Job Description
About the Global Health Advocacy Incubator
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) supports civil society organizations advocating for public health policies that reduce death and disease. We bring a proven advocacy approach and a global network of local partners, built on a 25-year track record of success across multiple issues in more than 60 countries. GHAI is an initiative of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. For more information, visit www.advocacyincubator.org.
Full-time consultancy with estimated start date of March 1, 2024. This position will report to the Vice President, Health System Strengthening, and can be based anywhere in Africa.
About the Data for Health Program
GHAI is part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiative, which supports low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia and the Pacific to improve their national civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems. Civil registration systems are the systems that register births, deaths, fetal deaths, and other vital events. Civil registration data is used to produce vital statistics, which are essential for government planning and policymaking; and birth and death registration create and retire an individual’s legal identity.
Under the D4H Initiative, GHAI provides technical assistance to help countries strengthen their CRVS systems through (1) legal reviews and reforms, (2) budget advocacy for increased and sustainable funding of these systems, and (3) civil society-led advocacy to support the legal reform and budget advocacy objectives as well as promoting political prioritization and public support for CRVS system strengthening. In 2024, GHAI plans to support countries in the Africa region with locating sustainable sources of funding for their CRVS systems using our budget advocacy toolkit and framework, and advocating for law and policy reforms based on the recommendations from CRVS legal reviews.
About the position
As an initial step in the CRVS law reform and budget advocacy processes, GHAI is seeking to understand the CRVS legal and financing landscape and budget process as well as areas of law or policy reform in selected D4H focus countries in Africa that are seeking to strengthen their CRVS systems. This information will help GHAI identify challenges and opportunities to secure increased, sustained investments in country CRVS systems and reform CRVS laws and regulations as needed.
To that end, GHAI is seeking to hire a Regional Advocacy Advisor based in the African region to undertake landscaping of law/policy reform needs, and government budgeting and financing for CRVS in D4H focus countries, as well as discussions with key regional stakeholders, the findings of which will inform GHAI’s approach to CRVS budget advocacy as well as the development of guiding documents to be used by global and local partners to plan and implement CRVS budget sustainability efforts. The Advocacy Advisor will also help identify civil society organizations (CSOs) that can be given grants to support advocacy efforts for CRVS system strengthening. The Advocacy Advisor will also develop relationships and promote GHAI’s role with regional CRVS development organizations and partners.
WHAT YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH:
Landscape analysis and consultations
Conduct policy/budget landscaping and scoping through a series of structured consultations with regional/continental, national, and local/sub-national partners and stakeholders, as well as desk research, to understand in detail:
Strategic objectives for CRVS reform and problem analysis for CRVS budget and legal reform advocacy
- Prioritized areas of CRVS reform (legal, policy or budgetary) and their costs (and cost-benefit analysis of reform measures, if available); how these fit into existing CRVS governance arrangements and practices.
- Key political and financial barriers or bottlenecks that CRVS actors face in funding or implementing desired legal reforms.
Public financing and financial management of CRVS
- Budgets for the varying elements of the CRVS system – funding sources, amounts, gaps, flows, trends, and projections (if available)
- Annual budget process or cycle; budgetary decision-makers and influencers; and budget monitoring and accountability capabilities and systems
CRVS stakeholder management and coordination
- The set of stakeholders, partners, and institutions involved in or affected by CRVS reform and their characteristics (strengths/weaknesses, incentives/motivations, relative levels of power/influence over government budget allocation and expenditure, etc.).
- Any active or planned government- or partner-led initiatives/activities to support CRVS strengthening, with amounts and timelines of funding, and an indication of current level of collaboration/cooperation/integration between partners and between partners and government.
- Identify potential CSOs that will use GHAI grants to help build capacity and increase political will for legal reform and domestic investment in CRVS systems.
- To quickly identify the appropriate contacts in each country/region, the Advocacy Advisor and GHAI staff will work with the lead D4H implementing partner organization in each country, either Vital Strategies or US CDC/CDC Foundation, to benefit from their in-country presence and networks.
Technical Assistance and/or Direct support for Advocacy efforts
The Regional Advocacy Advisor will provide technical assistance for smooth implementation of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Data for Health program to strengthen CRVS budget advocacy in in the African region. The Advocacy Advisor will:
- Liaison, coordinate and establish working linkages with respective country governments for smooth implementation of the Data for Health program.
- Coordinate, collaborate and develop joint implementation plans with country lead partners, i.e CDC, Vital Strategies, UNECA and others for implementation of Data for Health program in Africa.
- Support country-level GHAI grantees for the smooth implementation of Data for Health advocacy campaigns in African countries.
- Plan, collaborate and implement budget advocacy workshops in African countries.
- Provide technical support to develop budget advocacy guidance documents, toolkits and time to time workshop literatures in close coordination with GHAI headquarters.
- Prepare detailed monthly and other reports on progress in the countries based on country and partner input.
Travel, Representation and Reporting
- The Advocacy Advisor will be responsible for conducting scoping activities in selected countries and will conduct regional-level intelligence gathering with support of the GHAI team and regional/country leads from D4H implementing partner organizations.
- The Advocacy Advisor will be responsible for identifying CSO partners and supporting advocates to build and maintain stakeholder partnerships at national and sub-national levels to ensure increased investment in CRVS systems as well as support the passage of laws and regulations in line with international best practices.
- The Advocacy Advisor will represent GHAI at key meetings with partners and policymakers to ensure that GHAI policy positions and priorities are fully communicated to all stakeholders.
- The project location will be the Advocacy Advisor’s home country, in sub-Saharan Africa. Domestic or international travel by the Advocacy Advisor within Africa will be required. Travel costs for pre-approved trips will be covered by GHAI.
- The Advocacy Advisor will report to and hold regular discussions and meetings with GHAI’s Data for Health team to assess and guide work progress.
SKILLS YOU’LL BRING TO THE ROLE:
- University (bachelor’s equivalent) degree in law, public policy, political science, public health, international development, or other relevant discipline. Advanced degree preferred.
- Proficiency in written and spoken English is a requirement. Working knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an asset.
- 7+ years of experience working on public health policy advocacy in multiple African countries, with a proven track record of advocacy and managing complex projects related to public health policy change.
- Experience working in multiple countries with an emphasis on: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- Knowledge and experience in CRVS systems or public health data systems is a plus.
- Collaborative coalition builder with a track record of creating effective partnerships with a range of global health partners (country, regional, and/or global level).
- Experience developing, implementing, and monitoring evidence-based strategies, workplans, and campaigns in partnership with in-country consultants, government officials, and civil society/non-governmental organizations.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make The Campaign’s work more inclusive. We encourage qualified applicants of all ages, racial, economic, social, cultural, sexual orientation, ability and gender expressions, national origins, and veteran statuses to apply.
