Senior Program Officer, Global Health Agencies and Funds, Africa

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve.We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities.As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The Global Development Division includes a diverse range of program areas aimed at finding creative ways to ensure solutions and products get into the hands of people in low-income countries who need them most. We focus on areas with the potential for high-impact, sustainable solutions that can reach millions of people. The Global Development Division encompasses our India Country Office and Africa Team, with physical offices in Johannesburg, Nairobi, Dakar, Addis Ababa, and Abuja. Our Program Strategy Teams (PSTs), such Primary Health Care and Immunization, work in close partnership with these Country Office Teams to align the foundation’s health and development equity agenda with the government’s broader priorities.

The Global Health Agencies and Funds (GHAF) Team leads the strategic relationships and drive the engagements on governance, strategy, operational effectiveness and programmatic impact with several of the foundation’s key global health institutions (GHIs): UNICEF, WHO, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria (Global Fund), UNITAID, through the Islamic Development Bank’s Lives & Livelihoods Fund (LLF), through the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility (GFF), Anchor Trust Fund (ATF) and Pandemic Fund. We engage with leaders of these institutions, participate in governance through membership on boards and committees and in advisory groups, and make investments to improve the operational effectiveness of the institutions and the impact of their programs. While many teams within the foundation work with these GHIs, the GHAF Team specifically works to:

1. Bring deep knowledge of the strategic, governance, operational and programmatic approaches of and across the GHIs to inform foundation strategies and engagements;

2. Drive internal alignment on foundation-wide strategic priorities, objectives, outcomes, and accountabilities with these GHIs; and

3. Increase the strategic coherence across the GHIs on priorities for the wider foundation through cross-institutional strategies. Initial cross-institutional priority topics include a focus on product access, introduction, and scale (PAIS), health system strengthening, and surveillance.

The Africa Team works to enable the foundation’s ambitious goals of scaling evidence-based interventions that target a range of diseases and socio-economic conditions, which are endemic across Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, the focus of the Africa Team is to enable collective impact for the foundation in Africa by influencing policy and finance towards key development priorities, strengthening capacity, and enabling systems for delivery, and innovating and using cross-cutting enablers for impact at scale. The team performs its responsibility through direct country engagement to deploy interventions and delivery models, and by building the partner architecture to replicate successful interventions and models across multiple countries.

The postholder will work as a key liaison between GHAF and the Africa Team, ensuring that our priority countries in Africa benefit maximally from all the GHIs can offer.

Your Role

We seek an experienced professional to serve as a Senior Program Officer (SPO), GHAF, Africa . The primary purpose of the role is to ensure that we are maximizing what GHIs can deliver for foundation priorities in Africa. The SPO will be a thought-partner on the development and execution of the foundation’s Engagement Strategies and priorities with the WHO, Global Fund, GFF, UNICEF, Gavi, UNITAID, World Bank (Health), and LLF. As part of the GHAF and Africa Teams, you will provide advice on our engagement with Regional and Country Offices of GHIs, such as WHO African Region (WHO AFRO), UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), and UNICEF West and Central Africa (WCARO). You will collaborate with program staff in the foundation’s PSTs. The postholder will be a member of the Africa Team and contribute to the refinement of the Africa Strategy in 2024, ensuring that GHIs are leveraged towards foundation goals and greater impact.

The postholder will manage senior level consultants (both teams and individuals) who can be deployed to support country-level engagement related to leveraging GHI activities, such as a) working with Ministries of Health and Ministries of Finance on International Development Assistance lending for health projects; b) Global Fund health financing and health system strengthening; c) launching and scaling new innovations via a GHI; d) facilitating country voice on GHI processes; and e) monitoring GHI-supported country-level activities that are foundation priorities (e.g. polio, new vaccine rollout, Global Fund applications, GFF investment case, World Bank Program Appraisal Document).

The SPO will develop and manage grants that support health systems strengthening efforts for delivering primary health care and access to quality commodities, in alignment with the Africa Team and GHAF. They will partner with teams across several divisions of the foundation, to deliver a “coordinated” one-foundation approach. The postholder also will collaborate with key development partners in Africa and represent the foundation with external partners, such as USAID, think tanks, and NGOs.

This is a full-time role based in Nairobi , Kenya. The postholder will report to the Deputy Director Health Delivery and Systems, Africa with a dotted line to the Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning, and Management, GHAF.

What You'll Do

The selected candidate will be responsible for the following tasks:

Implement strategies that will lead to health improvements in foundation engagement countries in Africa, under the leadership of the Deputy Director Health Delivery and Systems, Africa, and in partnership with GHAF, PSTs and the Global Policy and Advocacy Team.

Work with other members of the foundation’s Africa health team, GHAF, and PSTs, to ensure full leverage of Global and Regional Health Institutions towards foundation priorities in Africa, in close collaboration with national Ministerial leaders.

Design and implement complex, performance-based contracts/grants with partners and consultants. Monitor and evaluate the quality and progress of grants/contracts. Maintain high-quality interactions and oversight of grantees and consultants, providing course correction.

Work closely with foundation colleagues in the Africa offices to make connections with GHIs on specific areas, such as HIV and TB, malaria and other infectious diseases, routine immunization, maternal, newborn and child health, family planning, gender, and other health priorities to the foundation, with the aim of finding connections points, integration opportunities and strategic alignment across vertical diseases areas to strengthen primary health care health systems on the continent.

Build and maintain strong relationships with GHIs partners and governments, ensuring clear and consistent communication and representing the foundation as required. Shape and cultivate partnerships and coalitions to build strong technical capabilities for delivery of health impacts and resilient systems, including advocacy for sustainable financing and cost-effective planning and prioritization.

Help to ensure coherence in the implementation of health programming across the African continent by leveraging GHIs. Provide advice to PSTs and regional teams on opportunities with GHIs that support the introduction of new tools and delivery approaches that can improve health programming and impact.

Contribute to writing background documents, briefs, articles, and presentations, including relevant literature reviews, landscape analyses, and data analysis; organize and prepare for high-level foundation leadership trips.

Represent the Deputy Director of Health Delivery and Systems in Africa and/or Deputy Directors in GHAF as needed in internal and external meetings. Engage with senior policy and planning partners, clearly communicating complex programming and nuanced strategic priorities of GHAF, the Africa team, and other PSTs.

Lead internal processes and work on cross-foundation activities important to our health programming in Africa, including the design of new strategies, collaborations and implementation plans to ensure sustainability/impact.

Other special projects as assigned.

Your Experience

The ideal candidate will hold an advanced degree in medicine, public health, health economics, public policy/administration, or similar fields (e.g. MPH, MPA, MBA, MD, PhD).

10+ years’ experience predominantly with a GHI (e.g. Global Fund, WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, UNITAID, Gavi).

Significant experience working closely with GHIs to achieve health goals, including collaborating with bilateral and multilateral donors; governments in Africa; implementing agencies; non-governmental organizations; think tanks; academic institutions.

Professional experience managing or implementing large scale health programs in Africa, with a strong focus on health systems strengthening and/or product access and scale.

Experience in handling complex delivery of health programs with multiple partners, including GHIs, building successful coalitions and partnerships, while navigating complex dynamics.

Familiarity with steering and navigating decision making processes and tradeoffs in matrix teams and organizations, with a track record of thoughtful balance between efficient, timely action and ensuring partner voice and inclusion.

Excellent written and oral communications skills and experience communicating with broad and diverse audiences.

Demonstrated experience working in cross-team programs and proven track record to adapt to a fast-paced environment and the networking and coalition-building demands of a highly matrixed organization. Ability to influence without direct authority.

Ability to build partnerships and work collaboratively with others to meet shared/joint objectives, both internally and externally. Ability to orchestrate effective decisions across a broad range of issues and partners, assess progress, analyze gaps, and make required changes.

Ability to see ahead to future possibilities, understand and navigate political economy, and develop strategies, concrete theories of change and actions taking complex interests and accountabilities into consideration.

Demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a complex, fast-paced environment both in Africa and at headquarters.

Excellent oral, facilitation and written communication skills in English, able to effectively synthesize information to reach diverse audiences and build consensus. Ability to communicate in French and other languages commonly used in Africa, will be an advantage.

Other Attributes

Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behaviour with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.

Ability to travel up to 35% domestically and internationally.

Application deadline : 15 September 2024

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Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request .

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.