Senior Technical Advisor, Country Preparedness at Resolve to Save Lives

Position Purpose

The Senior Technical Advisor will contribute to advancing epidemic preparedness by building the capabilities of leaders, teams, and institutions in our focus countries. Working closely with both HQ and in-country teams, the advisor will help deliver high-impact training, coaching, and support to mid- and senior-level government officials. This role will be instrumental in helping these officials adopt strategic leadership, governance, and financing practices that enhance their ability to manage health security systems.

Building on the success of our Program Management for Epidemic Preparedness (PMEP) initiative, the Senior Technical Advisor will support countries to strengthen country-level capacity by refining and promoting key frameworks such as the Collaborative Surveillance, Country Health Architecture, WHO NAPHS toolkit, and the 7-1-7. By facilitating peer exchanges and fostering collaboration, the advisor will help teams navigate complex challenges, improve multisectoral coordination, and optimize resource use for data-driven decision-making.

• The Senior Technical Advisor will also work closely with government partners and RTSL leadership to ensure strategic advocacy and engagement, driving sustained progress in epidemic preparedness. A key aspect of this role will be supporting countries in accessing, aligning, and absorbing financing to scale epidemic preparedness efforts at national and subnational levels. This position requires a deep understanding of systems thinking, change management, and the ability to support countries in mobilizing new resources, accelerating disbursements, and establishing pathways for long-term success.
• This is a full-time remote role with working hours aligned to GMT or US EST time zones, depending on location. The Senior Technical Advisor reports to the Principal Advisor for the Country Preparedness and Collaboration sub-team and collaborates with a dynamic team of global and country-level experts. This role is for a fixed term of 24 months with the possibility of extension. The role requires international travel.

Core Duties And Responsibilities

• Capacity Building and Technical Assistance:
• Strategic Coaching and Problem-Solving: Offer real-time coaching to mid- and senior-level government officials, fostering sound decision-making in complex situations. Use active listening, judgment and creativity to empower leaders, helping them develop practical, actionable solutions.
• Promote Strategic Governance: Facilitate the adoption of governance frameworks (e.g., Country Health Architecture, WHO NAPHS toolkit, 7-1-7) to enhance multisectoral coordination and political alignment.
• Training Development and Delivery: Design and implement training programs that build technical (e.g., health systems, health security) and organizational (e.g., leadership, program management) capacities, utilizing frameworks such as the Program Management for Epidemic Preparedness (PMEP).
• Align Financing and Optimize Resources: Help countries access and efficiently manage and utilize financing (particularly from external sources such as the World Bank or Global Fund) by streamlining processes, generating evidence, and providing recommendations on key reforms.
• Support Assessments and Planning: Enable critical assessments (e.g., JEE, SPAR) and planning exercises (e.g., NAPHS development) to deliver measurable improvements in national and subnational preparedness, governance, and accountability systems.
• Solutions Design and Quality Improvement:
• Lead or support change management efforts by helping countries integrate new approaches to leadership, governance and financing to enhance existing structures to ensure long-term sustainability
• Streamline Processes: Use human-centered design and quality improvement tools (e.g., bottleneck analysis, implementation tracking) to simplify and accelerate the implementation of NAPHS and IHR.
• Capture and Scale Innovations: Document lessons learned and identify opportunities to scale high-impact practices and innovations across countries.
• Project Management:
• Align Projects with Organizational Goals: Ensure assigned projects are strategically aligned with RTSL’s epidemic preparedness objectives and integrate effectively across other Prevent Epidemics initiatives. Manage Resources: Manage grants and budgets and ensure the timely delivery of strategic reports to senior management and external partners.
• Partnership Management:
• Cultivate Strategic Partnerships: Build and maintain strong relationships with relevant national and international partners (e.g., WHO, Global Fund, US CDC, World Bank) to foster effective country-driven leadership, governance, and financing for health security.
• Ensure Operational Effectiveness: Collaborate with RTSL’s operations team to maintain effective, sustainable, and efficient country-level operations aligned with program goals.

Required Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s degree or higher in Public Health, Global Health, International Development, or a related field.

Experience

• 10+ years in public health, global development, or health systems strengthening, with at least 5 years managing complex programs in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs).
• 3+ years working directly with government entities in LMICs, supporting public health programs, leadership development, governance reform, and/or health financing initiatives.
• Proven experience leading strategic assessments and planning exercises (e.g., JEE, SPAR, NAPHS).
• Demonstrated ability to design, deliver, and evaluate training programs for mid- and senior-level government officials, with a focus on leadership, program management, and health security.
• Direct experience with organizational leadership, management, governance in contexts of limited resources and political complexity.