Regional (Multi-country) 'National Ownership’ Lead, WISH Lot 1 (Abuja) at Options

Department: Overseas Programmes for Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH)
Reporting to: Assistant Director of Programmes (Based in London, UK)
Responsible for: Health Financing Lead, Nigeria; National Ownership and Health Financing Leads, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burkina Faso.
Hours: Full time, 40 hours per week
Type of contract: Fixed Term, up to 36 months

WISH Consortium and Options

• DFID’s Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme (Lot 1) will provide up to £78m to deliver integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services in eleven countries across West Africa.
• The WISH programme builds on previous successful initiatives supported by DFID and others to expand sexual and reproductive health care services across Africa and Asia.
• The programme will increase access to family planning and integrated sexual and reproductive health services for women, men and young people across the two continents through a combination of:
  • Rights-based provision of private sector sexual and reproductive health information and services and, strengthening of public sector health information and services;
  • Addressing barriers to family planning uptake at individual, interpersonal, community and institutional level; and
  • Improving policies, government financing and commodity security to create an enabling environment for family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The programme is designed to contribute to the following four outputs:

• Community / individual choice: people have the knowledge and community support to make informed SRHR decisions and advocate for quality services;
• National Ownership: improved policies, government financing, commodity security and public sector SRHR capacity and services;
• Private Sector Access: access to quality, voluntary Family Planning (FP) and other Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services, eliminating barriers for young and marginalised women;
• Global Goods: evidence-based innovations and practice shared globally to increase women’s choice and access to SRHR services, [particularly about medical abortion].

WISH Lot 1 is led by Marie Stopes International (MSI) with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); IPAS; DKT International; Options Consultancy Services (Options); Leonard Cheshire and Thinkplace as consortium partners. Options is responsible for leading output 2 (National Ownership).

Our approach to National Ownership comprises of four strategies: increase government commitment to SRH outcomes through domestic financing; use evidence-based advocacy and effective partnerships to strengthen policy and legislation; use evidence to hold government to account for SRH outcomes; and promote quality control and standards of service provision and care.

Liaison with:

• Senior Technical Support (STS) for WISH Lot 1, based in London
• All members of the Options’ teams and STTA for WISH Lot 1 in Nigeria, DRC, Burkina Faso and Chad.
• Nigeria Partnership Consultant (WISH)
• Consortium partners for WISH Lot 1, particularly in Nigeria, DRC, Burkina Faso and Chad.
• Government counterparts and key health sector stakeholders, particularly in Nigeria

Main Purpose of Job

• The Regional ‘National Ownership’ Lead is responsible for leading and coordinating the approach to achieving national ownership across WISH Lot 1 countries.
• S/he will engage with consortium partners to ensure alignment and buy-in to the overarching approach to national ownership.
• The Regional ‘National Ownership’ Lead will provide strategic and management support, in French and in English, to the Options teams based in Nigeria, as well as the teams based in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burkina Faso.
• In Nigeria, the National Ownership Lead will be directly responsible for coordinating the consortium’s approach to National Ownership, while in DRC and Burkina Faso, S/he will provide strategic support to the National Ownership and Health Financing Leads who will lead on the implementation in their respective countries. S/he will also provide remote support to the national ownership work in Chad.

Main Duties
Provide strategic advice and leadership on the consortium’s approach to national ownership across WISH Lot 1 countries:

• Lead the design of an effective approach to national ownership that can be tailored to the local context.
• Regularly engage with consortium partners to ensure alignment and buy-in to the overarching approach.
• Participate in regional consultations to share experiences and best practices with consortium partners.
• In consultation with Options’ team members, support the planning and achievement of Options’ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across all WISH Lot 1 countries.
• Jointly with the Lead Technical Advisor for Wish Lot 1, coordinate the use of short-term technical assistance to achieve national ownership goals and commitments.
• Jointly with the Lead Technical Advisor for Wish Lot 1, engage regularly with MSI as the consortium lead for WISH Lot 1 to ensure achievement of national ownership goals and commitments.

Provide senior leadership to the approach to national ownership in Nigeria:

• Regularly engage with consortium partners in Nigeria to ensure a coherent approach to national ownership as well as ensuring that synergies are identified and realised.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders engaged in budget advocacy and accountability for SRHR in Abuja.
• Ensure the achievement of Options’ KPIs for Nigeria and ensure the availability of evidence required as proof of this achievement.
• Provide strategic support and technical backstopping to the Health Financing Lead and the Evidence and Accountability Advisor based in Kano.
• Feed into the design of the Political Economy Analysis (PEA) framework for WISH and ensure results of the PEA in Nigeria are used to inform national engagement strategies.
• Lead the development of a country engagement strategy with measurable and attributable sustainability indicators.
• Support the development of a WISH transition plan for Nigeria.

Support the implementation of the overall approach to national ownership in DRC, Burkina Faso and Chad:

• Provide strategic support and technical backstopping to the National Ownership and Health Financing Leads in Burkina Faso and DRC.
• Support the achievement of Options’ KPIs for DRC, Burkina Faso and Chad and, ensure the availability of evidence required as proof of this achievement.
• Quality assure the deliverables produced by the Options teams and short-term technical assistance (STTA) in Burkina Faso, DRC and Chad.
• Plan and coordinate the effective use of STTA to support the achievement of Options’ commitments in Burkina Faso, DRC and Chad.

Ensure effective reporting of progress towards national ownership in Nigeria, DRC and Burkina Faso through the consortium monitoring, evaluation and learning system:

• Contribute to the development of logframe indicators relating to national ownership (finance, policy, accountability and quality) in relevant languages for Nigeria, Burkina Faso, DRC and Chad.
• Support the collection of baseline data and milestones for these indicators during the inception period.

Manage a small team of technical experts:

• Provide remote management support to the Health Financing Lead, Nigeria (based in Kano) and the National Ownership and Health Financing Leads in DRC and Burkina Faso to enable them to deliver to the highest technical quality, on time and to budget.

Note: This job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop the job description will be reviewed and be subject to amendment in consultation with the job holder.

Person Specification
Qualifications:

• Masters degree in public health, health economics, health management or related field.

Experience:

• At least eight years’ work experience, with significant senior experience in the provision of technical assistance including remote support.
• Solid understanding of the health sector, including the relationship between national and sub-national levels.
• Considerable experience in leading the delivery of donor-funded programmes, particularly those funded by DFID.

Skills and attributes:

• Excellent influencing skills, with an ability to identify and act on opportunities to build buy-in and support among decision-makers.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with experience interacting with government officials, development partners, civil society and other health sector stakeholders.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills.
• Excellent management skills, including in the provision of remote management support.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrable ability to present complex concepts in easy to understand language for a range of audiences.
• Sound monitoring evaluation skills, including the design and delivery of logical frameworks.
• Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.

Other Requirements:

• Commitment to equal opportunities.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Fluency in written and spoken French.
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally

Benefits

• Basic salary will include the following allowances and benefits: housing, transportation and meals
• Medical insurance
• 25 days paid annual leave per annum in addition to local bank or public holidays
• Pension scheme including an employer contribution of 10% of your basic salary
• Relocation package for international applicants can be considered