Deputy Director, Health, Nutrition and Eradication, Nigeria Country Office at Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation

Job ID: B011165
Reports to: Director, Africa

Summary

• The primary purpose of the Deputy Director, Health, Nutrition and Eradication, Nigeria is to oversee a team to conceive, develop and manage a complex portfolio of grants at federal level and in selected states involving multiple foundation global health and linked global development and global growth and opportunity strategies in collaboration with Seattle-based teams to achieve results.
• The focus of the foundation’s work will involve development, testing and scale-up of high impact and cost-effective solutions in selected health and nutrition areas to drive results and influence scale across Nigeria and potentially other similar contexts within the region and Africa. This role reports to the Nigeria Country Director.

Core Responsibilities

• Facilitate development of annual investment plans and budgets, develop, modify and implement strategy under the leadership of the Director and in partnership with Program Strategy Teams (PSTs) and Global Policy and Advocacy (GPA). Work with foundation leadership as requested to address cross-cutting issues and improve functions and performance.
• Develop strategies, programs investments, and an influencing agenda that will lead to improvements in key health and development indicators across RMNCH-N continuum and related development areas, in support to foundation PST strategies in Nigeria.
• In partnership with other Deputy Directors and relevant program officers in charge of country impact at the foundation, design and oversee the implementation of integrated strategies to accelerate the achievements of joint (foundation and others) health and nutrition goals in Nigeria.
• Position the country office to support the Seattle-based teams managing and implementing mixed health system (public, NGO, and private sector) primary care systems strengthening strategies. Identify, negotiate, execute and conduct and/or manage complex, performance-based contracts/grants to accelerate increase in RMNCH-N outcomes. This includes development and review of MoUs, letters of interest and grant proposals and summaries of progress.
• Represent the foundation to the National Council on Health (the highest policy decision making body in the health sector in Nigeria) and other key selected government health and nutrition related comities, platforms and working groups.
• Support and advise colleagues within the foundation and their grantees in the design, enhancement, and execution of project, initiatives and engagements to maximize impact in Nigeria.
• Manage partnerships and grantee relationships to ensure learning and impact, for example, by conducting site visits, convening meetings of key stakeholders, monitoring and evaluating components of grants.
• Serve as a senior member of the Nigeria Country Office, overseeing performance management, teamwork, internal communications and contribution towards foundation-wide priorities.
• Manage people and be responsible for hiring the talent needed to achieve foundation goals, ensuring successful employee onboarding, communicating performance expectations, creating goal alignment, integrating project and change management, giving and seeking feedback, providing coaching, measuring progress and holding people accountable, supporting employee development, and recognizing achievement and lessons learned.
• Ensure high quality interactions and clear and consistent communications with government officials, foundation staff, and leadership, grantees and partners.

Leadership and Culture:

• We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment in which they thrive, will do phenomenal things.

Education and Relevant Experience

• The ideal candidate will hold an advanced degree in Medicine, Public Health, Health Economics, Public Policy or similar disciplines (e.g. MSPH, MHA, MPH, MD, PhD).
• 12+ years of proven experience in health and nutrition, health system strengthening, and/ or health eradication strategies. The candidate should also understand the global health and international development environment; and had experience working in and living in Nigeria or a developing country on health and nutrition development related work.
• In-depth experience in broader public health with a strong development orientation backed with excellent management and leadership capabilities.
• Experience of integration across disease areas and/or integrating health and “non-health” interventions. Experience in planning, marketing, soliciting funds from multiple financing streams, and managing complex delivery of health programs, with evidence of achievement of significant results whether directly or indirectly influenced.
• Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared/joint objectives, both internally and externally. Ability to orchestrate effective decisions across a broad range of issues and stakeholders, assess progress, analyze gaps, and make necessary changes. Experience with effective interactions between country level and headquarter offices will be a plus.
• Experience working in multiple countries is preferred; Nigeria experience as well as fluency in Nigeria’s most popular languages will be helpful but not required.
• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into strategies, concrete theories of change and actions. Ability to think/act like an investor and a creative and generative thinker. Innovative and open-minded approach; ability to question and challenge colleagues including managers and partners in a constructive manner.
• Manages complexity and ambiguity effectively: Making sense of complex, high quantity and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems – especially in managing relations. Demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a complex, fast-paced environment both in Nigeria and in headquarter (Seattle).
• Communicates effectively: Developing and delivering communications that convey complex situations in a clear and concise manner with a broad and diverse audience.
• Demonstrable experience with effective interactions between country level and headquarter offices is critical.
• Significant people management experience, specifically managing teams of high-performing self-directed professionals and acting as a partner to team members managing specific portfolios.
• Being resilient: Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations both internally and externally. Self-motivated and self-managing.
• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people.
• Ability to travel up to 40% domestically and internationally.