Position Description:

Mathematica applies expertise at the intersection of data, methods, policy, and practice to address complex social challenges and improve well-being around the world. We create and use evidence to help our public and private sector partners improve programs, refine strategies, and advance knowledge. Over the past two decades, we have developed a large portfolio of international development work that spans more than 60 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Our work provides actionable learning to guide decision-making and improve outcomes in a range of policy areas, including health and nutrition; water, sanitation, and hygiene; agriculture and food systems; education and workforce development, and energy.

A key strategic priority for Mathematica is to expand our engagement, research, and impact on issues related to climate change. Mathematica’s growing enterprise-wide climate practice strives to bring forth the reliable and precise evidence required to measure the impact of climate policies, maximize investments, and improve public well-being. Applying our cross-sector expertise, we identify opportunities for climate solutions by engaging interested government, philanthropic, academic, and private-sector entities; partnering locally; and building capacity to ensure those solutions are contextualized, adopted, and sustained.

To support this work, Mathematica’s International Research Unit seeks a visionary, entrepreneurial Senior Climate and Health Expert to help grow, shape, and support Mathematica’s work at the intersection of climate change and health. They will be a part of Mathematica’s multidisciplinary climate change practice and collaborate closely with other domestic and international health and climate change experts and researchers throughout the organization. Our current climate portfolio is diverse, including efforts to measure the impacts of climate shocks and stressors; provide data, evidence, and tools to support the testing and scale up of approaches to address or mitigate the effects of climate change; and identify new, innovative, and scalable approaches to early detection, system strengthening, adaptive capacity, and resilience in the face of climate change.

The Senior Climate and Health Expert will provide technical and strategic leadership to support Mathematica’s growing portfolio of work to mitigate and address the impacts of climate change on health. They will lead and support teams of Mathematica staff, international consultants, and in-country partners to generate and distill evidence to guide our clients’ strategy, program improvement, and policy efforts. This may involve leading evaluations and research; developing new and improved approaches to using big data, evidence, and learning to inform decision-making; and serving as a trusted learning partner and advisor to our clients and partners. In addition to leading research teams, the Senior Climate and Health Expert will contribute to efforts to expand Mathematica’s portfolio and presence in the health and climate space. They will help identify and respond to emerging opportunities to grow and disseminate our work, and engage with bilateral and multilateral agencies, foundations, multistakeholder partnerships, and implementing organizations to identify their evidence and learning needs and craft a tailored strategy for meeting these needs that leverages Mathematica’s wide-ranging capabilities and expertise.

The Senior Climate and Health Expert will have a strong track record of research excellence and expertise at the intersection of climate change and health and deep experience using measurement, evaluation, and learning to drive strategy and decision-making for a range of partners. The ideal candidate will have substantial content knowledge across a range of health and climate-related policy issues and a comfort level engaging with other thought leaders, clients, and decision-makers. The Senior Climate and Health Expert should exemplify Mathematica’s mission and commitment to innovation and quality. Individuals who excel in this position will have a passion for using data and evidence to drive social change, a talent for conceptual and strategic thinking, an entrepreneurial mindset and the soft skills needed for effective business development, and an ability to produce high-quality work in a context of compressed timelines and changing circumstances.

Responsibilities of the Senior Climate and Health Expert include:

Project leadership and quality assurance

• Lead large projects at the intersection of health and climate change and serve as a trusted advisor and learning partner to clients
• Provide research oversight and support across Mathematica’s health and climate change portfolio to ensure technical excellence and responsiveness to client and other stakeholders’ learning and decision-making needs
• Support the development of new research ideas at the intersection of climate change and health, collaborating with researchers across the organization

Strategy and portfolio development

• Collaborate with Mathematica’s climate practice to support the development and operationalization of a strategy for advancing Mathematica’s position as a leader in the generation and use of data and evidence related to health and climate change
• Contribute to a portfolio development approach that is systematic, strategic, and forward thinking in its ability to anticipate future trends and funding priorities across clients focused on health and climate change
• Deepen and cultivate relationships with key philanthropy, government, multilateral, and other actors in the international health and climate change arenas
• Create and pursue opportunities to present and discuss Mathematica’s work to funders, policymakers, implementers, and other stakeholders

Thought leadership and capacity-strengthening

• Help deepen and expand staff expertise and know-how related to health and climate change data, evidence, and research; such processes could include technical review of outputs and products, internal staff mentorship, and informal knowledge exchange among staff members
• Support dissemination of Mathematica’s research and work through articles in peer-reviewed journals, gray literature publications, conference papers, blog posts, social media, and other dissemination channels
• Participate in key conferences and other forums, as well as expert groups and advisory committees, to engage with key players in the climate change area, keep abreast of critical trends, and share Mathematica’s work where it is most useful
• Mentor and develop junior staff and advise leadership on talent needs

Position Requirements:

• PhD or Master’s degree in public health, health economics, environmental economics, public policy, international development, sustainable development, or a related discipline
• At least 8 years of experience leading climate and health-focused international development initiatives and projects
• Deep experience and demonstrated expertise in climate change and health topics, which may include: infectious disease, climate exposure and vulnerability assessments, climate-resilient health systems, adaptation and mitigation in the health sector, environmental justice
• Understanding of the health and climate change funding landscape and a track record of securing contracts and/or grants from foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, and/or other organizations
• An entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing new, innovative ideas and approaches that will help advance the profile of the organization in the health and climate space
• Strong commitment to client-centered approaches that prioritize client needs and goals
• Demonstrated leadership, strategic thinking, relationship-building, and management skills
• Proven capability in successfully developing and leading new areas of work and managing teams to perform that work
• Stellar written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to (1) convey complex technical issues to non-expert audiences and (2) present and share research results in a way that resonates with clients, practitioners, and policymakers
• Ability to travel internationally

Desired:

• Specific expertise in evaluating the impact of climate and health interventions, predictive and epidemiological modeling, and/or cost-benefit analysis is advantageous
• Deep understanding of traditional and non-traditional health and climate data sources, such as administrative and spatial data (e.g., satellite imagery and remotely sensed data), as well as metrics to measure progress of climate and health investments
• Experience leading initiatives that use measurement, evaluation, and learning to drive strategy development, program design, and decision-making for bilateral and multilateral agencies (including USAID), foundations, and/or other organizations
• Fluency in at least one language in addition to English preferred; fluency in Arabic, French, Hindi, and/or Spanish is highly desirable.
• Experience in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region are preferred

Candidates who are located outside the U.S. may be referred to Mathematica’s subsidiary, EDI Global, for further consideration. If you are selected for a position in any of the countries where EDI is located, with EDI as your employer, your total rewards package will be based on EDI’s local compensation and benefit package. You should discuss specific compensation ranges that apply to roles outside of the U.S. with your recruitment/hiring team.