Application Guide
How to Apply for Consultant, Cost-Effectiveness Assessment and Internal Modelling
at Resolve to Save Lives
🏢 About Resolve to Save Lives
Resolve to Save Lives is a unique global public health organization focused on ambitious, measurable goals: preventing 100 million deaths from cardiovascular disease and making the world safer from epidemics. Unlike traditional NGOs, it operates with a data-driven, evidence-based approach and has strong ties to the effective altruism community, making it appealing for those who want to apply rigorous analytical frameworks to save lives at scale.
About This Role
This part-time consultant role involves designing and implementing an internal cost-effectiveness assessment model aligned with effective altruism principles to evaluate RTSL's health interventions like low-sodium salt and pandemic preparedness. It's impactful because it directly informs funding decisions and program design, ensuring resources are allocated to maximize lives saved across RTSL's global initiatives.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve refining a cost-effectiveness model for a pandemic preparedness program, analyzing data on intervention costs and health outcomes, and collaborating remotely with RTSL staff to gather inputs. You could also spend time developing training materials or conducting a virtual workshop to help program teams apply the model to their initiatives.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Resolve to Save Lives Is Looking For
- Has hands-on experience designing cost-effectiveness models in public health, ideally with knowledge of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) or quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)
- Demonstrates familiarity with effective altruism frameworks (e.g., GiveWell-style analysis) and can apply them practically to health interventions
- Possesses a background in health intervention evaluation or public health, with examples of past modeling work in areas like nutrition or epidemic response
- Is skilled at translating complex models into training materials and building capacity among non-technical staff
📝 Tips for Applying to Resolve to Save Lives
Highlight specific cost-effectiveness models you've built or adapted, mentioning tools like Excel, R, or Python, and how they informed real-world decisions
Explicitly reference effective altruism concepts (e.g., marginal cost-effectiveness, counterfactual impact) and how you've applied them in past work
Tailor your resume to show experience with health interventions similar to RTSL's focus, such as cardiovascular disease prevention or pandemic preparedness programs
Include examples of training or capacity-building you've done, especially in making technical content accessible to diverse teams
Mention any familiarity with RTSL's published work, like their low-sodium salt initiatives or epidemic response reports, to show targeted interest
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
['Explain your experience with cost-effectiveness assessment methodologies, giving a concise example of a model you designed or operationalized', "Describe how you've applied effective altruism principles in past projects, linking to RTSL's mission of maximizing impact per dollar spent", 'Highlight your ability to create practical, transparent frameworks and train staff, emphasizing collaboration and knowledge transfer', "Connect your background to RTSL's specific initiatives, such as evaluating low-sodium salt interventions or pandemic preparedness strategies"]
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Review RTSL's published reports on low-sodium salt initiatives and pandemic preparedness to understand their current approaches and gaps
- → Explore the effective altruism community's resources on global health cost-effectiveness, such as GiveWell's analyses or the Global Burden of Disease study
- → Study RTSL's organizational structure and key leadership (e.g., Dr. Tom Frieden) to grasp their strategic priorities and public health philosophy
- → Look into RTSL's funders or partners aligned with effective altruism to contextualize the 'defensible outputs' requirement in the job description
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Submitting a generic application without mentioning effective altruism or cost-effectiveness assessment methodologies specific to health interventions
- Overemphasizing theoretical modeling skills without showing how you've operationalized models in real-world public health settings
- Failing to demonstrate experience with training or capacity building, as this role requires embedding cost-effectiveness thinking across teams
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Resolve to Save Lives!