[Job] International Generalist at Maternal Health Initiative

By Sarah Eustis-Guthrie, Ben Williamson @ 2023-05-25T09:26 (+28)

Summary

• Maternal Health Initiative (MHI) was incubated by Charity Entrepreneurship in September 2022 and is currently seeking a third core team member to support the growth of our work in Ghana through the second half of 2023 and onwards
• We provide refresher training to nurses and midwives in Ghana’s public healthcare system on postpartum contraceptive counselling, ensuring high-quality family planning information and access for women integrated into existing healthcare appointments.
• The ideal hire would be passionate about MHI’s mission and able to take ownership of key parts of our work across operations, communications, research and stakeholder engagement. Our initial application form should take about 20 minutes to complete and is open until Friday 2nd June.

About Maternal Health Initiative 

Maternal Health Initiative is an evidence-based non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of women and children, with a particular focus on care received during the postpartum period. At present, MHI has launched initial pilot programming in the Northern Region of Ghana, in collaboration with two local partner organisations and the Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service.

Our core programming provides healthcare workers with refresher training on contraceptive provision and client-centred counselling. These training sessions teach providers an evidence-based approach to counselling women on family planning in the postpartum period using a set of tools designed by MHI through an extensive research and consultation process.

Over the coming months, we plan to conduct a formal evaluation of the impact of our training on informed choice and contraceptive uptake as the basis for scaling up our partnership with the Ghana Health Service to a national level.

For more information about our leadership team and advisors, please see our website. 

Responsibilities

MHI seeks to hire a generalist staff member to play a core role in the development and growth of our programming. As the first hire to our remote international team, this role is suited to someone who is excited about working at an early-stage organisation and who can take ownership over areas of MHI’s work as they grow into the position. 

We are looking for a team member who is driven, able to work independently, and enthusiastic about providing decision-making input on MHI’s overall direction. Willingness and enthusiasm to undertake projects across multiple areas of our work, and adapt their work to the needs of the organisation, will be essential.

Below are examples of the core responsibilities and key projects of the position. A candidate would not necessarily be expected to adopt all of these areas of work, with room to tailor the role based on their professional development: 

• Take ownership of key operational responsibilities, including legal and financial compliance, due diligence processes with our local partners, and budgeting & financial management.
• Conduct research to inform program development and implementation.
• Write updates about our work for funding proposals, our newsletter, and other key audiences.
• Execute other projects as assigned and based on personal fit, ranging from groundwork to hiring to fundraising.

As an example, a breakdown of your time may look like: 

• 30% operational activities, such as conducting due diligence with our local partners, financial reporting, and internal systems improvement.
• 30% research or programmatic work, such as developing surveys to assess the quality of our programming, processing program quality data, and reviewing the existing literature on similar interventions.
• 20% communications, such as writing reports on our work for funders and managing our newsletter.
• 20% building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, such as meeting with local partner organisations and coordinating with organisations pursuing similar goals.

Candidate Profile

Key skills:

• Personally and professionally committed to improving the lives of women and children in lower-income countries
• Work in a time zone +/- 8 hours of British Standard Time (GMT)
• Quick learner in a variety of tasks, with the ability to carry out tasks across multiple areas of MHI’s work
• A strong commitment to maximising the impact of their work through a keen focus on cost-effectiveness and scalability in decision-making
• Ability to work mostly independently with limited structure or supervision, with a willingness to make significant decisions independently
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

If you are unsure of your fit for the role, we encourage you to lean on the side of applying and to reach out with specific questions.

Salary, benefits, and location

Salary 

• $30,000-$45,000/year, dependent on experience

Benefits 

• The opportunity to have a significant, early influence on the development of an ambitious global health charity with an anticipated cost-effectiveness competitive with GiveWell’s top recommended charities
• 24 days of vacation per year and unlimited sick leave
• A startup atmosphere that encourages skills development and project ownership
• A large degree of autonomy
• The opportunity to work from the Charity Entrepreneurship office in London, and to engage with the wider Charity Entrepreneurship network

Start Date

• Early July

Position Status

• Full time (40 hours/week)

Application details

For applicants interested in the role, the deadline to fill out our initial application form is Friday 2nd June, 23:59 GMT. 

Applications are rolling and we encourage you to apply early. For those who advance beyond the initial round, the hiring process will involve test projects and an interview. We are aiming for the new team member to begin full-time work with us in early July, with some flexibility for exceptional candidates. 

Maternal Health Initiative is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive equal consideration for any role we advertise, regardless of their race, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or any disability.

Initial application form