Terms of Reference – Dengue Technical Advisor Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI)
Position/Title: Dengue Technical Advisor
Base Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Length of position: One year, extendable based on performance and funding
Reports to: Deputy Country Director
Background
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. Today, along with HIV, we work in conjunction 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.
Established in Vietnam in 2006, CHAI works with several departments in the Ministry of Health to help them reach national goals related to hypertension, diabetes, HIV, TB, malaria and immunizations sustainably.
CHAI’s team in Vietnam consists of a dynamic core of 18 staff in addition to resources available at the regional and global levels.
Program
An estimated 50-100 million dengue cases occur each year, claiming >40,000 lives and imposing a global economic burden of $9-$39 billion. Without intervention, this number will continue to escalate due to warming temperatures and urbanization. To date, dengue control efforts have primarily focused on traditional mosquito control measures, such as treating larval habitats and fogging. However, these approaches will be inadequate to address the mounting dengue. Innovative approaches to combat this escalating threat are urgently required.
Wolbachia-based interventions to control dengue and other arboviruses have demonstrated promising efficacy and long-term protection. Certain strains of Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria that infects insects, inhibit viral growth in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, demonstrating potential for reducing disease transmission. To unlock the global potential of this technology, there is a need to enhance the cost-efficiency of Wolbachia programs. This will involve the establishment of a comprehensive political, funding, and market ecosystem to facilitate the scaleup of Wolbachia interventions.
Description
CHAI is seeking a Technical Advisor to lead the assessment of Vietnam’s capacity to conduct Wolbachia-based interventions to control dengue fever. The Advisor will help CHAI understand and assess current dengue activities within Lao PDR and identify opportunities to assist the government with creating, funding, and executing impactful dengue control interventions. The Advisor will join a diverse and technically strong team of entrepreneurial problem-solvers.
The position requires a high level of direct coordination with multiple stakeholders within the government, partners, and CHAI’s global technical teams. S/he may represent CHAI in high-level meetings with government partners. The Advisor must be a highly motivated, entrepreneurial individual with outstanding people and program management, problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills. The position will be based in Hanoi with travel within the country expected up to 25% of the time.
Main Responsibilities
- Lead the conduct of a Dengue Situational Assessment, determining the strengths, gaps, trends, opportunities and next steps for dengue control in Vietnam.
- Conduct thorough desk reviews of existing dengue strategy, toolbox, reports, and guidelines related to dengue epidemiology and control.
- Collaborate with government agencies and institutes to gather the data and conduct the assessment
- Collect, organize, and analyze data from multiple sources, including government records, WHO-recommended dengue tools, and health information systems.
- Develop visual aids to convey knowledge, especially graphs, flowcharts, tables, and maps Conduct cost analyses needed to launch a public dengue fever program.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree plus 5 years of work experience
- Exceptional problem-solving skills and quantitative and qualitative analytical capabilities
- Exceptional English communication skills, including the ability to create compelling, structured and clear oral and written communication style
- Ability to create visual communication materials in PowerBI, Tableau, Powerpoint, or other data visualization software
- Advanced analytical skills and problem-solving with proven ability to develop and apply quantitative models using Excel and other tools to address specific challenges and improve working practices with a focus on outcomes
- Excellent people skills and ability to navigate within the Ministry of Health Proficient in use of research tools, including generative AI
Advantages:
- Advanced degree in a health or business-related field
- Experience in programming and/or working with surveillance platforms or data collection tools
- Experience in working with dengue and/or other infectious diseases
- For non-Vietnamese candidates, fluency in Vietnamese is an advantage
A one-page cover letter should specify the position sought and highlight why the candidate believes they are the right person for the position. A CV detailing professional experience, relevant qualifications and three reference contacts should be provided. Interested candidates should send materials to [email protected]. Indicate position sought in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed as they arrive, but must be received by 15 April 2025. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview.