Senior Health and Demography Adviser at British High Commission

Job ID: 24/22 ABJ
Location: Abuja
Grade: Grade 6 (G6)
Type of Position: Fixed Term
Duration of Post: 36 months
Working hours per week: 35 Hours
Type of Post: British High Commission
Start and End Date: 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2026
Job Category: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Programme Roles)
Job Subcategory: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Programme Roles)

Job Description

• FCDO Nigeria is looking for a dynamic Senior Health and Demography Adviser to drive forward our ambitious and high-profile portfolio, supporting Nigeria to advance human development and accelerate the demographic transition. 
• As a passionate expert with strong leadership skills, you will lead implementation of the current flagship health programme, Lafiya, and lead the design of the next phase of health programming. 
• You will lead our external engagement with development partners and Government of Nigeria, including through the Health and Demography Development Partners Groups, and engagement with the National Development Partners Group and Key Political Partners Group. 
• You will provide cross-office support to respond to health emergencies, and to apply a demography lens across the whole portfolio. 
• You will work closely with UKHSA (the UK’s National Public Health Institute, implementing the International Health Regulations Project) as part of a single one-HMG health portfolio, and link with CMPs on health and demography working in Nigeria.
• You will work with and manage an experienced and capable team, including line management responsibilities. This includes a G7 health adviser, a Global Fund Accelerator CMP-funded G7 health adviser, 50% of an SEO Programme Manager, an HEO Deputy Programme Manager, and 2 EO Programme Officers. You will report to the Head of Human Development and Demography and work alongside education advisers and programme staff.
• You will actively encourage and ensure collaboration with other FCDO Nigeria colleagues to maximise impact on development and poverty reduction.

Roles and responsibilities

• We all have a responsibility to embrace the changes of the FCDO as it transforms, building the culture we want to see and delivering our cultural statement in how we lead and behave towards others; how we make decisions and how we get the job done is everyone’s responsibility.

In this role you will also be responsible for:

• Leading and providing strategic oversight of the health and demography portfolio, ensuring coherence and maximising value from the UK’s health and investments – including bilateral programmes, centrally managed programmes, UKHSA programming, and cross-HMG investments, interests, and influencing. 
• Performing the SRO role for FCDO Nigeria’s flagship health programme, Lafiya, including contract management, providing technical oversight, and supporting the development of strong relationships with programme partners; and leading the development of the future health portfolio.
• Leading FCDO Nigeria’s approach to mainstreaming demography across the portfolio, including working with thematic leads across the office, and providing advice to FCDO Nigeria leadership.
• Leading strategic engagement with Government partners at the Federal and State level, and development partners, to raise political and financial commitment to health and to accelerating the demographic transition, and to strengthen health systems, working through a political economy lens to maximise impact; and as a Senior Adviser to contribute to the broader development agenda through the Nigeria Development Partners Group and Key Political Partners Group.
• Actively participate in leadership across the High Commission as a senior adviser, including cross-office activities, responding to and feeding into FCDO-wide human development priorities (including those stipulated in the the Global Health Strategic Framework), and key corporate agendas.
• You will have a demonstrable track record of delivering Health outcomes at expert level through strong capability in the Health technical competencies. As an expert you will be recognised for deep specialist technical knowledge and/or skill which will be underpinned by extensive experience working on complex technical issues.
• More information is available in the Health Technical Competency Framework. (FCDO technical competency frameworks - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) If you are successful, and are not already accredited to the Health cadre, you will have the option of seeking accreditation and will be supported to do so.
• If you are an adviser, you will be expected to maintain strong links to the Health Cadre, providing relevant input and support to the development of the cadre as a collective and to individuals within the cadre.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience  

• Experience in leading and delivering large, complex health programmes in challenging contexts, and a track record of achieving results and impact through health programmes.
• Experience in working across a wide range of health topics, including health systems strengthening, health security, sexual and reproductive health and rights, nutrition, and health service delivery in fragile contexts.
• Experience in working with and influencing Government partners and health development partners in low- and middle-income countries.
• An understanding of the political economy of health in low- and middle-income countries.
• An understanding of population dynamics and demography, including a cross-sectoral approach to framing the drivers and consequences of demographic trends and how to respond to these effectively.
• A track record of people management and leadership roles
• The resilience to manage multiple projects concurrently, with the ability to research, benchmark, scope, design, implement and evaluate project delivery to tight deadlines.
• A proactive approach and a focus on continuous improvement of self and service, with an appetite to work with others to simplify processes and improve efficiency.

Required behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture, Leadership, Communicating and Influencing

Salary
USD 7,510.33 / Month

Other benefits and conditions of employment:

• This is an exciting and stretching opportunity to lead one of FCDO’s most interesting and rewarding portfolios. Nigeria’s health and demography challenges are unparalleled in scale and scope, but so are the potential benefits to poverty reduction and the country’s development trajectory through effective programming and policy influencing in these areas.
• Health and demography are core parts of the Human Development and Demography Block, one of five strategic delivery blocks in FCDO Nigeria. 
• Your role will also be cross-cutting, providing strategic advice and challenge on health and demography to FCDO Nigeria leadership and the other thematic delivery blocks: Sustainable Economic Transformation, Governance and Stability, and Lake Chad Basin (which includes our humanitarian programming). 
• FCDO Nigeria is supported to work effectively through five additional enabling blocks and working across blocks and enablers supports the delivery of our Nigeria Strategy across our network of over 500 staff in Nigeria. This includes a wide range of Partners Across Government (PAGs), including UKHSA.
• We place a premium on facilitating learning and development, ensuring staff have a tailored professional development journey, and ensuring a continuously improving People offer. There is a vibrant social community with regular events, and two Community Liaison Officers who provide information on social activities available outside work – across sport, music, film, art, crafts, and food and drink.