Senior Program Officer - Health Financing at Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation

Ref No: B014671

Summary

• The Senior Program Officer (SPO), Health Financing, will conceive, develop and manage a complex portfolio of grants and technical assistance at the federal level and in selected states to improve health outcomes in Nigeria.
• This will be done specifically through supporting interventions that accelerate the implementation of the foundation’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 primary health care (PHC) services.
• The foundation focuses on supporting the achievement of SDG 2, 3 and 5, and accelerating human capital development in Nigeria by improving outcomes in health, nutrition, financial inclusion, agricultural development and gender equality.
• The foundation’s health strategy in Nigeria is underpinned by an emphasis on accelerated deployment of the health systems approach, to improve the performance of PHC, and thereby increase and sustain effective and equitable coverage of essential PHC services and accelerate reductions in maternal and child mortality.
• The SPO will work closely with government, private sector, and civil society partners to catalyze these efforts. This will involve development, testing and scale-up of high impact and cost-effective solutions in selected areas to drive results and influence scale across Nigeria and potentially other similar contexts within the region and Africa. 
• This role reports to the Deputy Director (DD), Health, Nutrition, and Eradication in the Nigeria Country Office (NCO).

Duties and Responsibilities

• Co-develop and implement a health care financing (HCF) strategy for Nigeria under the leadership of the Deputy Director and in partnership with other NCO health staff, Seattle-based program strategy teams (PSTs) and the Global Policy and Advocacy (GPA) team. This strategy will explore support for levels of policy, planning, institutional strengthening, and sustainable financing using public and private sector perspectives.
• Identify, negotiate, execute and monitor complex, performance-based contracts/grants to operationalize the foundation’s HCF strategy in Nigeria. Increase the foundation’s engagement in implementation of national health financing reform initiatives such as Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and other health financing work in Nigeria.
• Collaborate with state government officials, foundation grantees/implementing partners, and other stakeholders (e.g. development partners) in driving implementation of national and sub-national HCF strategies to strengthen PHC systems.
• Serve as a senior member of the NCO health team, acting as a technical resource on Nigeria HCF issues for foundation working groups and colleagues. Support foundation grantees in design and execution of projects and initiatives to ensure integration of health financing with other approaches to strengthen PHC health systems.
• Represent the foundation at HCF meetings, platforms, and working groups at state and federal levels.
• Provide and guidance to key government agencies and partners in the development of achievable, measurable plans and objectives for implementation of innovative health financing options in Nigeria.
• Lead partnerships and grantee relationships to ensure learning and impact by conducting site visits, convening meetings of key stakeholders, monitoring and evaluating components of grants, etc.

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.

Core Knowledge and Skills:

• 10+ years of relevant work experience in health financing and health economics in African settings; 7+ years in a low-income country context.
• Track record of analytical/diagnostic work: preparing high-quality technical reports, policy briefing materials, and presentations to influence health financing policy decision making and implementation at national and sub-national levels.
• Experience in the use of diagnostics and other decision tools to improve quality, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of care. Track record of building strong relationships with implementing partners, donors, and officials at all levels of government.
• 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.
• Significant experience in strategic planning, organizational development, change facilitation and process management in the health sector.
• Demonstrated commitment to the foundation’s core values, mission, and programs and to serving our grantees and the people of Nigeria.
• Manages complexity and ambiguity effectively: demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a complex, fast-paced environment both in Nigeria and with foundation headquarters (Seattle).
• Effective communicator: Develops and delivers communications that convey complex situations in a clear and concise manner with a broad and diverse audience.
• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behaviour with a diverse range of people.
• Able to travel up to 40% domestically and internationally.

Education and Experience

• Master's Degree in Health Economics, Economics, or Public Health with a Health Financing focus. A PhD in health financing is an advantage.