Overview:
Overview of role
CHAI is seeking a highly motivated individual to work as a part of its Panama Malaria Team supporting the Ministry of Health’s National Malaria Program to plan and execute effective programs in malaria endemic regions (i.e. Darien, Panama Este, Guna Yala). Over the past eight years, CHAI has rapidly engaged in the country and helped them make meaningful steps towards orienting their national strategic plans and systems towards historic elimination by 2025.


This position will work as a part of CHAI’s Panama team to design, implement, and monitor and evaluate CHAI-supported elimination-focused interventions and help support their scale up at the regional level.



This position is based in Panama City, Panama. This role requires travel most of the time to remote regions with limited infrastructure and medical care.
Responsibilities:

• Strengthen the capacity of regional Mo H to select and implement interventions aimed towards achieving malaria elimination.
• Coordinate with local health partners, local authorities, and the CHAI Panama team to monitor, evaluate and implement local-level plans.
• Evaluate the impact of interventions on malaria transmission at the regional and local level.
• Design training plans and support the development of associated training materials to build Ministry of Health staff and community health workers’ capacity to execute malaria interventions effectively.
• Work in collaboration with the local level to support the use of the malaria module and other electronic surveillance systems for malaria.
• Identify key impediments to the successful execution of the malaria elimination strategy and work with the regional and national health authorities and partner organizations to develop and implement solutions to address bottlenecks.
• Explore the utilization of new tools and interventions to eliminate malaria and develop operational plans and other materials to support the implementation of these tools.
• Support local-level Ministry of Health staff with regular site visits to community health workers and health facilities in malaria-endemic regions.
• Work closely with the Program Manager, Darien’s subnational Associate, the Research Associate, the Vector Control Associate, and CHAI´s regional technical advisors to design and implement data-driven actions.
• Identify strategic areas for expansion or redirection and guide strategic planning or proposal development as needed.
• Serve as a trusted adviser for the national and regional Ministry of Health staff on malaria elimination.
• Represent CHAI in meetings with partner organizations and Ministry of Health officials as needed.
• Develop and maintain strong, proactive relationships with national and regional health staff involved in malaria elimination.
• Other responsibilities as needed by supervisor.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 3+ years of work experience.
• Must be available to travel extensively (60-80%) throughout Guna Yala, and if needed, in other malaria-endemic regions; traveling in boats, small planes, and hiking long distances, must be comfortable.
• Strong problem-solving skills and analytical capabilities.
• Detail-oriented with strong organization skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, set priorities, and work independently.
• Experience living and working in resource-limited areas.
• Ability to work well both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong work ethic, integrity, credibility, and dedication to CHAI’s mission.
• Ability to be effective, calm, and flexible in high-pressure situations, handle multiple tasks simultaneously, and effectively prioritize.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook).
• This role requires travel to remote regions with limited infrastructure and medical care.
• Must be fluent in Spanish; with a professional-level proficiency in English.

Advantages

• Knowledge and experience with malaria and/or infectious disease control programs.
• Experience executing successful health projects, ideally malaria-specific projects.
• Experience developing database systems and using statistical software for data analysis.
• Experience working with governments and institutions from Latin America.
• Experience living and/or working in remote areas in Latin America/Panama.