Options Consultancy Services Limited is a leading global health consultancy established in 1992 as a wholly owned subsidiary of MSI Reproductive Choices. We manage health programmes that ensure vulnerable women and children can access the high-quality health services they need. We work with partners to co-create and implement locally informed solutions to complex health problems. This includes governments, development partners, NGOs, civil society and health workers. Our programming is flexible, evidence-based and politically informed. This means we adapt to changing contexts, use data to inform our decisions and ensure our approach is appropriate. Our focus is always on building local skills and systems that last.

Options is seeking an exceptional Team Leader for an anticipated short-term assignment to assess the barriers, enablers, and opportunities for scaling maternal, neonatal, and child health commodities in low-resource settings. The Team Leader will guide a diverse project team of global and country experts, producing findings on key bottlenecks and barriers and recommendations for the client to prioritise its global investments.

This assignment recognises that very few novel maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) products[1] have been fully scaled in low and middle-income countries. Despite life-saving evidence, many of these commodities in fact have the lowest and slowest pathway to scale of any products tracked. This assignment seeks to turn a complex set of information on this subject into actionable recommendations for a key global health partner to prioritize investments with the maximum potential for impact.

The Team Leader is responsible for the overall strategic leadership, managerial oversight and technical direction of the assignment. S/he will ensure the assessment is delivered on time and to high quality, coordinating the inputs of global and country level experts. As the custodian of the technical approach, s/he will engage actively with the client and ensure course corrections and adaptions are made when needed.

Responsibilities include:

• Finalise the assessment methodology, including its global and national aspects, the selection of approximately 3 case study countries, and the composition of the assessment team (including local resource partners in case study countries)
• Oversee and directly support the three assessment phases, drawing on inputs from experts in MNCH commodities, political economy analysis, technical economics, and evidence mapping to:
  1. Understand and strategically package the existing evidence
  2. Develop and validate a methodology for capturing the impact of successful solutions in addressing barriers to functional availability of MNCH products
  3. Develop, sense check and implement a method to support the client in prioritising areas of action
• Coordinate engagement with the client and external global and national expert group(s) to build buy-in and ensure that findings are anchored on existing knowledge and best practice

To be successful in this role you will possess:

• Robust understanding of the global evidence and practicalities around barriers, enablers and opportunities for scaling MNCH commodities in low resource settings
• Experience in implementing/leading initiatives to improve the functional availability of novel MNCH commodities
• Demonstrated track record in designing and leading assessment processes, including framework development and writing up actionable investment recommendations for donors
• Excellent networks with relevant UN agencies, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID & USG partners, GFF and others working on MNCH commodities
• Substantive work experience in more than one low-resource country
• A postgraduate qualification in public health or related discipline
• Excellent written and spoken English

• Options is an equal opportunities employer
• Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and post holders to share this commitment.
• We seek people who are pro-choice, energetic and enthusiastic about Options’ vision.