Job Opportunity for Senior Program Officer, Health Systems Design (Systems) at Gates Foundation in New Delhi

Group Summary

The Global Development Program includes a diverse range of program areas aimed at finding creative ways to ensure solutions and products get into the hands of people in low-income countries who need them most. We focus on areas with the potential for high-impact, sustainable solutions that can reach millions of people. Our program strategies include: Emergency Response; Family Planning; Maternal Newborn & Child Health; Nutrition; Polio Eradication. A common theme across these programs is focus on innovative delivery, including an emphasis on strengthening primary health care systems. The Global Development Program also encompasses our India Country Office and Africa Team, with physical offices in Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, and Abuja. Our Program Strategy Teams work in close partnership with these Country Office Teams to align the foundation’s health and development equity agenda with the government’s broader priorities.

Leadership and Culture

Our culture shapes our choices about what we do and how we do it. We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment can do extraordinary things. We expect foundation employees to intentionally and consistently embody our values of optimism, collaboration, rigor, innovation and inclusion.

Division Summary

Our efforts are aligned with India’s objectives of improving the lives of its people — working closely with India’s Central and State governments, we partner with community groups, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, the private sector, and development organizations, to achieve our shared goals. Our strong networks and ability to convene intellectual resources from many sectors and every region of the globe allows us to address complex challenges as they emerge or evolve.

Our efforts in India focus on key issues that will affect the future of India’s most vulnerable communities: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition; urban sanitation; agricultural development; gender equality, and digital financial inclusion. With a particular focus on Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, we work with partners to develop impactful and sustainable solutions to improve the quality and coverage of key services for the poor and vulnerable. We also work in other states to support programs in urban sanitation, agricultural development, gender equality, health systems design and digital financial inclusion.

Health Systems Design

The Health Systems Design (HSD) initiative in the India Country Office (ICO) aims to conceptualize, design and support efforts by reform champions to promote medium/long-term structural reforms within the Indian health care system, drawing on international evidence and proven practices from within and outside India. Our goal is to support government to foster a health system with increased accessibility, equity, accountability, quality of care, and improved financial protection.

Position Summary

The HSD initiative in the ICO has two focus areas. One is to strengthen government capacity for healthcare financing and insurance regulation, e.g., Pradhan Mantri Jan Ayogya Yojna (PMJAY), Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESIS), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

The second focus area seeks to increase the supply of quality care. This includes assisting the government to roll-out the HWC initiative, undertaking implementation research to help government understand what factors underpin differential performance and test out new models to better deliver quality care in different settings such as through inclusion of PHC in health insurance benefits packages.

Strategy and Leadership

• Play a role in shaping the health systems design efforts of the foundation – both internally in the ICO and externally. This includes implementing programs linked to objectives, and managing grants in support of them, working with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), and other partners internally and externally to support mobilization of the programs and nurturing a partner ecosystem.
• Establish strong relationships with government partners at national and state level. Maintain relationships with development partners, private sector, and civil society, both domestically and globally. 

Health Financing

• Work closely with BMGF colleagues as well as our partner ecosystem to bring about measurable change in the health financing landscape in 3-5 years by using our existing grant portfolio and management of new grants that will:
• strengthen primary health care financing in India both public and private including support for the three main health financing building blocks:  a) resource raising, b) pooling, and c) strategic purchasing
• improve effectiveness of existing health financing schemes (NHM, state schemes)
• support convergence and standardization across schemes
• strengthening of oversight/governance (regulation) and expansion of PHC coverage through tax/compelled financing, strengthened eligibility requirements, benefit package revisions and timely provider payments.

Health Care Delivery

• Implement a program of work that uses insights from national and international efforts for the following long-term goals for India’s health system:

(1) reduce financial shocks due to healthcare expenses,

(2) improve access to quality care / reducing unmet need, and

(3) improve quality of care for the poorest and most vulnerable

• Implement initiatives such as in clinical protocols, fraud management, financing and payments, digital that enhance the coverage and quality of health care and reduce out of pocket expenditure.

Private Sector Integration

• Implement a plan of action to involve the private sector in the provision of primary health care. 
• Generate evidence regarding the scaling of successful private innovations within the Indian health system—and their integration into a national health insurance covered pool.
• Work with quality institutions such as NABL and NABH to upgrade benchmarking processes with a view to improving quality and unlocking private capital infusion into India’s health care markets by reducing information asymmetry. 

Learning Ecosystem

• Work with selected national/state governments and private players to build an “inter-state” learning eco-system.
• Connect Indian partners to international experience through exposure, learning collaboratives, and research/policy networks.
• Provide analytic support at the national level to various institutions such as NITI and MoHFW 

Digital

• Collaborate with the Digital Team within the Foundation and selected external partners to strengthen digital solutions used for building the capacity of the state to orchestrate delivery of public health with emphasis on quality of care, coverage, patient experience and FLW coordination. 

Core Knowledge and Skills:

• Understanding of the design principles and functioning of the Indian and other middle income country health systems with an emphasis on comprehensive primary health care and strategic purchasing.
• Appreciation of the role of state capacity, public finance and digital in country health systems.
• Ability to build strong relationships and working constructively with partners in and outside government.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills with the ability to solve problems with energy and influence.
• Demonstrated ability of building trust-based relationships
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including ability to convey messages to non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated team spirit; willing to work with humor as part of a team effort.
• Ability to travel up to 35% of the time domestically and internationally.
• Track record of analytical/diagnostic work: preparing high-quality technical reports, policy briefing materials, and presentations.
• A background in economic evaluations (cost-effectiveness; cost utility; cost studies, etc.); economic modeling, systematic reviews, meta-analyses
• A knowledge of models of using private sector providers as part of a unified health system (Regulation, tax incentives, PPPs, contracting, payment, integration into provider payment schemes, etc.). 

Education and Experience

• Master’s or advanced degree preferably in Health Economics/ Economics/ Digital Health/Public Health/Business Management.
• Ideally, 10+ years of relevant work experience preferably in health financing/ health economics/public health/service delivery/digital health.
• *Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Depending upon your work location, we may require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and any recommended booster doses. All employees based in the United States are to provide proof of full vaccination upon hire and any recommended boosters, subject to applicable laws.

Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to hr@gatesfoundation.org.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We’re committed to creating a workplace where employees thrive both personally and professionally. We also believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve—in race, gender, age, cultures and beliefs—and we support this diversity through all of our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.