Evidence Action
Description
About Evidence Action
Evidence Action is a global nonprofit organization with an approach distinctive in international development – we exclusively scale interventions that are backed by strong evidence and can be delivered with exceptional cost-effectiveness. Since our founding in 2013, we have reached over 515 million people globally with our interventions. We deliver high impact for every dollar spent, as recognized by GiveWell, The Life You Can Save, and Charity Navigator.
We do development differently: We take a data-driven approach to identifying, scaling, and continuously improving programs which deliver immense impact, ensuring these solutions measurably improve the lives of millions. Our Deworm the World Program has helped governments in Africa and Asia deliver over 1.8 billion childhood deworming treatments, improving health, education, and incomes. Safe Water Now provides sustained safe water access to over 10 million people in Africa, preventing childhood illness and deaths.
We drive innovation:Our Accelerator builds the next generation of exceptional programs, taking an approach most similar to a venture capital model. We are ruthless in exiting programs which do not meet our criteria; those that advance deliver outsized impact for millions of people.
We are global: Across nine countries in Africa and Asia, our 700+ people are united by a tremendous passion for our mission and impact. We are strong because of our diversity of experience, geography, and background – with over 90% of our people in the countries where our impact is focused.
We have big ambitions: Over the next decade, we’re setting our sights higher: We aim to reach over 600 million people globally to fulfill our vision of a world where hundreds of millions of people in the poorest places have better opportunities and their lives are measurably improved. We believe in bold and urgent action – because poverty doesn’t wait, and neither should we.
We need great people:Our success to date is due to the collective work of our amazing staff. To achieve our ambitious goals, we are looking for people who share our passion for evidence, cost-effectiveness, and scale. We seek individuals who take an entrepreneurial approach, enjoy tackling hard problems, and have a bias to action and results. If our vision and approach excite you as much as it does us, we invite you to join us.
About Deworm the World & Equal Vitamin Access
Evidence Action’s Deworm the World Initiative (DTW) is an incredibly high impact program, helping to deliver over 1.8 billion treatments to children for intestinal worms since 2014. Deworm the World Initiative provides technical assistance to governments to implement evidence-based, cost effective, and sustainable deworming programs, with recent data showing dramatic reductions in the prevalence of worm infections in geographies we support. Our program was highlighted as one of GiveWell’s top-rated charities from 2013 to 2022, and continues to be a part of their All-Grants Fund for high-impact charities.
In 2019, given the strength of our technical support on school-based delivery of deworming in India, at the request of government, Evidence Action launched a technical assistance program to support the delivery of Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation for children and adolescents 6 months – 19 years of age in India. This program, Equal Vitamin Access, is in a “test at scale” phase – it is being implemented across five states in India with a robust external evaluation design to measure changes in coverage.
Job Purpose
This is an exciting time and opportunity to join a large-scale integrated program to provide technical assistance to the Government of Malawi to implement an integrated deworming and IFA supplementation program at scale to tackle intestinal worms and anaemia among children. With the deworming program expected to reach scale in Year 1 of implementation and IFA supplementation to gradually scale up over the next 2-3 years, once at scale we aim to work alongside the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education to reach 3.5 million Malawian children annually with one or both interventions.
The Senior Associate, Program Implementation ensures that drugs and materials are provided in the correct quantities in the correct places at the correct times. S/he works closely with team members to ensure successful planning and execution of treatment delivery under the national programs. In addition, s/he will support the Program Manager with the execution of the program model in a variety of capacities, including but not limited to the procurement of treatment and management of distribution, program policy and advocacy needs, and supporting regional staff with program implementation at the district level.
Duties & Responsibilities
Program Management Support:
- Support the development and management of the workplan and budgets, adhering to budget limits and ensuring cost- effectiveness implementation
- Participate in programme strategy development meetings and contribute logistical implications of proposed decisions
- Contribute to the annual programme implementation design and planning that inform the contracting processes with donors.
- Ensure the program maintains detailed data on enrolled and out of school children (OOS) by district and TAs
- Participate in, co-lead, and frequently iterate on the development and assessment of potential delivery models of IFA, particularly to reach OOS girls for routine delivery
- Participate in field activities in which government and other partners are invited to ensure clarity of implementation components as observed in the field
- Ensure states have adverse event (AE) guidelines and monitoring systems in place for deworming treatment and IFA variants.
- Document the challenges experienced during programme implementation and provide recommendations for future adjustments in approaches and activities
- Participate in activities corresponding to the execution of programme training activities, meetings, and donor reporting as assigned
- Support as required on training activities and with knowledge management
- Assist with programmatic community sensitization and health education cascades and mobile communications system throughout cascade.
Supply Chain Management:
Supervise coordinators and directly follow up to:
- Collaborate with the MOH Unit to calculate drug requirements, treatment lists, and drug distribution plans at the regional and district levels
- Coordinate with MOH and districts on the timelines for drugs dispatch from Lilongwe and arrival at district warehouses
- Confirm expiry dates of the programme’s drugs consignment, oversee dispatch
- Coordinate drug storage at the district warehouses and final dispatch to Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) and teachers while providing seamless guidance on the management of the drugs before they are picked by county pharmacists.
- Communicate with districts to inform them about arrival of drugs at their district warehouses, the dates when they should start collecting the drugs and the funds available for this exercise.
- Liaise with district pharmacists to collect correct quantities of drugs for their districts from district warehouses; share quantification summary sheets with the County pharmacist.
- Coordinate the distribution of drugs to schools and health surveillance assistants (HSAs), ensuring they receive sufficient quantities of drugs
- Ensure drug pick up by all HSAs and teachers; confirm with form and delivery notes to ensure sufficient quantities of drugs are available for the programme before teacher training sessions.
- Mitigate any challenges relating to drugs that are reported from sub-district level, including expiry date and batch number issues and redistribution or transfer of drugs between districts.
- Report on the drug distribution chain after requisition and implementation.
- Ensure accountability of drugs used at the district level.
- Ensure availability of drug documentation in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
- Supervise casual labourers and temporary staff during the packing of training materials and during other activities
Requirements
Qualifications & skills
- Bachelor’s degree in Public Health or any relevant health related field.
- A minimum of 3-5 years’ experience working in a related program support capacity.
- Demonstrated ability to work successfully on a multi-faceted team and experience working with government stakeholders.
- Strong interpersonal skills, working across teams and cultures.
- Excellent time management skills and ability to juggle multiple projects at once.
- Strong written and oral communications skills
- Demonstrated ability to be a productive member of a community of people at work, respecting differences while working toward shared goals, comfort with periods of ambiguity, and constructive participation in ongoing organizational development.
- Close attention to detail and accuracy; personal initiative; reliability, flexibility and follow-up.
- Proficiency using standard office software and demonstrated skill with web research tools.
- Discretion and ability to handle confidential issues.
- Personal qualities of humility, capacity for self-reflection, and a sense of humour.
The candidate must be able to travel by various modes of transportation and must be able to endure long periods of sitting or standing during travel. They must also be able to navigate unfamiliar environments and adapt to different cultural norms.
In addition, the candidate should have the ability to work in less developed rural areas, which may have limited access to modern infrastructure and amenities. This may require the candidate to adapt to basic living conditions, such as limited electricity or running water, and be comfortable with potential challenges such as extreme weather conditions, insects, or wildlife.
The position will be based at our Country Office in Lilongwe and will work closely with the in-country Programs team.
Closing date for receiving applications will be on Friday 2nd February 2024 by 5pm but shortlisting will be done on rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Equal Opportunity Statement
At Evidence Action, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusivity in our workforce. We believe in creating a workplace that is free from discrimination and where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
We do not discriminate based on race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected status. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply for this position at Evidence Action, regardless of their background or personal characteristics. We are committed to providing a fair and inclusive recruitment process that ensures equal access and consideration for all applicants. We strive to foster an environment that embraces diversity, respects individual differences, and promotes a culture of inclusion. By embracing a diverse workforce, we believe we can better serve our mission to use evidence to improve global wellbeing.