Remote Mid-Level Careers in Global Health — The Practical Playbook for Program Managers, Technical Advisors & Analysts

Levi Cheptora

Mon, 27 Oct 2025

Hello — this edition is written for mid-level global health professionals (3–10 years’ experience) — program managers, technical advisors, M&E specialists, policy analysts, grants managers, surveillance/data officers and similar — who want remote or online roles. This is practical, international, and action-oriented: what roles exist, what to learn, what to show, where to apply, portfolio hacks, myth busting, and 100+ live links to apply today.

Quick reality check: major UN agencies, multilateral funds, global health NGOs and development consultancies regularly post remote roles, consultancies and rosters for mid-level posts (program leads, technical advisors, M&E officers, evidence synthesis specialists). See UN Careers, WHO Careers, Devex Jobs, ReliefWeb Jobs and ImpactPool for large collections of these posts. Impactpool+4United Nations Careers+4World Health Organization+4

1 — What remote mid-level roles actually look like

Employers hire mid-level remote staff for positions that require domain knowledge plus independent delivery. Common titles and responsibilities:

• Remote Program Manager / Remote Project Lead — manage budgets, partners, deliverables across countries; coordinate remote teams; ensure donor compliance.

• Technical Advisor (Clinical, Immunization, SRH, TB/HIV, NCDs) — provide subject matter input, virtual trainings, technical guidance documents and remote supervision.

• Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL / M&E) Specialist — remote indicator design, data cleaning/analysis, dashboards, remote data quality checks and MEL plans.

• Health Systems Strengthening Specialist — virtual policy advice, financing analyses, capacity building via e-learning.

• Policy & Evidence Analyst / Rapid Evidence Synthesis Specialist — produce policy briefs, systematic or rapid reviews for decision makers.

• Grants Manager / Donor Relations Officer — manage proposals, reporting, budgets and donor communications remotely.

• Surveillance & Epidemiology Data Officer — manage remote data feeds, analysis, dashboards (DHIS2, R, Python).

• Digital Health Product Manager / Health Informatics Specialist — manage telehealth, mHealth products, interoperability work remotely.

• Remote Procurement & Supply Chain Specialist — manage global procurement, supplier coordination and logistics planning.

• Communications for Health / Knowledge Management Officer — produce policy-facing content, dissemination strategies and online trainings.

Mid-level remote roles emphasize autonomous delivery, excellent written communication, stakeholder facilitation across timezones, and documented impact (reports, dashboards, policy briefs). Devex+1

2 — Degrees, certifications & skills that actually move the needle

Highly relevant degrees (mid-level hiring preference)

• MPH / MSc Global Health / MSc Epidemiology — strong for technical advisor, surveillance, M&E and evidence roles.

• MPP / MPA / MA International Development / MA Global Affairs — good for policy, governance and donor relations roles.

• MSc Health Economics / MSc Health Systems — for financing, policy and HSS roles.

• MSc Data Science / Bioinformatics / Health Informatics — for surveillance, digital health and analytics roles.

High-impact certifications & short courses (practical and hireable)

• Project Management Professional (PMP) — widely recognized for mid-level program leads.

• Prince2 Practitioner / Agile (Scrum) — useful for product & program management.

• WHO eLearning & WHO Academy modules — technical credibility in global health topics.

• GCP / Human Subjects Research / CITI — mandatory for research/data roles handling human data.

• M&E specific courses (ALNAP, CLEAR, UNICEF M&E) — for MEL roles.

• DHIS2 training — for health information systems roles.

• Data skills: R / Python (pandas), SQL, Tableau / PowerBI for dashboards.

• Evidence synthesis: Cochrane methods, rapid review short courses.

Which to prioritize (mid-level roadmap)

• Program management track → PMP + one technical domain short course (e.g., immunization, SRH).

• M&E/data track → DHIS2 + R/SQL + an M&E specialization.

• Policy/advocacy track → MPP/MPA or targeted policy short course + evidence synthesis training.

3 — Free & paid learning resources (categorized)

Free / low-cost (high ROI)

• WHO eLearning / WHO Academy — modules in global health. — https://www.who.int/learn. World Health Organization

• ReliefWeb Learning / UN OCHA resources — webinars & guides. — https://reliefweb.int/. ReliefWeb

• Coursera / edX (audit courses free) — epidemiology, data science, health policy. — https://www.coursera.org/, https://www.edx.org/

• CITI Program (research ethics) — often free through institutions or low-cost. — https://about.citiprogram.org/

• DHIS2 Academy (free resources + paid training options) — https://www.dhis2.org/academy

Paid / high-value

• PMP (PMI) — exam prep + credential. — https://www.pmi.org/certifications

• ALNAP/UNICEF M&E courses / CLEAR — MEL professional development. — https://www.betterevaluation.org/, https://www.clearevidence.org/

• Advanced Coursera Specializations (Johns Hopkins, Imperial) — verified certificate options. — https://www.coursera.org/

• Short exec programs (Harvard, HKS, LSE) — for mid-career acceleration.

Practical micro-learning

• DataCamp / Dataquest — focused R/Python modules. — https://www.datacamp.com/

• Tableau / PowerBI official training — dashboards skill building. — https://www.tableau.com/learn/training, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/

• Kaggle — project practice with public health datasets. — https://www.kaggle.com/

4 — Myth-busting with evidence (short and firm)

Myth: “Remote mid-level roles are rare — you must go field.”
Reality: Many multilateral agencies, foundations and consultancies maintain remote rosters and hire mid-level remote technical advisors, program managers and M&E officers — check UN Careers, WHO Careers, Devex, ReliefWeb and ImpactPool for frequent remote and consultancy openings. Impactpool+4United Nations Careers+4World Health Organization+4

Myth: “Remote roles have lower impact or pay.”
Reality: Remote mid-level roles often carry comparable scopes (regional technical lead, program manager) and mid-to-high salary bands — many are on par with hybrid posts depending on organization and funding. Look for consultant daily rates or “Job Grade” listings to compare.

Myth: “You need a PhD to lead remotely.”
Reality: For mid-level technical leadership, practical domain experience (3–8 years), demonstrable project delivery and a relevant master’s + certs are usually sufficient.

5 — Portfolio, CV & outreach hacks that win interviews

Show outcomes, not tasks. Mid-level roles want evidence of leadership, technical input and donor compliance.

Portfolio pieces to prepare (one URL / single PDF pack)

1. Two program case studies (1 page each) — challenge → your role → actions → measurable results (coverage increase, budget savings, time shortened, indicators improved).

2. One MEL deliverable — short MEL plan or dashboard screenshot + link to interactive dashboard sample (Tableau Public / PowerBI).

3. One policy brief or technical guidance — 2-page brief with clear recommendations and cited evidence.

4. One donor report excerpt — redacted but shows budgets, indicators and narrative.

5. One sample remote capacity building module — short slide deck and participant feedback summary.

6. LinkedIn Featured link to the one-page portfolio and a concise 2-line headline: “Program Manager | Remote | Immunization & Health Systems | PMP + MPH”.

CV + LinkedIn checklist

• Top 6 lines: Title, 2-line value prop, 3 key impact bullets (with numbers), key tools (DHIS2, R, Tableau, donor portals).

• Add “Remote work experience” block: timezone overlap tactics, platforms used, stakeholder facilitation notes.

• References: list 2 professional referees who can speak to remote delivery.

Outreach message (2 lines that work)

Hi [Name] — I’m a remote Program Manager (MPH, PMP) who led a virtual immunization campaign across 8 countries and improved coverage by 12% in 9 months. I applied for [Role] and can share a 1-page case study. Do you have 10 minutes this week? — [Name] (link)

Apply + message: always apply via portal and follow up with a short LinkedIn note to the hiring manager / HR with the one-page case study.

6 — 30/60/90 day action plan (mid-level edition)

Days 1–30 — focus & polish

• Pick 1 target role type (Program Manager, M&E, Technical Advisor).

• Build the one-page portfolio pack.

• Apply to 10 high-probability positions (use lists below).

Days 31–60 — credential & project

• Complete 1 short cert (PMP module, DHIS2, advanced M&E).

• Deliver a 10–20 hour paid micro-consult (Upwork/ImpactPool/consultant roster) to generate a testimonial.

Days 61–90 — scale outreach

• Apply to 30 targeted roles; send 3 tailored LinkedIn outreaches per week; attend 2 sector webinars and name the speakers when you reach out.

7 — Realistic packaging & consulting rates (international view)

• Mid-level remote Program Manager (full-time, nonprofit/UN): salary bands vary by org & location — often USD 45k–100k equivalent depending on level & duty station.

• Remote Technical Advisor (consultant): daily rates range widely — USD 400–1,200/day depending on expertise & funder.

• M&E Specialist / Data Officer (consultant): USD 250–700/day.
  Price to value: package by deliverables (e.g., “MEL plan + dashboard + 3 months remote support”) instead of hourly.

8 — 100+ vetted job boards, UN/multilateral/NGO career pages, consultancies & marketplaces (live links)

Use this list to build your tracker. I grouped items so you can scan by sector quickly. (Bookmark and make a spreadsheet: Platform | Link | Role type | Date applied | Contact.)

A. Core multilateral & UN career portals

1. UN Careers — https://careers.un.org/ United Nations Careers

2. UNjoblist / UNjoblist aggregated — https://unjoblist.org/

3. UNjobs (aggregator) — https://unjobs.org/

4. ImpactPool (UN & multilateral jobs) — https://www.impactpool.org/ Impactpool

5. ReliefWeb Jobs (humanitarian & UN) — https://reliefweb.int/jobs. ReliefWeb

B. WHO, global funds & major global health institutions

6. WHO Careers — https://www.who.int/careers. World Health Organization

7. Global Fund Careers — https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/careers/. The Global Fund

8. Gavi vacancies & careers — https://www.gavi.org/our-alliance/work-us/vacancies. Gavi

9. UNICEF Careers — https://www.unicef.org/about/employ

10. World Bank Careers — https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/careers

C. Major bilateral donors & government agencies

11. USAID Careers — https://www.usaid.gov/careers. usaid.gov

12. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Jobs — https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/recruitment

13. European Commission / DEVCO Jobs — https://ec.europa.eu/info/index_en.htm (search careers)

14. Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) careers — https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/careers

15. Canadian Global Affairs / GAC careers — https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/careers-carrieres/index.aspx?lang=eng

D. Global health job boards & development platforms

16. Devex Jobs — https://www.devex.com/jobs/search. Devex

17. Idealist (nonprofit jobs) — https://www.idealist.org/en/

18. EuroBrussels (EU policy & NGO jobs) — https://www.eurobrussels.com/

19. DevNetJobs — https://www.devnetjobs.org/

20. CharityJob (UK nonprofit roles) — https://www.charityjob.co.uk/

E. Foundations, alliances & global health institutions

21. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Careers — https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/careers

22. Wellcome Trust Jobs — https://wellcome.org/about-us/jobs

23. Rockefeller Foundation Careers — https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/about-us/careers/

24. Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) Careers — https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/careers/

25. PATH Careers — https://www.path.org/careers/

26. The Global Financing Facility (GFF) — https://www.globalfinancingfacility.org/work-us

F. Large NGOs & humanitarian organizations

27. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Careers — https://www.msf.org/recruitment

28. International Rescue Committee (IRC) Careers — https://www.rescue.org/careers

29. Save the Children Careers — https://www.savethechildren.net/careers

30. Oxfam Careers — https://www.oxfam.org/en/work-us

31. CARE International Careers — https://www.care-international.org/careers

32. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) — https://www.icrc.org/en/who-we-are/jobs

33. Mercy Corps Careers — https://www.mercycorps.org/careers/

34. World Vision Careers — https://www.wvi.org/careers

G. Regional public health & CDC

35. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Careers — https://www.cdc.gov/hrmo/careers/index.html

36. Africa CDC Careers — https://africacdc.org/careers/

37. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Jobs — https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/about-us/work-us

38. PAHO / Pan American Health Organization Careers — https://www.paho.org/en/careers

H. Think tanks & research institutes (policy & analyst roles)

39. Brookings Institution Careers — https://www.brookings.edu/careers/

40. Center for Global Development (CGD) Jobs — https://www.cgdev.org/careers

41. Overseas Development Institute (ODI) — https://odi.org/en/about/working-at-odi/

42. RAND Corporation Careers — https://www.rand.org/about/working.html

43. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School job listings — https://publichealth.jhu.edu/about/careers

44. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Careers — https://www.healthdata.org/about/careers

I. Consulting firms & advisory groups (often remote mid-level roles)

45. Dalberg Careers — https://dalberg.com/careers/

46. Palladium Careers — https://www.thepalladiumgroup.com/careers

47. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Public Sector & Health — https://www.bcg.com/careers

48. McKinsey & Company (Global Health initiatives) — https://www.mckinsey.com/careers

49. FSG Careers — https://www.fsg.org/careers

50. KPMG / PwC health & public sector practices — https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/careers.html, https://www.pwc.com/careers

J. Research, data & M&E specialist platforms

51. CLEAR / BetterEvaluation resources & job links — https://www.betterevaluation.org/

52. Cochrane Jobs / Evidence Synthesis Notices — https://www.cochrane.org/jobs

53. Evidence Aid volunteer & jobs — https://evidenceaid.org/

54. GESIS / Research institute job boards (regional) — https://www.gesis.org/en (search career pages)

55. Data visualization & dashboard showcase (Tableau Public) — https://public.tableau.com/

K. Marketplaces & freelance platforms for mid-level consultants

56. Upwork — https://www.upwork.com/

57. Kolabtree (scientific consultants) — https://www.kolabtree.com/

58. Catalant — https://gocatalant.com/

59. GLG (expert network) — https://glginsights.com/

60. Toptal (consultants & specialists) — https://www.toptal.com/

61. Freelancer.com — https://www.freelancer.com/

L. Job boards focused on health & development

62. Devex Talent Hub — https://www.devex.com/talent (profiles & jobs)

63. ReliefWeb (jobs) — https://reliefweb.int/jobs (repeat for emphasis). ReliefWeb

64. Impact Pool (rosters & short-term consultancies) — https://www.impactpool.org/ (repeat). Impactpool

65. UNjobs.org listings — https://unjobs.org/

66. UN Talent / UnTalent aggregated listings — https://untalent.org/

M. Health-specific employers often hiring mid-level remote staff

67. The Global Fund — https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/careers/ (repeat). The Global Fund

68. Gavi — https://www.gavi.org/our-alliance/work-with-us (repeat). Gavi

69. PATH — https://www.path.org/careers/ (repeat)

70. Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) — https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/careers/ (repeat)

N. Regional networks & country hubs (useful for remote regional roles)

71. Africa Health Placements — https://www.africahealthplacements.org/

72. Asia Foundation Careers — https://asiafoundation.org/careers/

73. Latin America development jobs — use Devex regional filters: https://www.devex.com/jobs?region=Latin+America+%26+Caribbean

74. Pacific community & regional orgs (SPC) — https://www.spc.int/ (careers)

75. Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) — https://carpha.org/ (careers)

O. Media, communications & knowledge management (remote mid-level roles)

76. Health Affairs Careers — https://www.healthaffairs.org/about/careers/

77. Lancet Jobs & opportunities — https://www.thelancet.com/about/jobs

78. DevPolicy Blog / editorial opportunities — https://devpolicy.org/about/

79. Global Health Now / Johns Hopkins newsroom — https://www.globalhealthnow.org/ (check contributor opport.)

P. Recruitment agencies & executive search (global health)

80. Kincannon & Reed — https://www.k-r.com/

81. EPM Scientific (global health/research recruitment) — https://epmscientific.com/

82. Michael Page (public sector & development) — https://www.michaelpage.com/

83. Proclinical (for clinical/research roles but sometimes policy roles overlap) — https://www.proclinical.com/

Q. Fellowship & mid-career programs (accelerate remote credibility)

84. World Bank Young Professionals Program (YPP) — https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/careers/programs-and-internships/young-professionals-program

85. Wilson Center Fellowships — https://www.wilsoncenter.org/fellowships

86. Carnegie/other policy fellowships — https://carnegieendowment.org/programs/fellowships (check programs)

87. Fulbright Specialist / Visiting Scholar Programs — https://cies.org/program/fulbright-specialist-program

R. Donor & partner career pages with frequent mid-level roles

88. USAID Jobs (and consultant rosters) — https://www.usaid.gov/careers (repeat). usaid.gov

89. UK FCDO Jobs & consultancy opportunities — https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/recruitment (repeat)

90. European Commission jobs (DEVCO) — https://ec.europa.eu/info/index_en.htm (search jobs)

S. Digital health & tech partners (remote product/PM roles)

91. Medic Mobile Careers — https://medic.org/about/careers/

92. Dimagi Careers (CommCare) — https://www.dimagi.com/careers/

93. Ona — https://ona.io/jobs (check careers)

94. Praekelt.org (digital health) — https://praekelt.org/careers/

T. Platforms for rapid evidence & academic collaboration

95. Cochrane (jobs & fellowships) — https://www.cochrane.org/jobs (repeat)

96. Evidence Aid — https://evidenceaid.org/ (repeat)

97. ResearchGate Jobs / academic postings — https://www.researchgate.net/jobs

U. Additional useful portals & tools

98. LinkedIn Jobs — https://www.linkedin.com/jobs

99. Indeed — https://www.indeed.com/

100. Glassdoor — https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/index.htm

101. FlexJobs — https://www.flexjobs.com/ (curated remote roles)

102. Remote.co — https://remote.co/remote-jobs/

103. WeWorkRemotely — https://weworkremotely.com/

V. Extra sector resources & networks (learning, rosters, volunteer)

104. WHO Rosters & Experts (WHO Expert Roster) — https://www.who.int/ (search roster)

105. Global Health Council — https://globalhealth.org/ (network & jobs)

106. ALNAP / Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN) — https://www.alnap.org/

107. ReliefWeb Training & Knowledge Hub — https://reliefweb.int/ (repeat)

108. Devex Career Hub — https://www.devex.com/career-hub (profiles, training) Devex

Tip: start by adding UN Careers, WHO Careers, Devex Jobs, ReliefWeb and ImpactPool to your daily job search routine — they surface the largest number of mid-level remote roles. Impactpool+4United Nations Careers+4World Health Organization+4

9 — Interview prep cheats (mid-level)

• STAR + impact numbers: prepare 4 STAR stories: program delivery, budget management, stakeholder conflict resolution, and remote team leadership. Always quantify (coverage %, time saved, $ managed).

• Technical primer: know key indicators for your domain (e.g., DTP3 coverage, ANC4, viral suppression) and one concise policy recommendation per indicator.

• Donor speak: be able to reference at least one donor’s priority (USAID/DFID/GHRP/Global Fund) and how you’d align program outputs to donor KPIs.

• Remote delivery evidence: list platforms used (MS Teams, Zoom, Slack), remote supervision examples and one success story of capacity building via virtual modalities.