Interim - Program Officer, Health Financing at Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation

Position Summary

• The Nigeria Country Office (NCO) of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is recruiting an Interim - Program Officer (PO) to lead Health Financing support the Government of Nigeria. The goal of NCO focuses on supporting the achievement of SDG 2, 3 and 5, and accelerate human capital development in Nigeria by improving outcomes in health, nutrition, financial inclusion, agricultural development and gender equality in Nigeria.
• The NCO’s health strategy is underpinned by an emphasis on primary health care and accelerated deployment of the health systems approach to improve the performance of primary health care, and thereby increase and sustain effective and equitable coverage of essential primary health care (PHC) services and accelerate reductions in maternal and child mortality.
• The NCO works closely with other Foundation health teams (e.g. Family Planning; Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Nutrition, etc.) to partner with the Federal Government of Nigeria and with several State Governments to strengthen their primary health care systems, improve delivery of essential PHC services, and reduce financial barriers to accessing PHC services for pregnant women and children.
• Working synergistically with other systems strengthening components such as Human Resources for Health, supply chain, etc.), the position will create linkages, learn lessons and opportunities across the Foundation’s various approaches to strengthen Nigeria’s health system and resilience.
• Based in the Foundation’s Nigeria Country Office in Abuja, the “Interim - PO for Health Financing” will lead the implementation of NCO’s health financing strategy to support the Government of Nigeria and its partners to design and implement health financing interventions to achieve sustainable financing of PHC services.

Key Responsibilities

• As a PO and with minimal supervision provide technical, programmatic and administrative management of NCO’s health financing activities and grants as part of the health systems strengthening efforts
• Provide technical expertise, leadership and collaboration in designing, implementation and monitoring of NCO’s support for capacity building for health financing and ensuring these efforts are integrated with work on HRH, supply chain, and service quality improvements
• Playing a leading role in increasing NCO’s engagement in the implementation of GON’s health financing reform initiatives such as BHCPF, as well as engagement with other stakeholders working on health financing issues in Nigeria
• Provide programmatic and administrative oversight of NCO’s health financing capacity building investments to ensure the achievement of results, advising and authorizing implementing partners to undertake specific courses of action consistent with NCO’s strategy and goals
• Provide technical expertise and guidance on capacity building, planning, implementation and monitoring to key government agencies and partners in the development of achievable, measurable plans and objectives for implementation of innovative health financing options for Nigeria
• Provide technical advice, recommendations and analytical opinions for the NCO strategy and activities in relation to the achievement of its strategy and goal

Other Responsibilities will be as follows:

• Provide technical support to other health and non-health POs to ensure integration of health financing with other approaches to strengthen the health systems within the NCO such as in relation to health governance, quality improvements, HRH and supply chain.
• Provide technical and programmatic input, and participate in planning and presentation of review of NCO portfolio with BMGF leadership at the highest level
• Coordinates and communicates regularly with other POs and Foundation staff
• Coordinate with other POs within NCO to ensure synergistically work to advance the achievement of the country office goals and objectives
• Collaborate with State government officials, Foundation grantees and implementing partners, other health sector stakeholders (e.g. development partners), and the Foundation to drive implementation of the State PHC Program and to facilitate joint program efforts to strengthen the PHC system and routine immunization program, particularly at the federal level.

Education and Experience

• A Master's Degree in Health Economics, Economics, or Public Health with a Health financing focus;
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience in health financing and health economics;
• Demonstrated capacity to effectively coordinate organizations and consortia, and expertise in navigating and strengthening relationships among development organizations.
• Experience working with ministries of health and finance, donors and implementing agencies, and strong communication skills to knowledgably and effectively interact with key actors;
• Established track record of carrying out analytical work and preparing high-quality technical reports, policy briefing materials, and presentations;
• Deep understanding of the Nigerian health system and of federal and state health policy, with on-the-ground experience in northern Nigeria in particular.
• Deep experience with large-scale health systems strengthening interventions – including multiple approaches to strengthening that range from interventions and sectoral-specifics.
• Significant experience in strategic planning, organizational development, change facilitation and process management in the health sector.
• Track record of building strong relationships with implementing partners, donors, and officials at all levels of government.
• Demonstrated commitment to the foundation’s core values, mission, and programs and to serving our grantees and the people of Nigeria.
• Excellent written and oral skills