Senior Health Specialist/Reproductive Health Commodities

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges.  For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

The People Vertical
The World Bank Group (WBG) is the largest provider of development finance and solutions for human development working with high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries to develop country-tailored solutions for human development (HD) under the themes of education, health, social policy and gender. The HD PG coordinates with other Practice Groups to ensure a coordinated and integrated approach to development challenges, and through the World Bank Regional Units is expected to deliver the strongest and most pertinent support to our client countries. 

The People Vice Presidency (HDVP) at the World Bank Group is made up of the Departments for education; health and social policy.  Additionally, the HDVP houses the gender group.  As such, HD is central to the World Bank Group’s goals to end extreme poverty by 2030 and raise shared prosperity. 

The primary challenges of health development relate to health, nutrition, and demographic transitions, through an agile short-term response, and a sustainable and inclusive longer-term response that tackles inequitable opportunities and outcomes in the health sector globally, regionally and within countries.  The fundamental challenge is to preempt, prevent and mitigate the developmental impact of these challenges now and into the future.  Specific challenges include: providing equitable, efficient, accountable and sustainable financing of health coverage; providing equitable, quality, appropriate and scaled-up delivery of priority public health services according to need; mobilizing the appropriate quantity and quality of key health systems inputs related to health workers, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare technology and facilities; and strengthening models of governance for the health sector that recognize core functions for government, responsibilities/accountability of key actors and enhance competencies for governance across levels (local, national, regional and global) and sectors (public/private/civil society, as well as government sectors such as education, transport, social protection, etc.).

Health Department
The World Bank Group (WBG) supports countries’ efforts towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and to provide quality, affordable health services to everyone —regardless of their ability to pay — by strengthening primary health care systems and reducing the financial risks associated with ill health and increasing equity. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/health

The Health Department is led by a Director, who has overall responsibility for the GP and also serves as the Director for the GFF. The Department works with and across multiple sectors, in recognition of the fact that Health outcomes often depend on actions that lie outside the health sector.  Accordingly, a capacity to work across GP boundaries, forge coalitions and influence multi-practice solutions are essential for achieving the major objectives of improving health outcomes.

Unit Context

Global Financing Facility 
 
The Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) is a multi-stakeholder global partnership housed at the World Bank that is committed to ensuring all women, children and adolescents can survive and thrive. Launched in July 2015, the GFF supports 36 low and lower-middle income countries with catalytic financing and technical assistance to develop and implement prioritized national health plans to scale up access to affordable, quality care for women, children, and adolescents. The GFF also works with countries to maximize the use of domestic financing and external support for better, more sustainable health results. The GFF is focused on prioritizing and scaling up evidence-driven investments to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition through targeted strengthening of primary health care systems – to save lives and as a critical first step toward accelerating progress on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The GFF has pioneered a shift from traditional development approaches to a more sustainable way forward where governments lead and bring global partners together to support a prioritized, costed national plan. Through this partnership, the GFF aims to mobilize additional funding through the combination of grants from a dedicated multi-donor trust fund (the GFF Trust Fund), financing from International Development Association (IDA) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the crowding in of additional domestic and external resources. To date, the GFF has mobilized more than $2.5 billion in trust fund resources.  This approach and these resources have catalyzed high-impact investments for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition in the world’s most vulnerable countries. More information is available at: www.globalfinancingfacility.org

The GFF partnership is led by the GFF Director; the day-to-day management of the GFF team is the responsibility of the GFF Manager. The GFF secretariat, which is based at the World Bank and is situated in the Health Department, works to deliver on the GFF objectives. This includes working with countries to develop quality investment cases, managing the GFF Trust Fund, technical assistance to regional teams, and supporting the GFF Investors Group, the governance mechanism for the GFF.

Background
S-CAP’s operational design differentiates commodity financing challenges from broader health systems constraints. This role provides specialized expertise on FP and reproductive health (RH) commodities, market dynamics, and downstream availability risks.
Ensuring product quality and effective procurement systems is central to the S-CAP’s goal of strengthening countries’ capacity to sustainably finance and source essential health commodities. The Medicines Quality and Procurement Specialist will provide expertise on procurement risk assessments, quality assurance, and regulatory strengthening in GFF-supported countries. This position would also be well positioned to contribute to HNP’s overall work program on health value product value chain development.

Selection Criteria

Required skills and competencies:

• Understanding of contraceptive and RH market dynamics including major suppliers, aggregators, and funders. This would include understanding the role of the private sector in these markets.
• Familiarity with an ability to analyze and interpret datasets available from the Family Planning VAN, RHSC LEAP, country supply plans, and market reports for relevant products.
• Understanding and familiarity with health systems and health financing reforms and linkages between reform efforts and commodity security.
• Experience working on ‘downstream’ issues related to front-line product availability – including experience working with and through the private sector. 

Ability to think strategically, build relationships with managers and TTLs, and to deploy S-CAP resources to support demand generation to build a pipeline of investment opportunities for the funds

Objective of the Assignment
Provide technical expertise on procurement systems, QA risk management, and regulatory strengthening considerations.

Key Responsibilities
• Analyze commodity markets and financing gaps using datasets such as VAN and LEAP.
• Advise World Bank Task Team Leaders and country teams on RH commodity strategies.
• Support design of DLIs and performance-based mechanisms related to commodities.
• Assess market-shaping and sustainability risks.
• Engage with public and private sector stakeholders.
• Support pipeline development and country demand generation.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC including our values and inspiring stories.