GLOBAL FUND SECRETARIAT IS UNDERGOING A REORGANISATION

Author:

David Garmaise

Article Type:

Article Number: 4

ABSTRACT The Global Fund Secretariat is in the midst of a reorganisation launched by the new General Manager, Gabriel Jaramillo.

The Global Fund Secretariat is in the midst of a reorganisation launched by the new General Manager (GM), Gabriel Jaramillo. The reorganisation won’t be complete until the end of March 2012, but the broad strokes have already been announced.

Under the new structure, there will be three major divisions reporting to the GM:

1. Grant Management (headed by Mark Edington)

2. Strategy, Investment and Impact (headed by Debrework Zewdie, the Deputy GM)

3. Resource Mobilization and Donor Relations (headed by Christoph Benn).

Under the old structure, there were five divisions (called clusters) plus a Deputy Executive Director, reporting to the Executive Director. (The GM has assumed all of the powers of the former Executive Director.) Although there will be fewer heads of divisions reporting to the GM under the new structure, eight support units will report directly to the GM, including Finance, Legal, Human Resources, and External Communications.

The Civil Society Team that existed under the old structure (in the Partnership Unit) has been disbanded. Some of its functions have been transferred to the new Grant Management Division. The Global Fund wants to ensure that the principle of civil society participation is integrated into all aspects of the Fund’s work, including the work of fund portfolio managers. In addition, a new unit, called “Political and Civil Society Advocacy” is being established in the Resource Mobilization and Donor Relations Division. The Global Fund hopes that the new unit will bring more civil society voices into the task of resource mobilisation.

In the new Grant Management Division, the largest of the three divisions, three units have been established to manage grants in what the Global Fund considers to be “high impact” countries. Two of the units will manage high impact grants in Africa, and the third will manage high impact grants in Asia. Collectively, these three units will manage grants in countries that account for more than 70% of the global burden of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Other grants in Africa and Asia, as well as all grants in other regions, will be managed by two other units.

In a letter to Board members, Mr Jaramillo said that the new structure will result in a Secretariat that is “more responsive and more effective” and that the new structure will simplify administrative processes and strengthen financial management.

The restructuring will not change the overall number of positions in the Secretariat which is currently set at 605.

More details will be announced once the reorganisation is complete.