Country Director at Resolve to Save Lives

Position Summary:

The Country Director, Nigeria oversees the RTSL Nigeria Cardiovascular Health (CVH) and Prevent Epidemics (PE) programs. This is a full-time position based in Abuja. The Country Director is responsible for the overall management of the country office, including supervising a team of technical and operations staff, financial stewardship and accountability, and ongoing reporting on program progress. The incumbent is also responsible for managing harmonious and productive relationships with government leaders, non-governmental and multi-lateral partners, ensuring effective coordination and implementation of program activities in the country. The Country Director is a member of RTSL’s Senior Leadership Team which comprises country directors from other Resolve to Save Lives country offices and the executive leadership of RTSL. In this capacity, the Country Director supports the development of the Resolve to Save Lives global organizational strategy and maintains the vision to save lives globally based on speed, simplicity, and scale.  The role reports to the Vice President, Global Operations with matrixed reporting into the Senior Vice President of Cardiovascular Health and the Senior Vice President of Prevent Epidemics.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Representation, strategic health leadership, diplomacy, and advocacy

• Represent the interests and protect the reputation of Resolve to Save Lives Nigeria in collaboration with the Board of RTSL Nigeria  
• Provide leadership, build strategic alliances, and provide high level direction for the development and implementation of programmatic activities in Nigeria 
• Promote country engagement, co-operation and effectiveness amongst implementers, and the country team in line with the principles of national ownership, harmonization with country priorities, alignment, and mutual accountability 
• Develop and maintain key partnerships with national and international organizations working in the relevant areas, including but not limited to, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the Federal and State Ministries of Health World Health Organization, African CDC, National Agency For Food and Drug Administration Control, the Federal Ministry of Health, academic institutions, funding agencies, and foundations to promote information exchange and appropriate coordination of efforts to prevent epidemics and prevent cardiovascular related mortality in Nigeria
• Lead the development of short- and long-term objectives for the country programs and obtain RTSL-Nigeria board approval for implementation of activities 
• Engage with national and state health authorities with evidence-based impartial advice and updates on global health evolutions, including the implications for national and state health programs
• Identify data sources and develop an evaluation plan for RTSL-Nigeria initiatives, including metrics to identify and measure the success of country program
• Other responsibilities as delegated by global supervisors or the RTSL-Nigeria Board of Directors

Operations and Finance

• Lead the co-ordination of the activities of the country office operations team in providing the enabling environment for implementation of technical activities in Nigeria.
• Coordinate the work of the technical teams and finance manager to prepare annual country budgets for approval.
• Responsible for financial management and fiscal administration, budget monitoring, ensuring compliance with stipulated requirements and other statutory obligations as required by law and funders.
• Facilitate the establishment of and compliance with standard operating procedures, policies, and guidelines for fiduciary compliance by staff and sub-grantees.
• Final operational in-country decision making in collaboration with the Vice President, Global Operations and the RTSL Senior Leadership Team.
• Lead with integrity in all matters of administrative and supervisory detail in connection with the operations of RTSL Nigeria.
• Manage an annual work plan and budget in consultation with the local and global RTSL finance teams.
• In collaboration with global teams, oversee local policy development and ensure adherence to policies related to HR, procurements, IT, and operations.
• Serve as the focal point for safety & security and designate an alternate as required.
• Coordinate with the safety and security in-country team and the Director of Global Operations in the implementation of and compliance with security management plan for RTSL Nigeria staff and travelling international staff.
• Coordinate with the Director of Global Operations to ensure necessary insurance policies for RTSL Nigeria employees.
• Ensure regular staff debriefs on security matters, emergency planning, and other staff protection matters.
• Oversee the adherence to all local safety & security protocols, business continuity policies and procedures by RTSL Nigeria staff.

Team building and People Management

• Support the development of human resources policies and procedures, benefits, and conditions of service for RTSL Nigeria employees.
• Oversee implementation of justice and inclusion policies of RTSL.
• Promote a conducive work environment for RTSL Nigeria staff.
• Oversee recruitment and onboarding of new staff; and participate in the recruitment of consultants deployed to work in or with the country office.
• Oversee staff performance management and professional development to ensure a skilled and competent workforce. 
• Undertake all measures to ensure an ethical and conducive work environment for staff, free from all forms of harassment. 

Technical Oversight: Prevent Epidemics

• Provide ongoing strategic guidance to the Senior Vice President- Prevent Epidemics, the global PE Senior Management team, and the global Technical Directors for Prevent Epidemics on program design, prioritization, and implementation of key activities and approaches to achieve the objectives of the PE program in Nigeria.
• Oversee the submission of regular updates to the Senior Vice President of Prevent Epidemics on progress by program component, which will inform quarterly progress reports for Resolve executive leadership and donors.
• Support the development and implementation of new prevent epidemics programming in Nigeria in collaboration with the PE Country Team Lead/Senior Technical Advisor.
• Oversee the activities of the PE team lead and support the work of the Nigeria PE team as they work closely with and provide strategic guidance to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the Federal and State Ministries of Health and other relevant agencies to increase national and subnational capacity to prevent epidemics.
• Oversee the coordination of activities among partners and subgrantees working on health security, ensuring synergy, cohesion, and complementarity of efforts.
• Provide oversight of activities implemented by partners, including monitoring and evaluation of program efforts and reporting.
• Provide high-level technical oversight and support for the prevent epidemics technical team in Nigeria in collaboration with RTSL headquarters technical teams.

Technical Oversight: Cardiovascular Health

• Provide ongoing strategic guidance to the Senior Vice President- Cardiovascular Health, the global CVH Senior Management team, and global Technical Directors on program prioritization and implementation of key activities and approaches to overcome barriers in Nigeria.
• Oversee the submission of regular updates to the Senior Vice President of Cardiovascular Health on progress by program component, which will inform quarterly progress reports for Resolve executive leadership and donors.
• Support the further development and implementation of existing and new interventions in the hypertension control program and cardiovascular nutrition program in Nigeria in collaboration with the Senior Technical Advisors and the global technical teams.
• Oversee the activities of the CVH team lead and the CVH team as they work closely with and provide strategic guidance to the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Agency for Food and Drugs, and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to achieve the targets of the National Multisectoral Action Plan for Non-Communicable Diseases in line with the WHO best practice guidance in the areas of Hypertension Control, Dietary Sodium Elimination and Reduction of dietary Trans fat.
• Oversee the coordination of activities among partners working on Hypertension Control, Dietary Sodium Elimination, public food procurement, and reduction of dietary Trans-fat, ensuring synergy, cohesion, and complementarity of efforts with the relevant national plan and priorities.
• Provide oversight of activities implemented by partners, including sectoral/programmatic surveys, monitoring and evaluation of program efforts and reporting.

Required Qualifications:

Education:

• A Master’s or Doctoral degree in Medicine, Public Health, or related field

Experience:

• At least 15 years of relevant experience working on public health initiatives, with at least 5 years in a leadership position working on large-scale initiatives in Nigeria
• Demonstrated executive/managerial skills, including experience working with the Government of Nigeria, state governments, key governmental agencies, civil society organizations, and local and international NGOs and professional associations, with ability to cultivate effective relationships at senior-most level
• Experience with operational / management functions including overseeing reporting, budgeting and finances of a small to medium sized organization
• Experience and skills for working with senior management on both short- and long-term strategic planning
• Demonstrated experience of co-developing ideas and partnerships

Skills & abilities:

• Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to provide high level political leadership, advocacy, and engage in policy dialogue
• Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to think strategically as well as understand risks
• Demonstrated excellence in people management skills
• Leadership skills demonstrated in prior experience, ability to lead, inspire and motivate teams to drive impact
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and local language(s); strong influencing and negotiation skills
• Knowledge of and ability to analyze, plan strategy for, and implement large multi-partner projects
• Clear, tactful and effective communicator (written and verbal) with exceptional interpersonal skills when engaging with internal and external audiences
• Demonstrates good judgement when working across partner agencies
• Collaborative, flexible, and resilient work style in a rapidly changing environment; energized and positive about navigating complexity
• Skilled at receiving and integrating feedback
• Proficient in computer software including Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Other:

• Ability to travel within Nigeria and internationally for convenings, as needed