Senior Technical Advisor, Cardiovascular Health - Nigeria (Federal Ministry of Health) at Resolve to Save Lives

Background & About the Project

• In Nigeria, RTSL is working with the FMOH, NPHCDA, and WHO to implement the Nigerian Hypertension Control Initiativ (NHCI) in Kano and Ogun States.
• The project aims to improve population hypertension control through screening, treatment, monitoring, and health education at the primary healthcare level.
• In collaboration with FMOH (NCD Division, DHPRS), NPHCDA, and WHO, RTSL has recently launched the DHIS2 tracker app for hypertension and diabetes, an electronic data collection tool to track patient management at facilities.
• Resolve to Save Lives has also supported the NCD Division of the FMOH to develop an addendum on NCD for the Task Shifting Task Sharing policy and to revise the NCD policy for the country. RTSL is also commencing work with the FMOH to develop national tools, indicators, and treatment guidelines for hypertension management.
• RTSL is working with the FMOH, WHO, and GF to implement the STEPS survey to determine the prevalence of NCD risk factors to inform policy development and public health interventions.
• Resolve is also working with the Department of Food and Drugs within the FMOH on interventions to reduce salt intake by the population. This is mainly focused on Front of Pack Labelling and sodium reformulation. 

Position Summary

• RTSL is seeking a Senior Technical Advisor to provide technical support and policy guidance to the Honorable Minister of Health on non-communicable diseases (NCD) with a particular emphasis on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention to improve population health outcomes as part of the improved service delivery and population health outcomes pillar of the Minister’s agenda.
• This role will contribute to improving cardiovascular health outcomes in Nigeria by expanding protocol-based hypertension treatment in the public and private sectors, promoting the passage and implementation of policies for primary prevention especially trans fat elimination and sodium intake reduction, as well as policies that improve the performance of hypertension treatment services.
• This is a 12-month fixed term employment agreement with the possibility of renewal.

Core Duties and Responsibilities

• Review existing policies and advise on policy development and implementation to advance NCD prevention including HRH development, HMIS and surveillance.
• Support advocacy and technical assistance to state governments to expand the Nigeria hypertension control initiative. 
• Liaise with the FMoH NCD department, NPHCDA, and other stakeholders to strengthen pre-service and in-service training for NCD prevention for primary care staff. 
• Conduct landscape analysis of pharmaceutical supply chain strengthening activities in Nigeria and identify strategic opportunities to improve NCD medicines availability within the Health Minister’s overall strategy of unlocking value chains. 
• Advise the Health Minister on resource mobilization and innovative financing strategies to advance primary and secondary prevention of NCDs. 
• Facilitate effective implementation of the elimination of artificial trans-fat to reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, as already decided by the Government of Nigeria. 
• Support the development of key policies to reduce sodium intake, a key risk factor for hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, including mandatory salt limits on packaged food; as well as the development and implementation of a national roadmap to reduce sodium intake. 
• Liaise with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning on the development of a healthy food procurement policy across sectors in Nigeria. 
• Strengthen digital data collection with a focus on DHIS2 for improved patient management of hypertension and other conditions. 

Required Experience, Skills, and Qualifications

• Medical or other Clinical Degree and / or Master's Degree in Public Health or related field 
• At least ten years of relevant program management experience working on large-scale public health programs in Nigeria 
• Experience in drafting strategy and guidelines related to public health programs, ideally including NCDs such as cardiovascular disease 
• Ability to communicate technical knowledge and expertise in both policy and operational environments 
• Knowledge and experience in the application of Monitoring, Evidence and Learning (MEL) in projects at the state or, ideally, at national level 
• Deep knowledge of Nigeria health ecosystem, particularly primary health service delivery approaches 
• Experience in data collection, analysis, management, and report writing 
• Experience in policy development, stakeholder engagement and implementation is highly desirable 
• Exceptional written and verbal communications skills in English 
• Demonstrated group facilitation skills and ability to work with a range of stakeholders across different levels of the health system 
• Experience working or engaging with the Government of Nigeria 
• Strong self-starter with a strategic mindset