI established its presence in Sierra Leone in 2015, evolving from initial Ebola response assistance to become a strategic partner for health systems strengthening, initially focusing on Human Resources for Health and Supply Chain. Building on strong government relationships, CHAI expanded its programs to include sexual and reproductive health, vaccines, assistive technology, geospatial data, medical oxygen, and malaria elimination. This strategy consistently prioritizes maximizing sustainable, government-led impact at national scale, with global learning dissemination.
Position Overview
Sierra Leone has historically faced health sector fragmentation, with vertical disease programs operating largely independently, leading to inefficiencies, duplication, and inequities in service delivery. Integrating Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) with disease-specific programs presents an opportunity to strengthen the health system, optimize resources, and sustain gains in HIV, TB, and Malaria while enhancing readiness for emerging health threats.
The country is currently preparing the next National Strategic Plans (NSPs) for TB, HIV, and Malaria for 2026โ2030, aligning these plans with the forthcoming National Health Sector Strategic Plan. The Ministry of Health (MoH), through the Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control (DDPC), has adopted an integrated approach that combines disease-specific priorities with cross-cutting health system strengthening across various domains, including data systems, laboratories, integration into universal health coverage, community systems, supply chain management, climate resilience, research, health financing and sustainability, public-private partnerships, public health emergencies, technology and innovation, and gender, equity, and human rights. In parallel, Sierra Leone is preparing an integrated application for Global Fund Grant Cycle 8 (GC8).
For the past few months, CHAI Sierra Leone has been collaborating with the MoH and partners to develop the cross-cutting framework, identify areas of overlap for efficiency gains, support the integrated NSP narratives, costing, and prioritization efforts, and establish a coordination knowledge-management system to facilitate cross-engagement, inputs, and learnings on technical and allocative efficiency.
CHAI is recruiting a Senior Associate to support these critical initiatives and contribute to the ongoing efforts to enhance health system integration and efficiency. The Senior Associate will be embedded within the MoH and will provide analytical, operational, and coordination support to DDPC, the three disease programmes (HIV, TB, and malaria), and partners. The role will focus on NSP cross-cutting content, integrated costing and prioritization, GC8 application development, knowledge-management system to facilitate cross-engagement, inputs, and learnings on technical and allocative efficiency, and follow through on implementation and monitoring arrangements. The successful candidate will act as a trusted partner to the Government and partners.
The Senior Associate will report to the CHAI Senior Program Manager and work closely with the Health Systems Strengthening team to align efforts around the NSP integration, knowledge-management system to facilitate cross-engagement and learnings. The position is based in Freetown, with periodic travel within Sierra Leone.
Responsibilities
The Senior Associate will perform the following responsibilities:
Coordinate the drafting and continuous refinement of cross-cutting components for the TB, HIV, and Malaria NSPs, including frameworks, situation analyses, strategic objectives, interventions, and costed implementation plans.Facilitate the consolidation and updating of cross-cutting narrative sections by integrating inputs from the Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control (DDPC), disease programs, and partners.Conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses to inform NSP priorities, including gap analysis, costing, and scenario-based planning for various funding envelopes.Contribute to development of the GC8 integrated funding request, including cross cutting modules, performance frameworks, programmatic gap tables, and budgets.Develop and maintain a harmonized cross-cutting M&E framework for TB, HIV, and Malaria, and coordinate inputs from technical leads to ensure alignment with routine information systems and Global Fund indicatorsCapture and synthesize engagement learningsโhighlighting successes, bottlenecks, and recommendationsโto improve efficiency, strengthen processes, and track progress on crossโcutting NSP and GC8 priorities.Plan, organize, and document technical meetings, workshops, and consultations related to NSP and GC8 processes, including agendas, materials, minutes, and action trackers.Support collaboration between DDPC, disease program, other MoH directorates, specifically the Health Financing Unit at DPPI, districts, civil society, communities, and partners to ensure integrated, consensus based NSP and GC8 content.Compile and analyze partner activities, expenditures, and commitments to support resource mapping, while identifying key risks and bottlenecks in implementing cross-cutting priorities, and proposing practical mitigation actions.Prepare high-quality written outputs, including technical notes, briefs, and progress updates, while maintaining organized, version-controlled repositories for all NSP-related documents and tools.Document the processes, tools, stakeholder structures, and innovations used to design and implement the integrated and costed HIV/TB/Malaria + RSSH application for Global Fund GC8, including identifying efficiencies and bottlenecks in the integrated planning process. Assess early outcomes and system changes resulting from the integrated approach, providing insights into improvements and challenges linked to RSSH strengthening. Generate evidence products and reports to inform national decision-making, guide donor strategies, and facilitate cross-country learning on integrated health planning and financing.Undertake any other function as assigned by the country leadership.Qualifications
Masterโs degree in public health, Business Administration or related field; or Bachelorโs degree in public health, epidemiology, health economics, health policy, statistics, public administration, or a related fieldAt least three years of relevant professional experience in health systems, health financing, strategic planning, or monitoring and evaluation in government, a development partner, or a consulting/technical assistance organization.Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (e.g., complex formulas, pivot tables, scenario analysis, and basic costing or financial models).Demonstrated experience working with health information systems, program data, or financial data sets, and translating analysis into clear recommendations.Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of producing concise technical reports, briefing notes, and slide decks for senior audiences.Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and deliver high-quality outputs within tight timelines and with limited supervision.Proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with government counterparts and partners, and to facilitate meetings and workshops.High level of professionalism, discretion, and commitment to CHAIโs mission, including a strong focus on equity, inclusion, and respect for diverse perspectives.Ability to work independently without extensive structural or operational support from line managerAbility to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, set priorities, delegate, and work independentlyAbility to be effective in high-pressure situations and work in a fast-paced, multicultural environmentWillingness and ability to travel as neededAdvantages
Experience supporting development or implementation of National Strategic Plans, Global Fund (or similar) funding requests, or health sector strategies, ideally across more than one disease area (e.g., TB, HIV, malaria)Knowledge of malaria, TB and HIV or other global infectious diseasesExperience living or working in West AfricaExperience working in resource constraint environmentPrevious CHAI experienceFluency in Krio or other local languages of Sierra Leone#jobreference2 #region4