Government Relations Consultant (Vietnam)

Company Profile:

The Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (“APLMA”) unites 22 governments in Asia Pacific who have committed to eliminating malaria in the region by 2030. APLMA translates evidence to advocate for policy change at the highest levels of government and supports leadership collaboration across the region. By convening senior officials beyond health, monitoring and reporting on progress and bottlenecks and facilitating cross-border collaboration, APLMA, in collaboration with APMEN, empowers tangible elimination progress across the region with a heavy focus on high malaria burden countries. The Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) and Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) are partners working towards the elimination of malaria in Asia Pacific by 2030.

Progress against malaria is one of this century’s greatest public health successes. Over the past ten years, the countries of the Asia Pacific region have reduced cases of malaria by more than half, putting them on a positive course towards the 2030 goal. But over two billion people in the region remain at risk. In some areas, malaria is staging a comeback aided now by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is diverting attention and resources. It is imperative that these threats get urgent attention and that the region’s gains are not wasted.

APLMA and APMEN are working together to generate evidence, build capacity and raise the awareness and commitment of our stakeholders to ensure the region’s progress towards eliminating malaria by 2030 remains on track. For more information go to: https://www.aplma.org/ and https://www.apmen.org/

Role:

APLMA-APMEN has worked over the past decade to build commitment for a malaria-free Asia Pacific among the highest levels of leaders in the region. APLMA-APMEN occupies a unique role among organizations based in the region as an advocate for sustained financing, as well as a broker and convener, able to engage at the highest levels of the political, diplomatic, and private spheres, working with leaders and decision-makers beyond traditional health actors. This mandate places APLMA-APMEN in a critical position to support countries transitioning from donor funding and strengthening domestic financing for malaria.

In partnership with the University of California San Francisco (UCSF)’s Malaria Elimination Initiative (MEI), APLMA-APMEN is working with national malaria programs, country stakeholders, and external financing agencies as part of a new grant to develop malaria donor transition plans for both Cambodia and Vietnam to be implemented over a multi-year period. Additional work in Thailand as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific is also envisioned.

APLMA-APMEN will build upon the MEI-developed Sustainability Model, which has complementary approaches to 1) support country planning and action to transition to fully country-financed and managed programs, and 2) strengthen domestic financing for malaria through subnational leadership and advocacy. Recently, MEI and Vietnam worked together to prepare a transition readiness assessment that identifies potential risks and opportunities for sustainable malaria programming. The next phase of work will build upon these previously identified areas to develop robust strategies across the health system to ensure sustainability.

Responsibilities

APLMA-APMEN is seeking a Vietnam-based Consultant to support on-the-ground activities in Vietnam over a six-month period, with the possibility of extension. Key responsibilities will include:

Facilitate consultations with key stakeholders, including representatives of the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology (NIMPE); ministries of health, finance and foreign affairs; the Global Fund; and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, and others
Plan and facilitate workshops to discuss proposed actions among stakeholders, as well as produce outcome documents from the meetings
Work with NIMPE and other key ministry representatives to identify priorities to support the development of malaria donor transition plans that will be implemented over a multi-year period
Produce a draft transition plan in coordination with NIMPE and with support from APLMA-APMEN and MEI
Coordinate communication between APLMA-APMEN with NIMPE and other partners

Deliverables

Workshop to identify priority transition items as assessed by the MEI Sustainability Assessment
Draft transition plan that will provide roadmap to NIMPE once finalized
Meeting minutes from all stakeholder meetings
Monthly progress reports

Requirements

A university degree in public health, public policy, health economics, health management or a related field
An advanced degree is an asset
At least 10 years of professional experience in a government or development institution
Existing senior-level relationships with key government stakeholders in Vietnam
Excellent written and presentation skills in English
Knowledge of Vietnamese will be an asset
Preference for candidates already based in Vietnam

To apply, please send your resume with two professional references and the expected daily rates to admin@aplma.org by 15 March 2022. Please include Government Relations Consultant (Vietnam) in the subject of the email. We thank you for your application and regret to inform that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.