Cardiovascular Health Program Manager (Rwanda), 12-month consultancy Consultancy

Background
Resolve to Save Lives (Resolve) is recruiting a public health professional for a secondment to the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, focusing on issues of cardiovascular health. Specifically, the Cardiovascular Health Program Manager will support expansion of quality hypertension diagnosis, treatment and care in Rwanda and will also contribute to a healthy food environment in Rwanda by supporting the development of policies and practices that can reduce sodium intake and eliminate artificial trans fat from the food supply.

Resolve to Save Lives
Resolve is an initiative funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is led by Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and hosted by Vital Strategies, a public health organization that works in more than 70 countries to strengthen public health systems and address leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Resolve, along with key partners such as WHO, works to reduce cardiovascular diseases by reducing global sodium intake by 30%, eliminating artificial trans fats from the food supply, and improving the control of hypertension globally to 50% from 14%.

This position will be seconded to the Rwanda Biomedical Centre with line management by a senior member of the NCD team. The incumbent will receive technical guidance and support from the Directors of Global Hypertension Control and Nutrition Policy within Resolve to Save Lives. This will initially be a 12-month consultancy, with opportunity to extend, pending funding.

Responsibilities

• Hypertension
  • Support the updating of national guidelines, including adaptation of a simple protocol for hypertension treatment
  • Review and update relevant task sharing guidance to include task sharing for hypertension care
  • Support the development or update of a national roll out plan for hypertension care, including development of package components (technical training tools and guidance, monitoring and evaluation indicators and systems, guidance and tools for site monitoring and mentorship) and develop plans for training roll out and regular program review at national level or with the relevant technical working groups
  • Support the development and/or adaptation of information systems to support hypertension care down to the primary care level
  • Support the quantification working group to procure key medicines and diagnostics related to the hypertension program
  • Support costing and budgeting for the program
  • Develop policy briefs on HTN and other NCDs risk factors
• Nutrition work to prevent cardiovascular disease
  • Support the development of best-practice regulations to eliminate artificial trans fat in Rwanda, including development of a plan of action for the elimination of artificial trans fats
  • Serve as a liaison with relevant technical partners such as the World Health Organization, Resolve to Save Lives and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) working to support trans fat elimination in Rwanda and the East African Community more generally
  • Support landscaping and/or advocacy for policies to support sodium intake reduction
• General
  • Support updating the National NCD Policy
  • Additional work to support public health measures to reduce cardiovascular death or prevent epidemics as needs arise

Deliverables
Hypertension

• Draft or approved national hypertension guideline
• Updated task shifting / sharing guidance for hypertension management
• A costed national roll out plan for hypertension care, including relevant training materials, job aids, and other tools

Trans fat

• Report on a pathway for trans fat elimination regulation in Rwanda
• Plan of action for the elimination of trans fat for Rwanda
• Regular updates on the progress of regional trans fat elimination regulations at the East African Community

Other

• Proposal on strategies to reduce sodium intake in Rwanda
• Updated NCD policy

Experience and qualifications

• Medical doctor, Master’s degree in public health or related field
• At least 10 years of relevant experience working in public health program implementation in Rwanda or similar contexts
• Experience drafting strategy and guidelines related to public health
• Ability to communicate technical knowledge and expertise in both policy and operational environments
• Experience in policy development and implementation is desirable
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills in English
• Demonstrated ability to work across sectoral boundaries and in diverse, multicultural settings
• Seeking Rwandan nationals for this position