Program Officer

Job Description

Results for Development (R4D) is a global nonprofit organization working with partners in more than 55 countries to find new ways to help people escape poverty and reach their full potential. We apply fresh thinking and rigor to emerging and stubborn development challenges—particularly within the fields of health, education and governance—and we pioneer and advance creative, high-impact solutions. We do this by conducting analysis that helps to inform and influence decision-makers; building platforms and networks that connect people and ideas; by providing direct support to local change agents; and combining these approaches to deliver meaningful and lasting results.

Project Summary:

In 2014, the Government of Nigeria (GoN) committed to reforming health care financing and service delivery in a Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage and enacted the Nigeria National Health Act. The Act officially recognized Nigerians’ right to health and established a Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) to make financial resources available for primary health care (PHC) services. These reforms have the potential to greatly strengthen Nigeria’s PHC system and improve population health. Federal and state governments in Nigeria are currently working to implement systems for channeling these new health care funds for service delivery and financing and setting up state-level demand side financing mechanisms.

To support these reforms, Results for Development (R4D), in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID, is working with public actors and a consortium of development partners to provide a technical assistance program to foster more equitable and sustainable health care financing to improve the health of all Nigerians. R4D is supporting change agents at both the federal and state-levels:

• The federal work engages key stakeholders in joint policy dialogue, generating evidence to inform health financing design options, and disseminating that evidence and practical implementation tools to states.
• For the state-specific work, R4D is working closely with the state governments of Kaduna and Niger to analyze their unique health systems contexts, design tailored demand-side financing programs, and support the implementation of those programs.

Together, these technical assistance programs will foster an enabling environment for creating health impact via more equitable and sustainable health care financing interventions.

Opportunity:

R4D is seeking a Program Officer (PO) based in Abuja, Nigeria to support the day-to-day operations of the Nigeria Healthcare Financing Technical Assistance Program, alongisde other members of the DC and Nigeria-based project team. S/he will play an integral role in administrative, operational, and technical aspects of the project. The position is based in Abuja, Nigeria.

Responsibilities

The PO will be expected to provide project management, coordination, research, and communication leadership to oversee the progress of the project. S/he will drive R4D’s work at the federal level to improve the federal government’s ability to develop feasible, appropriate, and actionable health financing policies and strengthen capacity at the federal level. In doing so, s/he will work closely with the R4D Nigeria office, global-level leadership, and local partners. The areas of federal work the PO will be involved include:

• Support to the federal health budget formulation, execution, and monitoring with the Federal Ministry of Health, focusing on the routine supply-side budget process to align annual health budgeting with policy
• Working with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to define and operationalize its role as a facilitator and administrator of fiancing mechanisms in Nigeria
• Support the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to develop feasible, appropriate, and actional health financing policies for PHC, and communicate those policies effectively to state governments

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Leverage the evidence base to support development of appropriate health financing policies and strategies to inform decisions of governments, donors and other stakeholders
• Lead development of technical tools and other key external documents, working closely with government stakeholders
• Support the development of internal program documents such as funder reports, PowerPoints, and other documents
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with stakeholders, including federal and state level government officials, development partners, and partner organizations based in Abuja
• Conduct in-depth primary and secondary research and analyses, including through critical review of literature and interviews with experts

Qualifications:

• MA with 3 years or experience OR a BA with 5 years of relevant global health experience
• Experience and interest in healthcare, healthcare financing, and policy development, with an emphasis on Federal and state-level budget formulation/execution/monitoring systems or processes
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with ability to prepare compelling presentations and written reports
• Strong qualitative and quantitative analytical skills
• Proven experience effectively working with and meeting the needs of various stakeholders in both Nigeria and globally
• Ability to think and solve problems in structured, logical, and creative manner
• Effectively able to work collaboratively in a team-based environment as well as independently to work on complex work streams/projects
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to connect with a wide variety of different stakeholders
• Comfortable working with a diverse team located in different geographies
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word
• Availability for 5-10% international and domestic travel
• Local applicants encouraged to apply

Preferred Skills:

• Experience working on large scale, multi-partner, donor funded and/or government projects in Nigeria
• Relevant work experience in a research institution, government, bilateral or multilateral development agency, consulting firm, NGO, or think tank
• Prior work experience in healthcare financing, economics, and/or political science
• Familiarity with existing regulations and framework around health care financing reform in Nigeria

About the Organization

Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents around the world — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — to create strong systems that support healthy, educated people. We help our partners move from knowing their goal to knowing how to reach it. We combine global expertise in health, education and nutrition with analytic rigor, practical support for decision-making and implementation and access to peer problem-solving networks. Together with our partners, we build self-sustaining systems that serve everyone and deliver lasting results. Then we share what we learn so others can achieve results for development, too.

We have a unique and vibrant culture at R4D. Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of our work environment and help advance our mission. Diversity—of ideas, identities, perspectives and backgrounds—is vital to who we are and what we do. We seek people who embrace these values and will help reinforce them. Our work culture is collaborative, creative and entrepreneurial. We operate based on trust and respect. Teams across the organization frequently collaborate on programmatic work and support each other in continuously building a better R4D.