Frontline Health Systems Operations Officer

ABOUT LAST MILE HEALTH

Founded by survivors of Liberia’s civil war, Last Mile Health (LMH) is committed to saving lives in the world’s most remote villages. Working in remote jungle communities cut off from even basic life-saving health services, LMH is building a health system that reaches everyone—by bringing health care to villagers’ doorsteps. We train community members to be health practitioners for their villages and then we connect them with rural health clinics to offer every person access to the care they deserve. These Frontline Health Workers are able to prevent, diagnose, and treat the top ten most life-threatening health conditions.

Over the past six months, a historic outbreak of the Ebola virus has devastated Liberia and has tragically demonstrated that weak, inequitable health systems leave everybody vulnerable. To match a historic crisis with a historic response, LMH is partnering with Boston-based, Partners in Health (PIH) to launch a significant expansion of LMH’s model, integrated with a package of Ebola treatment and hospital strengthening efforts led by PIH. The goal of this project is to deploy a comprehensive health system—from life-saving essential primary care services in remote communities all the way to strong inpatient Ebola and tertiary care in regional hospitals—for approximately 150,000 rural Liberians, and to work with the Liberian government to sustain that system and expand it to the rest of the country over the coming years.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The FHS Operations Officer is an innovator tasked with addressing the most challenging aspects of rural health delivery—poor infrastructure and rough terrain standing between remote communities and the nearest clinic or hospital. As Last Mile Health scales its model for rural health delivery across the Southeast region of the country and works to stem the spread of Ebola in these areas, solutions to these operational challenges are more crucial than ever. The FHS Operations Officer will design systems and processes that allow information, supplies, patients, and health providers to flow back and forth between the facilities and the remote villages that Last Mile Health serves.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Logistical Innovations for Serving Last Mile Villages

1. Lead LMH in designing operational systems that integrate village-level health delivery with facility-based care, placing focus upon
2. Solutions to road and transportation challenges that hinder crucial process such as hospital referrals, supervision of FHWs, and operation of mobile clinics in remote areas.
3. In the absence of full cell phone network coverage, information and communication solutions that allow reporting of urgent information back and forth between villages and central health facilities
4. Seek out models for last-mile service delivery used across a range of sectors (telecommunications, commodity delivery systems, humanitarian emergency, military operations, etc) and evaluate potential for adapting similar solutions to this setting
5. In collaboration with the operations team, design systems to ensure accurate forecasting and procurement of essential medical supplies necessary for success of FHW and mobile outreach programs
6. Work with Operations team to design operational support package delivered at the facility level; consider how to build existing government health system’s long-term capacity to maintain strong operations in last mile districts

Operational Planning and Response Package

1. Work across operations and FHS teams to identify and anticipate events that tend to disrupt frontline health system operations; Set organizational standards for addressing these challenges in cost effective and timely manner
2. Develop protocols and standard procedures that guide management and logistics staff through preventing and managing these events; Develop two-way information systems to allow updates on operational needs and responses to move between teams and between levels of health care system

Implementation Assistance and Quality Assurance

1. As needed, provide guidance to launch team and facility-based logistics officers across the Southeast region of the country in order to operational systems are implemented as designed
2. Work with M&E team to ensure organizational standards around timely response, expenditures, and quality for FHS operations are met
3. Utilize data and feedback from program managers to improve upon design of FHS operation systems over time

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS:

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Frontline Health Systems Director

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Operations Team, FHS Team, Facility-based Logistics Officers

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Above all, this position requires excellent leadership skills. The successful candidate will need to be able to support and motivate a large and culturally diverse team, embodying LMH’s values of Service, Science, Courage, and Love. In reviewing applicants we will be seeking a demonstrated record of assuming significant professional responsibility and delivering on complex organizational goals with integrity and grace.

Additional knowledge and experience:

• BA/S or equivalent in relevant field such as international development, business administration, management, or public health.
• Substantial work experience in logistics, operations, or another relevant field; Private sector experience in these areas is desirable but not required
• High level of initiative to innovate in remote and resource-limited settings
• Prior experience in a remote setting; prior experience in Liberia is a plus
• Willingness to travel into the field, spend occasional nights in rural communities with few amenities, and travel by motorbike
• Commitment to health and social justice
• Excellent writing and communication skills, including across cultures and backgrounds
• Experience working closely with employees recruited in a post-conflict or resource-poor setting
• Flexibility and ability to handle multiple tasks at one time in time-sensitive manner
• Comfort working with a casual but high-performing team.
• High degree of English fluency required

Commitment: Minimum 12-month commitment

Location: Zwedru, Liberia

Compensation: Salary commensurate with experience; benefits including R&R and housing support

How to apply:

Applications accepted until October 24, 2014 via JobScore