Senior Associate, Cancer

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

CHAI in partnership with its India affiliate, William J. Clinton Foundation's (WJCF) has been working in India since 2004 in close partnership with and under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) at the central and state levels on an array of high priority initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes. Currently, CHAI/WJCF programs, supports government initiatives on HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C, tuberculosis, cancer, immunisation, and health financing. Additionally, CHAI/WJCF supports many state governments on large-scale programs to arrest childhood and maternal mortality due to malnutrition, anaemia, diarrhoea and pneumonia, and helping increase access to quality family planning services.

Cancer Program:

With an estimated annual mortality of ~800,000 and an incidence of more than 1.7 million new cases in 2020 (source: PBCR Report, ICMR), cancer has rapidly grown into one of the leading drivers of mortality and morbidity in India. Cervical cancer, with an annual mortality of ~60,000 and an incidence of ~100,000 (source: ICMR), is the second leading cause of cancer, by incidence and mortality, among women. In India, ~90% of cervical cancer cases are detected at a late stage (III and above), leading to a high Mortality Incidence Ratio (MIR) of more than 60%. Five-year survival rate for early stage cervical cancer is 73.2%, whereas the prognosis for advanced stage is poor, with five year survival rate at 7.9%. Poor screening and treatment are predominant barriers to cancer care in the patient’s journey, leading to late stage detection of cancer in India.

CHAI has initiated a program on secondary prevention of cervical cancer through improving access to and strengthening screening and treatment (of pre-cancerous cervical lesions) services. The program is currently being implemented in the state of Madhya Pradesh, where CHAI is working in close collaboration with the state government to initiate and strengthen cervical cancer screening and treatment of cervical pre-cancerous lesions and has been embedded in the states program on improving management of non-communicable diseases including common cancers. CHAI is supporting the state in training of service providers on screening of common cancers and treatment of cervical dysplasia; ensuring availability of consumables and equipment for screening of common cancers and treatment of cervical dysplasia; strengthening referral systems to reduce loss to follow-up; and creating demand generation enablers to create awareness towards screening and treatment of common cancers in the community.

With the objective of expanding access to quality cancer care across India, CHAI is working towards scaling the program in other states in India such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Assam, etc., and working towards bringing the best practices learnt from its program in Madhya Pradesh across India.

Role:

The India cancer access program seeks a Senior Associate who can shoulder the dual responsibilities of working closely with senior leadership on project strategy and contributing to the program's deliverables. CHAI seeks a highly motivated, entrepreneurial individual with outstanding analytical skills, problem-solving ability and communication skills. The Senior Associate must be able to function independently, be comfortable working and coordinating the operations of cross-functional teams, be flexible, and have a strong commitment to excellence. CHAI places great value on relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, energy, and work ethic.

• Closely collaborate with CHAI program leadership to develop program strategy and operational plan for execution for scaling the program in other states (Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Assam, etc.)
• Build and maintain trust-based relationships with key government partners (national and state level), developmental partners, and other relevant stakeholders to expand access to quality cancer care
• Spearhead programmatic activities in areas of capacity building, demand generation, and operational roll-out of program
• Support in design and implementation of processes, systems for collection, collation, and synthesis of program data to inform program strategy, operations, and reviews
• Support Program Manager in donor and grant management and managing the operations and finances of the program to meet deliverables within the appropriate timeframes
• Aid and support other aspects of the cancer program by working closely with the CHAI state, country, and global teams
• Should be willing to travel on short notice across India
• Perform other responsibilities as requested by program leadership

• 7-9 years of experience in a demanding, results driven, environment such as management consulting
• MBA/MPA/MPP or a Master’s Degree in Economics or related fields
• Exceptional strategic development skills, ability to identify and pursue high-impact strategies in complex, uncertain and evolving environments
• Ability to lead small project teams on diverse set of projects
• Exceptional analytical (quantitative and qualitative) and skills with the ability to effectively communicate (orally and in written form) and to tailor communication to a variety of audiences
• Ability to engage and extensively support the demand generation and awareness activities in the community
• Ability to absorb and synthesize a broad range of information, including technical information, and to prepare compelling presentations and reports
• Ability to design technology driven, capacity building interventions for sustainability and scalability in Madhya Pradesh and other states
• Ability to be effective in high-pressure situations, handle multiple tasks simultaneously, and set priorities
• Strong desire to work in a fast-paced, limited-structure, high-pressure, multicultural environment
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word
• Fluency in English & Hindi
• Preference would be given to candidates with strong experience in management and/or healthcare consulting (or development sector consulting) with consulting firms.
• Significant government stakeholder management experience would be a strong positive

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