Ukraine: Technical Advisor, Governance

Overview

In September 2017, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a five-year Health Safe, Affordable, and Effective Medicines (SAFEMed) contract to Management Sciences for Health (MSH). SAFEMed applies health system-strengthening best practices to create evidence-based interventions and strengthen Ukraine's pharmaceutical system in line with the Ministry of Health's (MOH) health care reform objectives. SAFEMed seeks to improve access to appropriate, quality medicines to maximize availability within MOH's budgetary constraints. SAFEMed interventions will institutionalize rational medicine selection, strengthen and systematize public procurement of pharmaceuticals and commodities, support sustainable public sector pharmaceutical financing, and strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain in collaboration with the Government of Ukraine (GOU), the MOH and the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU), civil society partners, other implementing partners, and the private sector. By the end of SAFEMed, Ukraine's pharmaceutical system will be more transparent and cost efficient, and availability of medicines will increase, thereby supporting the GOU goal of a health care system that produces desired health outcomes.

In pursuit of its goal, SAFEMed has three primary project objectives:

1. Strengthen governance within the pharmaceutical sector of Ukraine;
2. Optimize the financing of the pharmaceutical sector; and
3. Increase the availability and appropriate use of medicines in Ukraine.

Providing technical support to the Government of Ukraine in health policy priority-setting is a key focus for SAFEMed and encompasses the development of HTA capability in Ukraine, along with the governance and institutional structures required to operationalize the concept. SAFEMed supports the MOH and the HTA department to make sure that HTA is seen and used as the key tool for decision-making with respect to health technology access in Ukraine. HTA is a tool that can be used not only by the Ministry of Health. It can support identification of medicines, vaccines, and other technologies to be used by National Health Services of Ukraine (NHSU), Public Health Center (CPH), and Medical Central Procurement Agency (CPA) with public funds.

In 2017, the Ukrainian MOH created a state medicines reimbursement program known as the Affordable Medicines Program. Over the past two years, USAID's SAFEMed supported the transition of the Affordable Medicines Program to the newly established NHSU. Moving forward, SAFEMed will continue providing technical support, as well as capacity-building efforts, to the NHSU to make sure that the newly established government entity is fully prepared to manage the program independently at scale. SAFEMed will also support NHSU to strategically expand the Affordable Medicines program in 2021 using epidemiological and market-based data, allowing for more Ukrainians to receive the medicines they require at low or no cost.

Specific Responsibilities

Based in Kyiv, Ukraine, the overall purpose of this position is to support the SAFEMed activities that improve access to medicines and other technologies guided by HTA and evidence-based medicine, under the guidance and oversight of SAFEMed Senior Technical Advisor.

Day-to-day duties may include but are not limited to the following tasks:

• Conduct grey and peer literature review to support strengthening and further institutionalization of the HTA function and Affordable Medicines program in Ukraine.
• Collect data related to SAFEMed's HTA activities.
• Conduct and document analytical work.
• Provide and analyze data related to the Affordable Medicines program and its expansion.
• Contribute to surveys and/or face-to-face interviews with stakeholders.
• Facilitate communications and meetings with key stakeholders from the government, private sector, and civil society in Ukraine.
• Coordinate and contribute to international and national HTA and/or reimbursement discussions and work organized or supported by SAFEMed, MOH, HTA department and/or NHSU.
• Summarize and document key findings, and draw conclusions and recommendations from meetings and other professional discussions.
• Consolidate learnings into final English-language reports under the guidance and oversight of SAFEMed Senior Technical Advisor.

Qualifications and Experience

Education:
Required:

• University degree in medicine, public health or life sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, or (health) economics, preferably with a postgraduate degree or candidate for a degree in Epidemiology, Pharmacology, Health Technology Assessment, Health Economics, public health, or (bio) statistics.

Preferred:

• Medical degree, pharmaceutical degree, or economics degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of work experience in healthcare service delivery and life sciences, with familiarity with pharmaceutical policies in Ukraine.
• Report writing experience in English and Ukrainian.
• Presentation, training, and workshop facilitation.
• Health Technology Assessment knowledge and practical application, and experience with reimbursement program in Ukraine desirable.

Knowledge and Skills:

Required:

• Ability to analyze data, draw conclusions, and summarize recommendations.
• Ability to search peer-review literature.
• Well-developed written and verbal communication skills, including presentations, meetings, and report writing.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with others in and across the organization to accomplish team goals.
• Fluency in both English and Russian/Ukrainian languages required (both written and spoken).

Preferred:

• Skills in conducting quantitative analyses with SPSS (or a similar statistical software) and programming with Excel, as well as experience in conducting interviews and analyzing qualitatively.

Competencies:

• Energetic, forward thinking, independent, creative person with intellectual depth and high ethical standards.
• Capacity to work in a variety of cultural settings and complex environments.
• Proven ability to build strong relationships, work well as part of a team, and to incorporate views of other disciplines into his or her work.
• Proven record of aligning diverse, multi-level teams with project mission and vision.
• Ability to manage and coordinate analytical assessments and technical assistance teams.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality.

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