Laboratory Financial Management Expert – Anticipated Funding Amref Health Africa Zambia

LABORATORY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT EXPERT-ANTICIPATED FUNDING

Amref Health Africa is the largest international health development organisation based in Africa. Working with and through African communities, health systems and governments, Amref Health Africa’s vision is to bring lasting health change in Africa and is committed to improving the health of people in Africa by partnering with and empowering communities, and strengthening health systems. With headquarters in Kenya, Amref Health Africa has offices in Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Southern Africa and West Africa providing services to over 30 countries. Employing over 900 staff and with an annual operating budget of approximately $100 million, Amref Health Africa is a knowledge resource for donors and partners. For more information on Amref Health Africa, please visit www.amref.org.

Amref Health Africa in Zambia is inviting suitably qualified applicants for the Job Opening of Laboratory Financial Management Expert of anticipated funding to be based at the Head Office in Lusaka.

Project background

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded project is designed to support the stepwise full transition of PEPFAR-supported laboratory systems and services to the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ). The project will provide technical assistance (TA) for further adaptation of the diagnostic system for immediate needs such as outbreaks of novel diseases, additional surveillance system requirements, and new international reporting mechanisms as guided by CDC. By the end of the project period, the project will perform a capacity assessment of GRZ to carry out all the laboratory system functions and a cost assessment to fully understand the costs of sustaining the system.

Laboratory Financial Management Expert (01)

Main purpose of the job

The Laboratory Financial Management Expert will provide technical assistance to MOH, stakeholders and project management team on management of forecasting of laboratory financial needs, proper utilization of these resources and the establishment of sustainable and robust laboratory financial systems. These will be done directly above site at National Level and cascaded down to all levels of the diagnostic network to achieve the goals of the CDC project: Transitioning and Integrating Laboratory Services for High Quality HIV Diagnosis, Care, Treatment, and Monitoring to the Ministry of Health (MOH) to Sustain Achievement of the 95-95-95 Goals in Zambia under PEPFAR. Working under the supervision of the Lead Technical Advisor and Project Finance Manager, the job holder will work closely with the national authorities and other stakeholders to ensure establishment and maintenance of the highest quality financial standards to strengthen the HIV/TB laboratory systems in public health facilities offering antiretroviral therapy (ART) services and the HIV/TB National Reference Laboratories.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform desk review and/or need assessments including site-level assessments to determine laboratory capacity and service cost estimates.
• Cross check analysis to fully cost out and determine individual recurrent costs of the system by subcomponent.
• Identify opportunities for GRZ to apply for and access donor funding for recurrent costs and GRZ’s capacity to leverage government resources to ensure sustainability.
• Ensure the Ministry of Health has the essential capacity to assume responsibility for management, oversight, administration, and financial accountability of diagnostic network optimization, LIMS management, and all specified laboratory system sub-functions.
• Co-manage the laboratory system in an advisory/observational capacity, while reducing participation over time to achieve sole MOH oversight and administration of laboratory services.
• Enable the Ministry of Health to demonstrate the capacity for independent oversight and improve cost-effectiveness.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education Requirements

• At least Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences or Biomedical Sciences or other relevant fields from a recognized university.
• Training in laboratory or health systems management courses or a Master’s degree in Business Management will be desired.

Experience Required

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience managing high volume medical laboratories with further experience in the design and implementation of Laboratory finance management systems.
• Demonstrated experience in the implementation of quality management systems including ISO 15189.
• Experience in building the capacity of national governments and peripheral health systems in quality management systems.
• Experience in supporting the development of quality systems for donor funded projects.

Skills and Competencies

• Good planning, coordination, organizational skills, and ability to multitask.
• Tact and diplomacy in dealing with governments and implementing partners.
• Dedicated team player with excellent interpersonal, communication, report writing and analytical skills both qualitative and quantitative using appropriate data analysis tools.
• Takes initiative and is able to work without supervision in a dynamic multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to exhibit professionalism and high ethical standards.
• High level of integrity and able to maintain confidentiality.
• Willingness to travel within Zambia.