Program Manager, Health Systems Strengthening

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 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. 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 experience, backgrounds, and culture.

CHAI began working in Cambodia in 2005 to help the Ministry of Health (MoH) tackle the rise in HIV by introducing better treatment for adults and children and eliminating mother‑to‑child transmission. The CHAI Cambodia program has grown rapidly since its inception to manage multiple projects in support of Cambodia’s health system. In addition to HIV, CHAI is now supporting the MoH to tackle the burden of infectious diseases including TB and drug‑resistant TB, and hepatitis; save the lives of women and children through improved access to lifesaving reproductive health care and immunizations; increase oxygen availability at all levels of the health system; enhance laboratory services; strengthen sustainable health financing and social health protection; and address non‑communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, cancer, mental health).

CHAI Cambodia has recently updated its country strategy and team structure, around three crosscutting strategic priorities that are interlinked and complementary: infectious disease control and elimination, strengthening integrated primary health care (PHC) services, and health systems strengthening — including sustainable financing, digitalization, and health information systems.

CHAI is seeking a highly motivated individual with outstanding analytical, technical, and leadership skills to lead the CHAI Cambodia Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) cluster. The position serves as a key member of the CHAI Cambodia Country Leadership Team (CLT). The position oversees two interrelated workstreams — health financing and systems reform, and digitalization and health information systems — and directly manages the HSS team including the digital health subteam, currently comprised of a Senior Associate, as well as national and international consultants.

The S/PM also oversees active grants (including from GAVI) directly, and plays a support role in cross‑office business development and technical assistance. Initially, approximately half of the level of effort of this position will consist of leading CHAI’s digital health and HIS portfolio, including strategy and direct support to the MoH Department of Health Planning & Information and Department of Digital Health to realize the country’s integrated digital health strategy. A second major focus is to lead CHAI’s health financing portfolio and team. This includes developing and implementing strategies to improve sustainable financing for key health priorities, leading engagement with the National Social Protection Council and MOH on health financing issues and projects, and leading UHC‑related analytics and policy support.

The position will also support new initiatives and business development across the office, including designing and coordinating project proposals and concept notes, and provide technical assistance to other CHAI teams, particularly for project design and strategy. The allocation of effort across digital, health financing, and crosscutting TA, and the size and scope of managerial oversight for the role, may vary over time depending on need and availability of funds.

CHAI places great value on relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, and work ethic. The ideal candidate will be a rigorous thinker and strong communicator who can engage credibly with senior government counterparts and donors, manage a motivated technical team, and translate complex health systems evidence into actionable policy recommendations. This position can be levelled at Manager or Senior Manager, commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate.

Responsibilities

• Lead CHAI Cambodia’s digital health and HIS portfolio, providing strategic direction and technical oversight across all workstreams;
• Serve as CHAI’s primary technical partner to the MoH Department of Health Planning & Information and the Department of Digital Health, supporting the operationalization of Cambodia’s digital health strategy and national digital health operational plan;
• Lead technical assistance on health information systems interoperability, including scale‑up of DHIS2, Electronic Medical Records (EMR), and related platforms, with a focus on strengthening data use for decision‑making at national and sub‑national levels;
• Represent CHAI in digital health working groups, development partner coordination mechanisms, and strategic government dialogues; maintain partnerships with WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, FHI360, and other digital health stakeholders;
• Directly supervise the digital health subteam (staff and consultants), ensuring quality of technical outputs and alignment with MoH priorities and grant commitments;
• Oversee grant management responsibilities for digital health grants (including GAVI and others), including work planning, financial oversight, M&E, and donor reporting;
• Lead CHAI Cambodia’s health financing workstream, providing evidence‑based technical assistance to MoH and related government entities (MOH, National Social Protection Council, Ministry of Economy and Finance, MOH vertical programs) on strategic purchasing, sustainable health and UHC financing, and fiscal space optimization;
• Lead or oversee high‑quality analytical work including health expenditure analysis, costing, fiscal space assessment, efficiency analyses, etc;
• Synthesize and communicate findings to senior government and donor audiences through clear briefs, presentations, and policy documents;
• Work in close coordination with CHAI’s global HSS team to align Cambodia’s health financing work with regional and global learning;
• Serve as an HSS technical resource across the CHAI Cambodia office, supporting program teams on health financing dimensions of infectious disease, NCDs, RMNCH, immunization, and other programs;
• Lead development of concept notes and proposals for HSS‑related funding opportunities, particularly in health financing, digital health, and UHC reform, and serve as a resource for proposal development across the country office;
• Engage in cross‑office strategic thinking to identify links between CHAI programs and opportunities to strengthen CHAI’s support to the MoH for greater health system impact;
• Support donor engagement and positioning, including preparation of donor briefs, meeting materials, and strategic communications;
• Build the capacity of CHAI Cambodia program managers and senior associates on HSS concepts, impact‑driven writing, and proposal development;
• Track the donor landscape and government priorities to identify and match areas of highest potential CHAI impact;
• Contribute to the CHAI Cambodia Country Leadership Team (CLT), supporting office‑wide cross‑program coordination and strategic discussions;
• Directly supervise the HSS cluster, including the digital health subteam, a Senior Associate, and national and international consultants, in line with CHAI Cambodia organigram;
• Oversee work planning, budgeting, and results monitoring for 1–2 direct grants, ensuring timely and high‑quality reporting to donors including GAVI;
• Foster a high‑performing, collaborative team culture aligned with CHAI’s values of impact, curiosity, and inclusion.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in public health, health policy, health economics, international development, or a related field;
• Minimum 5 years of progressive professional experience in global health, with demonstrated expertise in health systems strengthening;
• Strong knowledge of health systems policy and reform, including familiarity with health financing and digital health / health information system issues and approaches;
• Proven ability to provide and manage high‑quality technical assistance to government counterparts in low- or middle‑income country settings;
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing complex, multi‑stakeholder programs, including grant management and donor reporting;
• Strong analytical skills, including proficiency in quantitative analysis, health data interpretation, and costing or fiscal space modelling;
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills in English; ability to produce clear, structured outputs for senior government and donor audiences;
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build trust with government counterparts, development partners, and diverse teams;
• Strong commitment to CHAI’s mission; personal qualities of resourcefulness, tenacity, independence, humility, and energy.

Advantages

• Experience in digital health, health information systems, or e‑health strategy, including familiarity with DHIS2, EMR systems, or health data interoperability;
• Prior experience in Cambodia or Southeast Asia, with knowledge of the Cambodian health system, MoH structure, or regional donor landscape;
• Experience with health donor organizations such as Global Fund, GAVI, BMGF, World Bank, or other major health funders;
• Experience in new business development, including proposal development and donor engagement;
• Management consulting skillset and/or M&E experience; experience with implementation research design and management is a plus.