Environment jobs in South Africa

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.

CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work in conjunction with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.

At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

CHAI strives to be an equal opportunity employer and promotes fairness, respect, equity and dignity in the workplace. CHAI welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and encourages people from historically disadvantaged groups to apply. CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and culture.

Position Overview

CHAI seeks a highly entrepreneurial, energetic, results-oriented, and self-motivated individual to support CHAI’s SRMNH Program to increase uptake of SRMNH services and will be part of a team responsible for supporting the reduction in maternal and perinatal mortality through directly supporting the SRMNH program objectives. The SRMNH Quality Improvement (QI) Associate will join a diverse team to support the DoH in creating evidence-based strategic plans and ensure these plans are translated into strong operational plans and are implemented effectively. The ideal candidate must be technically sound, be self-directed, be conversant with the health sector in South Africa, have a strong commitment to excellence, and be able to adapt to the differing needs of the programs. This role is focused on implementation and will require a very “hands-on approach. The QI Associate will provide support both strategically and analytically and is expected to work closely with DoH staff at all levels of healthcare i.e. at a national, provincial, district and facility level. Due to the nature of the program, and as determined by the needs of the program, extensive travel is expected. The QI Associate will report to the SRMNH QI Project Manager.

The QI Associate will help provide technical input to the QI SRMNH team responsible for supporting the achievement of a reduction in maternal, perinatal and neonatal mortality through directly supporting health service quality improvement in the DOH’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Maternal and Neonatal Health programmes. The QI Associate will take responsibility for coaching DoH staff and documenting all processes and challenges identified during visits and assisting facilities to come up with quality improvement projects for tabling at district, provincial and national meetings. The QI Associate is expected to guide DoH staff (including nurses, doctors and managers) to utilise quality improvement tools, techniques and methodologies, develop and test models for improvement in healthcare settings and facilitate knowledge sharing and learning sessions for QI capability-building. The QI Associate should have exceptional communication and analytical skills, be a strong strategic thinker and be able to adapt to differing programme needs.

The QI Associate will be based in Pretoria, South Africa, and report to the CHAI SA QI Project Manager for SRMNH. This role requires at least 40% of travel, as will be dictated by programmatic needs.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Oversee quality improvement activities and teams
• Identify and prioritise areas for quality improvement interventions
• Analyse data to identify trends, root causes, and potential improvement opportunities
• Design implement quality improvement projects and initiatives
• Collaborate with the DoH team/s and participate in all feedback and planning meetings to frame quality improvement, explore the latest evidence-based interventions, document successes and lessons learnt and contribute to the development of standardised project tools and resources
• Conduct data collection, and routine data analysis of national and program data by developing and maintaining programme databases and dashboards. Use these tools for performance monitoring and evaluation, and to inform the development of assessments, training materials, reports, and other program materials to ensure effective program execution
• develop compelling presentations, reports and participate in stakeholder engagements related to program implementation and reporting for internal and external stakeholders
• Liaise with the District Health Information Systems (DHIS) team to ensure SRMNH health information data is routinely validated and can be effectively utilised by DOH for strategic planning, supported using dashboards and tools
• Conduct regular visits to focal provinces, districts, and facilities each month on a rotational basis with comprehensive reports prepared and shared with facility, district and/or national teams
• Assist district support staff and facility teams to strengthen and support referral systems between the community, clinics, and hospitals to ensure patients receive needed care in a timely fashion
• Identify strategic areas for expansion and support proposal development needed for future program development
• Support the QI Project Manager on key deliverables and ad-hoc requirements, as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in nursing, medicine (MBCHB) or Bachelor of Clinical Medical Practice (BCMP), or a related field;
• Training in Quality improvement methods and approaches in healthcare programmes, knowledge and experience of Quality Improvement in sexual reproductive health, maternal and newborn health, and health systems strengthening;
• Clinical background, particularly in midwifery, sonography or maternal care services, is essential;
• A minimum of five (5) years’ professional experience in public health, in a private or public sector setting and with increasing levels of responsibility and experience;
• Previous work experience in Quality Improvement in health programmes and its institutionalisation in healthcare facilities;
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to build strong professional relationships with a range of stakeholders in a challenging, multicultural environment;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently on complex projects and solve challenging problems in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment;
• Demonstrated ability to multitask with a strong commitment to excellence, both internally and externally, and with limited structural support;
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to prepare compelling presentations;
• High levels of proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint;
• English language fluency, both written and verbal.

Advantages

• Experience working with DoH stakeholders;
• Demonstrated ability to be effective in high-pressure situations and adapt to fast-paced and changing environments with a strong commitment to excellence, both internally and externally.

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