Cindy Carlson


Cindy Carlson

For a full and up to date CV, please email: cindy.carlson@nichad.org

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Interests

International and UK public health, global health partnerships and aid effectiveness, SWAP and pooled funding arrangements, health governance and institutional arrangements, health systems and services, maternal health, sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, health impact assessment, health information systems design and analysis, public health workforce planning and development.

Skills

Programme design and management, evaluation design and implementation, team leadership and facilitation, strategy development; institutional analysis and development; health research design, evidence based practice; health impact assessment, training and facilitation.

Background and relevant experience

Cindy has over 30 years international experience including short and long term engagements in West and East Africa, and South East Asia. She has significant experience in designing and managing health and development projects, team leadership, design and implementation of complex program evaluations, developing analytical papers on global health issues, and contributing to cutting edge initiatives in global public health. Cindy’s assignments in the last five years include:

  • DFID/Options UK, Malawi – October 2013 to present: Joint (part-time) Team Lead to the Malawi Health Support Programme – TA Component; programme inception activities, developing relationships across all partners in Malawi and leading on Public Private Partnership arrangements in the health sector as well as health sector governance and planning.
  • Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria – November 2014 to present: Strategic Review 2015, Team Leader for Main Objective 1: Assessment of Global Fund progress in implementing its 2012 – 2016 Strategy.
  • Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria – August – September 2014: Desk review of technical assistance quality assurance mechanisms employed by multiple agencies in order to recommend standard approaches to QA for technical assistance associated with Global Fund processes.
  • UNAIDS Geneva – October 2013 to June 2014: Development of a results framework for tracking progress on the Agenda for Accelerated Country Action on Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV.
  • AusAID Canberra – April to September 2013: Evaluation of the AusAID funded Health Resource Facility; public health specialist team member
  • Options UK, PATHS2 Nigeria, Senior Technical and Management Support Advisor, January 2012 to present: Providing technical and management inputs to the service delivery component of this health systems transformation and maternal, newborn and child health programme working in five States in Nigeria. Provision of ongoing management support and technical input into MNCH/family planning service delivery, quality assurance, voice and accountability and health systems aspects of PATHS2 Nigeria, including reframing of component interventions, advising on management arrangements, supporting M&E and consulting on community participation aspects of other components of the programme.
  • Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Geneva – February 2013: Development of Framing Document and TORs for the Thematic Evaluation of Fragile States, highlighting key issues arising for the Global Fund in its support for programmes in fragile states.
  • Trinidad and Tobago Office of the Prime Minister - January 2013: Revisions and final editing of National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS, including main national strategy document, Operational Plan, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and Technical Support Plan.
  • Malawi National AIDS Commission, Governance Consultant, September – December 2012 Revisions to the NAC Joint Financing Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding, facilitating negotiated agreements on revisions with funding and technical support partners in the Malawi national HIV response and writing final versions for signature.
  • UNAIDS Geneva, Consultant, March 2012 to June 2013 - Developing and facilitating consultation on a strategic position paper on new AIDS architecture and guidance on Third Generation National Strategic Plans for HIV/AIDS, aligned to the Investment Approach.
  • Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Geneva 08/10 – 10/11: Team lead and advisor on the Second Wave national strategy applications: Worked with the Strategy and Policy team responsible for designing tools and processes related to the implementation of the Second Wave National Strategy Application initiative, as well as analyzing lessons learned for future roll out. Assisted with disease strategy joint assessments in Cote d’Ivoire, Moldova, Namibia and Senegal.
  • AusAID Canberra, 07/10 – 06/11: Team Leader, Strategic evaluation of the AusAID contribution to the Papua New Guinea HIV response. Developed evaluation analytical framework, wrote background papers and led 4 person team in an indepth evaluation process.
  • UNAIDS Geneva, 04/10 – 07/10: Team leader for global consultation on national ownership of AIDS responses. including definition, benchmarks, indicators, barriers and facilitators to national ownership. Facilitated a global workshop to discuss and agree key elements of reviving national ownership as core to discussions on HIV and AIDS.
  • WHO, 05/08 – 07/09: Consultant advisor on development of the Joint Assessment of National Strategy tool and process. Development of framework document, consultation process and consultation document on joint assessment of national strategies (health, HIV&AIDS and other disease specific programmes). Included country level consultations in Ghana, Mali, Zambia, Burundi, Tajikstan and Viet Nam, as well as supporting the ongoing work of the IHP+ Working Group on National Policies, Strategies and Plan.
  • DFID/Multi-Donors, Malawi 08/07- 01/08: Team leader of the mid-term review of the Malawi health SWAp Programme of Work, covering progress towards the essential health programme and Ministry of Health support functions at national, district and community levels, component lead on governance of the SWAp and harmonisation and alignment processes.
  • Millennium Challenge Corporation, Mali 02/07 – 09/07: Lead consultant on health impact assessment. Design of Baseline Surveys and health component of the Environmental Management Plan and Resettlement Action plans for a large, irrigated rice scheme and road construction scheme in central Mali, West Africa.
  • Solutions for Public Health, Oxford 02/11 – 07/11: Team leader for East Midlands Health Trainer Evaluation. Designed evaluation framework, led team in data collection, analysis and report writing of an innovative community health program led by an NHS England region.
  • Public Health Resource Unit, Oxford 10/07 – 07/11: Consultant on UK public health workforce planning and development – planned and kick started implementation of the UK public health workforce skills and career framework and public health career guidance. Includes close liaison with the UK Departments of Health, regional public health departments, NHS organisations, chartered institutes, public health networks and academic institutions to facilitate piloting innovative workforce development programmes and to capture related learning. Support NHS organisations and local government in how to do public health workforce planning and development using population health as the guiding framework.

Personal

Cindy has dual US and British citizenship and lives in Oxford, England. She has lived in Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali, Rwanda and Uganda. She has worked extensively in Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Africa. Beyond this she has worked in Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Somalia, as well as across the UK.

Languages include English (Fluent) French (good).

For a full CV and list of publications email Cindy at the address provided at the top of this profile.