Director, Innovation, Access to Medicines and Health Technologies

Pan American Health Organization•Washington, DC

22d

About The Position

The position is responsible for coordinating and managing the Organization’s program of work in innovation, access, quality and the rational use of medicines and other health technologies. The IMT department provides normative, policy and strategic guidance to countries to improve equity in access to quality medicines and other health technologies. This includes supporting other technical departments, centers and special programs within the Organization in areas related to innovation, selection, quality assessment, and the inclusion or exclusion of medicines and other health technologies in public health programs. The Director IMT oversees technical units leading the technical programs of work in Access to Medicines and Health Technologies and the Quality and Regulation of Medicines and other Health Technologies, as well as the Special Program, Innovations and Regional Production Platform to Advance the Manufacturing of Vaccines and other Health Technologies. She/he supervises a diverse team of expert professionals and support staff to achieve the objectives of the biennial work program. Additionally, the Director IMT leads partnership development and resource mobilization efforts for the Department and provides strategic and policy guidance to the Director and Assistant Director in the development and implementation of the department’s work program.

Requirements

Maintains integrity and takes a clear ethical approach and stance; demonstrates commitment to the Organization’s mandate and promotes the values of the Organization in daily work and behavior; is accountable for work carried out in line with own role and responsibilities; is respectful towards, and trusted by, colleagues and counterparts.
Treats everyone with dignity and respect, fostering positive relationships with everyone. Reflects on personal behavior to avoid stereotypes and considers situations from the perspective of others.
Advocates for collaboration across the Organization - Creates and encourages a climate of team-working and collaboration across the Organization; sees cooperation as a key Organizational priority and creates collaborative systems and processes to achieve Organizational goals. Actively identifies and tackles disagreements between internal and external counterparts that compromise the Organization’s goals and mandate; diplomatically facilitates the resolution of conflicts between others and ensures strategic partnerships with a range of key stakeholders; maintains and extends an effective collaborative network of individuals inside and outside the Organization.
Share knowledge - Articulates the Organization’s strategic objectives when formulating and delivering information and presentations and adapts presentation methodology to address the needs of different audiences. Shares decisions and directives of senior management and communicates them in a manner that ensures both understanding and acceptance; shares knowledge and best practice at the three Organizational levels (country, regional and global), as necessary.
Provide direction/Support, motivate and empower others - Oversees and provides teams and departments with clear managerial directions which are translated from Organizational strategy. Builds a performance culture in the Organization; contributes to setting Organizational performance goals and standards; monitors Organizational performance against milestones and strategic goals; identifies and nurtures talent as appropriate. Promotes autonomy and empowerment throughout the Organization; inspires enthusiasm and a positive attitude in people towards their work and contribution to the Organization’s success.
Strategize and set clear objectives/Monitor progress and use resources well - Sets specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely objectives for own team and/or the Organization; systematically analyses and anticipates priority projects for own team and allocates necessary resources to achieve them; identifies the cross-Organizational resources needed for large- scale projects in line with key Organizational objectives. Anticipates foreseeable changes and adapts own and team’s projects in the face of unforeseen circumstances and/ or challenges; creates measures and criteria to monitor progress of overall projects against key Organizational objectives; creates cost-effective solutions for the Organization.
Constructive leadership style/ Set the vision and build commitment - Leads and develops a road map for successfully achieving real progress in the Organization’s mandate, including consultation with key stakeholders; demonstrates respectful, trustworthy, transparent and accountable behavior in order to develop a reliable and coherent identity for the Organization. Creates a coherent Organizational vision of shared and successful goals; fosters a culture of vision and long- term goals, recognizing and rewarding efforts to maximize the organization’s value.
Extensive expertise at a senior decision-making level in public policy in areas of innovation, access, quality and rational use of medicines, including considerable familiarity with other fields relevant to the Department’s responsibilities in particular in managing complex health programs/health systems at both national and international levels. Wide and varied knowledge of public health problems and health management processes, including monitoring and performance assessment in the health or social sector, and disciplines related to strategic planning.
Extensive expertise in senior, progressively responsible positions in the management of a large public or private administration of administrative and technical matters requiring sensitive negotiation, and high-level intervention. Demonstrated ability to provide professional leadership to strategic, organizational, managerial and analytic work in health; resourcefulness, initiative, highly developed judgment and interpersonal skills to deal with difficult situations and sensitive areas. Must further possess a recognized capacity to lead, strategize, and supervise by persuasion and through consensus building. Courtesy, tact, sensitivity to manage confidential information, and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different professional levels, discipline, nationalities, and cultural background.
A university degree in a health or social science and a master’s degree in public health, health economics or any other field related to the functions of the post from a recognized institution.
Fifteen years of combined national and international experience in progressively challenging managerial positions in health systems, including the development and evaluation of policies and programs to support innovation and equitable access to quality medicines and other health technologies.
Very good knowledge of English or Spanish with a working knowledge of the other language.
Demonstrated ability to effectively use current technology and software, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and management information systems. Other IT skills and knowledge of software programs such as Microsoft Excel, Outlook, OneDrive, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, and Word are considered essential.

Nice To Haves

A PhD or D.PH would be an asset.
Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an asset.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic policy and normative guidance to countries in the development of policies, strategies, and plans that promote innovation, affordable and equitable access to medicines, vaccines and other health technologies for health systems, overseeing the implementation of PAHO mandates in this area and leading the development of technical policy documents for the Department to be presented to PAHO Governing Bodies
Develop and consolidate the leadership of the Organization in the areas of access, quality and the rational use of medicines and other health technologies for health systems, and in PAHO leadership and regional action to increase manufacturing capacity for vaccines, medicines and other health technologies required for public health programs in the Americas
Support and foster the continued growth and leadership of PAHO multi-stakeholder initiatives and networks in Health Technology Assessment (HTA), regulatory harmonization and convergence for medicines and health technologies, and the rational use of medicines and other health technologies, amongst others; provide guidance and oversight of the development of PAHO Regional Platform to Increase Manufacturing of vaccines and other medicines and health technologies to support increased manufacturing for essential medical products in the Americas and the development of enabling ecosystems
Oversee the collaboration with and support to the Regional Revolving Funds in all aspects relating to eligibility and priority setting criteria for products and suppliers, as well in the quality oversight of products to ensure the supply of medicines and other health technologies through these pooled procurement mechanisms
Promote and support regional engagement in international mechanisms for regulatory harmonization and convergence for medicines and other health technologies, supporting country and partner participation in the Pan American Network for Drug Regulatory Harmonization, and supporting increased regional action for regulatory systems and capacity development
Facilitate high level dialogue and coordination among countries, development agencies and partners, convening stakeholders to promote the public health perspective as central to the agenda in innovation, access, quality, rational use, research and development, and the production of vaccines, medicines and other health technologies
Mobilize financial and technical resources and actively promote networking and the building of synergistic partnerships in support of the work of the Department
Advocate, both internally and externally, for innovation and access to medicines and other health technologies to be maintained as a key priority on the regional and national political and development agenda
Identify and mobilize financial resources including multi-year predictable grants to support program implementation, in collaboration with other Departments of the Organization and partners
Develop, define and establish the objectives, strategy, plan and budget of the Department in line with programmatic priorities and in accordance with Governing Bodies’ mandates; ensure that the strategies and objectives are aligned with the Organization’s mission, vision, values, policies, strategies, business needs and priorities in order to ensure continuing operations and maximize results; ensure that results and products delivered are aligned with the Organizational Strategy and make significant contributions for the achievement of the expected results and strategic objectives; report to Governing Bodies, through executive presentations and reports, on the status or results of the program of work
Identify, promote, establish, maintain, and coordinate liaison across the Organization, within WHO, with other United Nations organizations, the Inter-American System and with other partners including donor agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and civil society to maximize programmatic integration, efficiency and effectiveness
Administer, allocate and monitor the Department’s financial, logistical and staff resources; prepare, and justify the program and budget proposals included in the Biennial Work Plans and contribute substantially to the respective indicators in the Strategic Plan
Provide intellectual leadership to guide and mentor staff and motivate teams in a multicultural environment in order to ensure maximal responsiveness, high productivity and effective results; contribute to the definition of the department’s personnel component including the departmental structure, competencies and terms of reference; initiate and recommend approval of personnel actions for all of the department’s staff and ensure guidance and monitoring of staff through setting of clear work objectives, use of performance reviews and feedback mechanisms, regular communications, and solving interpersonal or technical conflicts. Monitor workloads to ensure equitable distribution of work and maintain job satisfaction, efficiency and output and follow up on any deviation of work results from objectives
Promote a culture of ethical behavior and integrity in accordance with the Organization’s Code of Ethical Principles and Conduct to ensure a culture of respect, responsibility, accountability and compliance
Provide a stable managerial framework that demonstrates credibility, trust and value to Member States, clients and humanitarian and other donors, while optimizing staff performance; provide advice, when called upon, to institutions of Member States in the area of expertise
Direct and participate in the development of policies and their implementation and provide authoritative advice in relation to policy and procedures under the areas of responsibility
Perform other related duties, as assigned