Clinton Health Access Initiative - Technical Advisor - Health Financing

Technical Advisor - Health Financing

Overview :

- The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. For more information, please visit: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

- The Government of India is implementing one of the largest health insurance schemes in the world through AB-PMJAY. At the request of government leadership, CHAI and iDSI are beginning a collaboration to support design, implementation and improvement of the scheme with a focus on strengthening institutional capacity for using data for decision making. This includes a key focus on priority setting processes and strategic purchasing.

- CHAI's Health Financing program supports governments implementing reforms towards the goal of universal health coverage; ensuring that patients can access the care they need without suffering financial hardship.

- In India, CHAI staff work closely with the National Health Authority (NHA) and State Health Agencies (SHAs) to build capacity for and support evidence-based decision making in the design and implementation of AB-PMJAY.

- A cornerstone of this work is to foster a culture of routine insurance (provider, claims and enrolment) and health data use to set priorities and to improve efficiency in health spending. This includes using evidence to define the benefits package and a process for revision over time, and supporting governments to finance services and reliably deliver this package of services through public and private sector.

- International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI) (www.idsihealth.org) is a network of international and local experts and practitioners that aim to support low and middle income countries with the difficult decisions related to priority setting as they move towards UHC.

- This includes work in (i) evidence-based priority setting including health benefits package design, health technology assessment (HTA) and price setting (ii) data use for decision making, including insurance data analytics for performance management and policy decisions, and (iii) standard treatment guidelines and workflows for quality of care and related activities pertaining to these areas. iDSI has a track record working in public and private sector in India, including providing technical assistance to the Department of Health Research with a focus on HTA.

- In India, the core partners are the Center for Global Development, Imperial College London and CHAI. Other partners include the Asia HTA consortium which includes the National Health Foundation of Thailand, the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), the China National Health Development Research Center, KEMRI (Kenya Medical Research Institute), Wellcome Trust Programme, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

- The Technical Advisor will be a core member of CHAI and IDSI's health financing program in India, supporting one of the largest insurance schemes in the world. They will deliver direct technical assistance and build technical capacity for HTA and priority setting at the Central level and in three focus states. They will work in collaboration with other CHAI and iDSI staff to create a learning and capacity building ecosystem through day-to-day engagements, mentorship and formal training, as well as support knowledge sharing efforts on HTA and priority setting between center and states and with research institutions.

- We are seeking a highly motivated individual with outstanding credentials, strategic thinking, project management, communication skills and technical skills to help shape the health financing program. The candidate must be able to function independently and flexibly and have a strong commitment to excellence.

Responsibilities :

- Identify central and state capacities and needs in health technology assessment (HTA) and priority setting for the long-term success of the PMJAY scheme and broader health sector.

- Sensitize a wide group of government and non-government stakeholders to health technology assessment (HTA) and robust priority setting, including the necessary processes and evidence as well as skillsets.

- Provide direct technical assistance to central and state level government and partners to support work on economic evaluation to ensure value for money and quality in service delivery under the PMJAY scheme. This will include a series of demonstration processes around benefits design for the reform.

- Synthesise information from a variety of sources to contribute to an evidence base required for priority setting, including identifying gaps and highlighting important issues for discussion by relevant partners.

- Conduct analysis and interpret complex health economics and cost data under PMJAY and state health insurance schemes with a particular focus on HTA and quality.

- Develop innovative approaches to capacity building, ensuring skills transfer and government ownership in all projects. This includes development and execution of trainings and mentorship with government partners. This also includes supporting state counterparts to develop and apply knowledge on HTA and priority setting at the state level and share learnings across states.

- Contribute to the writing, editing and publishing of reports and peer reviewed articles as relevant; prepare presentations and policy briefs on related topics as necessary

- Contribute to HTA training activities with HTAIn as required and in consultation with key experts and practitioners from iDSI

- Work with iDSI partners to organize and facilitate meetings, workshops and trainings for practitioner to practitioner exchange, to strengthen capacity and enable knowledge sharing on priority setting and evidence based decision making

- Coordinate and communicate routinely with iDSI partner institutions including CGD, Imperial College London and local partners about progress on work, travel, and new opportunities for engagement.

- Participate in meetings with leadership and strategy and planning teams in focus states to discuss and report on progress of work as required

- Participate in meetings, technical working groups and conferences as required, representing the iDSI network and CHAI.

- Establish and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships and engagement with partners and technical/ academic institutions at central and state levels (NHA, HTAIn, DHR, National Cancer Grid, SHA, others), and ensure maximum coordination of resources and effort

- Other responsibilities as needed

Qualifications :

- Postgraduate degree in Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Health Economics, or a closely related field

- Strong quantitative skills in economic evaluation, including modelling

- Experience in advanced analytics with large health data sets

- Demonstrated experience of engagements with governments or HTA agencies

- Demonstrated experience working in complex multi-stakeholder environments

- Established track record of preparing high-quality technical reports, journal articles, training materials materials and presentations

- Experience conducting trainings in HTA and priority setting

- Entrepreneurial mind-set, including ability to work independently, self-motivate, and propose and implement new initiatives

- Ability to think strategically, handle ambiguity, and problem solve in a fast-paced, limited-structure environment

- Fluent command of spoken and written English. Fluency in Hindi and additional Indian languages is an advantage.

- Willingness to travel regularly to states to states at short notice and for extended periods