POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Head of Country Programmes will be a key leader of the Financing Alliance for Health.

In collaboration with the CEO, the Head of Country Programmes will develop and lead engagement with countries but will also have a broader strategy and leadership role within the executive team.  In the true nature of a start-up, the Head of Country Programmes may be asked to support other activities on an ad-hoc basis.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Country Engagement and Support – 50%

• Define country support for FAH’s overall strategy: Lead identification of potential client countries/ counties and assess readiness for FAH support, including refinement of criteria, conducting due diligence activities, and relationship initiation.
• Refine the FAH service packages continuously in line with government needs, the prevailing shift in the ecosystem as well as FAH’s strategic focus.
• Work directly with key health and finance leaders (MOH, MOF, etc) from existing and potential country clients to define a financing ‘pathway’ that can sustainably support their community health programs. He or she will also engage closely with NGOs and other development partners (UNICEF, World Bank, EU, USAID, etc) involved in supporting countries’ health programs.
  • The Country Engagement and Support Lead is expected to take a leadership role in identifying potential client countries, assessing their core challenges and ‘readiness’ for FAH support (political will, partner engagement, etc) and determining the best model for FA support
    • Depending on the country context, the country’s engagement support may include efforts to develop/ refine costing figures, map existing resources, engage with international donors and the national MOF/Treasury, and country-specific Return-on-Investment cases and define a financing strategy overall. The Country Engagement and Support Lead will ‘own’ responsibility for all analysis and work product developed for governments and for building, maintaining, and strengthening relationships with key MOH staff
• Maintain relationships with existing and previous FAH countries
• Assess whether existing or new financing tools may be appropriate for various countries and how they might be optimally used or refined – with the country investment team and in close partnership with country governments– will
  •  Develop training materials based on in country capability needs, to upskill our government clients on health financing

Partnership management, advocacy, and Communication – 30%

• Identify, cultivate, and formalize partnerships with strategic institutional partners (Funders, knowledge partners, private sector/ investment partners, collaborators, etc.)
• Assist the FAH in relevant advocacy engagements that would further advance our work. E.g., Communities at the heart of UHC, steering committees, technical working groups, regional and global events
• Documenting and sharing FAH’s country work, including developing publicly shareable versions of in-country work by codifying country experiences (with MOH client permission) and sharing this work in appropriate forums and FAH’s quarterly dashboards

Impact monitoring – 10%

• Tracking and highlighting FAH impact: Have institutionalized methods of tracking and highlighting FAH impact internally (dashboards/ checklists, etc.) and externally (website/ articles/ knowledge pieces/ newsletter/ annual reports).
• Define process indicators for country engagement and support workstream to demonstrate the impact of FAH support

People Development/Talent Management – 10%

• Lead on both country engagement and support teams in talent management: e.g., recruitment, performance management, and coaching and mentorship
• Team capability building: Identify training needs and devise strategies to meet those needs. Develop an internal training calendar.
• Oversee rewards and recognition in collaboration with the CEO to ensure the team is engaged and motivated
• Refine the performance review templates and conduct performance reviews for the country engagement and support team

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• The Head of Country Programmes will be a member of the Executive Committee (ExCo), and report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. The incumbent will work closely with the Africa Frontline First (AFF) -Chief Operating Officer, Head of Strategy and Investments and Partnerships & Fundraising Manager. S/He will regularly collaborate closely with the program teams.

CANDIDATE SPECIFICATION: KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

The Financing Alliance for Health is seeking a highly skilled, multi-functional, and entrepreneurial leader with a passion for global health to serve as the Head of Country Programmes.

Key experience areas/competencies should include:

• Financing for health: understanding the core bottlenecks behind health financing, the key steps (costing, investment cases, resource mapping, gap analysis), and potential options for financing (traditional donors, national resources, corporate and capital markets sources etc.). Have practical experience in health financing, particularly in results-based financing and risk pooling
• Health systems: knowledge and practical work on health systems, and in particular primary/community health systems; experience working directly with/ embedment in ministries of health and finance (and other government agencies) as well as major donor organizations critical for this role.
• Global mindset and experience: international experience across multiple developing countries, especially in Africa. Have a performance track record in leading country expansion into multiple regions of Africa
•  Leadership: practical experience in leading multi-functional, multi-cultural teams that are geographically spread
• Proactive problem solver: you should also be a proactive-problem solver, flexible, effective at working independently, self-starter, and able to build your own work plan
• Tool development: broad experiences creating and refining analytical tools and approaches e.g. excel models, ROIs, scorecards, curricula etc.