Health Financing Lead

R4D seeks qualified candidates for the position of Health Financing Lead for the anticipated five-year USAID-funded Strengthening Local Health Systems in Uganda. The Health Financing Lead will play a pivotal role in steering project technical activities, contributing to the increased efficiency of health expenditure, mobilizing additional resources by expanding the fiscal space for domestic financing, utilizing mixed health systems approaches to increase collaboration with the private sector, and advancing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) implementation. They will have expertise in one or more aspects of health financing, strategic purchasing, and public financial management (PFM), including health insurance, domestic resource mobilization, and performance-based financing. Furthermore, a deep understanding of the health system in Uganda, both at the national and sub-national levels, is essential.

The Health Financing Lead will act as a strategic advisor to the Ministry of Health in all reforms and policy considerations related to health financing in Uganda. Responsibilities include leading and ensuring technical quality assurance for relevant products and deliverables; contributing to thought leadership for the project; and offering coaching and mentoring to local counterparts to institutionalize improvements in health financing capacity. They will be accountable for project deliverables, results, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of the project activities related to health financing, including fulfillment of technical strategy and vision, effective project and people management, comprehensive documentation and reporting, and fostering client and stakeholder relationships related to health financing activities.

• The applicant must hold a Master’s degree in relevant field (health economics, public health, public/social policy, business or similar)
  
• 10+ years relevant work experience in health financing, health insurance, or health system strengthening in Uganda or similar context
  
• Familiarity with health financing principles and best practices
  
• Deep understanding and knowledge of healthcare financing strategies, challenges, and opportunities in the Ugandan context.
  
• Experience working in/with public or private sector health financing organizations desirable.
  
• Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with external strategic partners, donors, government ministries, and stakeholders.
  
• Extensive experience on large, complex projects in Uganda or the surrounding region, preferably with USAID.
  
• Strong facilitation, problem solving, and stakeholder engagement skills
  
• Eagerness to support and mentor junior staff and peers
  
• Ability to produce new evidence and translate evidence into policies
  
• Structured thinker with excellent analytic skills
  
• Strong writer and oral communicator who can lead the production of highly professional work products
  
• Fluency in oral and written English
  
• Strong commitment to promoting equity in workplace, including good understanding, attention to and solution-oriented approach to gender, racial, LGBTQ, religious, cultural and other inequities that may arise.
  
• Outstanding cross-cultural communication skills, including the ability to relate respectfully with staff at all levels, ages, genders, nationalities, and orientations and across work areas.
  
• Preferred: Strong, existing relationships with the Government of Uganda and/or Uganda Ministry of Health and USAID.
  
• Ability and willingness to travel in-country and internationally up to 20%.
  

R4D seeks qualified candidates for the position of Health Financing Lead for the anticipated five-year USAID-funded Strengthening Local Health Systems in Uganda. The Health Financing Lead will play a pivotal role in steering project technical activities, contributing to the increased efficiency of health expenditure, mobilizing additional resources by expanding the fiscal space for domestic financing, utilizing mixed health systems approaches to increase collaboration with the private sector, and advancing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) implementation. They will have expertise in one or more aspects of health financing, strategic purchasing, and public financial management (PFM), including health insurance, domestic resource mobilization, and performance-based financing. Furthermore, a deep understanding of the health system in Uganda, both at the national and sub-national levels, is essential.

The Health Financing Lead will act as a strategic advisor to the Ministry of Health in all reforms and policy considerations related to health financing in Uganda. Responsibilities include leading and ensuring technical quality assurance for relevant products and deliverables; contributing to thought leadership for the project; and offering coaching and mentoring to local counterparts to institutionalize improvements in health financing capacity. They will be accountable for project deliverables, results, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of the project activities related to health financing, including fulfillment of technical strategy and vision, effective project and people management, comprehensive documentation and reporting, and fostering client and stakeholder relationships related to health financing activities.

• The applicant must hold a Master’s degree in relevant field (health economics, public health, public/social policy, business or similar)
  
• 10+ years relevant work experience in health financing, health insurance, or health system strengthening in Uganda or similar context
  
• Familiarity with health financing principles and best practices
  
• Deep understanding and knowledge of healthcare financing strategies, challenges, and opportunities in the Ugandan context.
  
• Experience working in/with public or private sector health financing organizations desirable.
  
• Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with external strategic partners, donors, government ministries, and stakeholders.
  
• Extensive experience on large, complex projects in Uganda or the surrounding region, preferably with USAID.
  
• Strong facilitation, problem solving, and stakeholder engagement skills
  
• Eagerness to support and mentor junior staff and peers
  
• Ability to produce new evidence and translate evidence into policies
  
• Structured thinker with excellent analytic skills
  
• Strong writer and oral communicator who can lead the production of highly professional work products
  
• Fluency in oral and written English
  
• Strong commitment to promoting equity in workplace, including good understanding, attention to and solution-oriented approach to gender, racial, LGBTQ, religious, cultural and other inequities that may arise.
  
• Outstanding cross-cultural communication skills, including the ability to relate respectfully with staff at all levels, ages, genders, nationalities, and orientations and across work areas.
  
• Preferred: Strong, existing relationships with the Government of Uganda and/or Uganda Ministry of Health and USAID.
  
• Ability and willingness to travel in-country and internationally up to 20%.
  

• Provide strategic guidance on health financing initiatives within the HSS activity and oversee project technical workstreams and activities in relevant areas, such as health financing, health strategic purchasing, public financial management (PFM), research, advocacy, and technical assistance.
  
• Collaborate with the COP and country team to develop and implement health financing strategies aligned with USAID requirements.
  
• Contribute to the evidence-to-policy process related to health financing.
  
• Strengthen the capacity of MOH to provide oversight of and effectively engage with district health teams (DHTs) on health care financing, particularly on the implementation of NHIS, public financial management, and financing of primary health care, commodities and supplies, and UHC.
  
• Strengthen the capacity of local partner institutions on health financing, NHIS, PFM, and related areas.
  
• Provide technical support to the MOH and DHTs to apply strategic purchasing principles to incentivize providers to improve the quality of care, with a focus on PHC services.
  
• Collect, collate, and analyze routine data on selected indicators to inform the development of appropriate health financing interventions related to NHIS, public financial management, and financing of primary health care, access to commodities and supplies, and UHC.
  
• Support Ministry/national-level monitoring, evaluation, learning, and reporting activities on health financing and strategic purchasing, including technical and operational oversight of regional referral hospital and/or district-level activities.
  
• Develop and ensure high-quality of all major deliverables and work products such as reports, briefs, summaries, presentations, and other documents in a timely manner as expected.
  
• Document and disseminate learning products on health financing and strategic purchasing to different stakeholders to inform policy. Use the learnings and emerging evidence to co-create sustainable health financing solutions with MOH and DHTs.
  
• Lead a team or support/supervise analytical work and economic analysis in areas potentially including but not limited to fiscal analysis, service costing, cost-effectiveness analysis, equity analyses, national health accounts, health insurance, and strategic purchasing, and the development of health financing reforms, policies, and plans.
  
• Supervise mid-level technical staff to achieve project milestones within the anticipated project timeline.
  
• Work in a facilitative manner with national counterparts from government, civil society, and other stakeholders, to support local leadership, decision-making, and capacity strengthening.