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.

Current Programmatic Scope of Work

The goal of R4D’s Nigeria portfolio is to strengthen health, education and nutrition systems in Nigeria. R4D’s organizational matrix is based on sector-specific practices in Health, Education and Nutrition and a series of cross-cutting practices including Accountability and Citizen Engagement, Collaborative Learning, Evaluation and Adaptive Learning, Market Shaping, and Scaling Innovations. R4D’s current program of work in Nigeria focuses on healthcare financing and health systems strengthening with emerging new programs focused on market shaping, health markets, mixed health systems, immunization financing, nutrition financing and data for decision-making, and accountability and citizen engagement approaches in the extractives industry.

Health Care Financing. In 2014, the Government of Nigeria committed to reforming health care financing and service delivery by enacting the Nigeria National Health Act. The Act officially recognized Nigerians’ right to health and established a Basic Health Care Provision Fund 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, R4D, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has been engaged for several years working with public actors and a consortium of development partners to provide a technical assistance program to foster more equitable and sustainable healthcare 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 worked closely with the state governments of Kaduna and Niger to analyze their unique health systems contexts, design tailored demand-side financing programs, and supported the implementation of those programs. R4D continues to support the implementation of health financing reforms and the strengthening of public financial management systems at the state level.

R4D is also supporting evidence translation and monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive learning between the federal and state levels and collaborative learning among states through the Nigeria Joint Learning Network.

The first phase of the health financing technical assistance to the Government of Nigeria which started in 2016 was wrapped up in December 2022. To build on the achievements and successes, BMGF approved a follow-on grant that will extend and deepen the TA support to the change agents up to 2025 with focus on strategic purchasing, public financial management, institutional strengthening and performance tracking of the results of the investments while ensuring that gender is mainstreamed into all the project activities.

Additional areas of R4D activity in Nigeria:

Nutrition: R4D’s Nutrition team works at the global and country level to help change agents finance and meet ambitious nutrition targets. In Nigeria, R4D’s current support includes working through the Data for Decisions to Expand Nutrition Transformation (DataDENT) project to support the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) with state-level scorecards to track nutrition progress, as well as beginning new work with government and partners to track financial resources for nutrition coming from all sources in all nutrition-relevant sectors. Following the completion of phase one which focused on nutrition resource tracking, R4D’s nutrition portfolio in Nigeria has expanded with the Nigeria Sustainable Nutrition Financing (SUSTAIN Nigeria) through which the team is supporting the federal and selected states government to develop financing frameworks for mobilizing of domestic resources to fund nutrition priorities in the country. This is being implemented with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), with additional support from World Bank through the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) project.

Accountability and Citizen Engagement: R4D’s Accountability and Citizen Engagement (ACE) team empowers citizens and civil society to hold governments, institutions, and service delivery providers accountable. R4D in collaboration with local partners implemented the Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption program (LTRC), a research program focusing on the prevention of corruption and reduction of corruption risks in the extractive sector worldwide. https://www.r4d.org/how-we-work/accountability-citizen-engagement/. R4D currently manages The Governance Hub; a platform for supporting local action by strengthening local and global coalitions to improve governance and reduce corruption in resource-rich countries, while contributing to their sustainability.

Market Shaping: R4D’s Market Shaping practice area has deep experience catalyzing increased access to and improved appropriate use of essential products, towards helping people lead healthier, more productive lives. R4D’s new engagement at the state level in Nigeria comes as part of a multi-country project on Increasing Access to MNCH Products, through analysis of financing, quantification, and procurement practices and data. Under the follow-on grant, the MSP projects in Nigeria seek to improve access to Multiple Micronutrient Supplement (MMS) and address Maternal and Childhood Wasting (MCW) in selected states.

Opportunity:

R4D is seeking an Associate Director (AD) based in Abuja, Nigeria to support the execution of high-quality analytical and strategic work and management of the R4D Nigeria-based team and local partnerships.

The AD will work with colleagues across a number of projects in the Nigeria country office, providing leadership, program management and technical input. In addition, the AD will contribute to the development and execution of the Nigeria country strategy, including office operations. The AD will have direct line management responsibility for three or more members of the country office team and interact with a diverse set of local, national and global stakeholders.

This position will report to the Nigeria Country Director.

Responsibilities include:

1. Country Practice Strategy & Management (40%)

Lead elements of the Nigeria country strategy including periodic reviews and updates to ensure alignment with organizational priorities
Effective management of office operations, coordination of team meetings and implementation of R4D’s organizational strategy
Oversee a team of 8+ team members, and directly line manage / supervise some of these roles, providing coaching and direction to set goals, develop their skills, prioritize their work, deliver quality products and complete performance reviews.
Contribute to the development of the Nigeria country portfolio, e.g. through production of thought leadership, development/improvement of Practice methods and tools, operational improvement initiatives and recruitment as required.
Provide strategic leadership on the execution and continuous improvement of country office operations and finances, including ensuring compliance with Nigerian laws and R4D policies and procedures, managing program budget and ensuring sound fiscal management
Manage the recruitment and onboarding of new staff upholding R4D’s diversity and equity values. Contribute to the continued evolution of a positive and collaborative team culture that affirms diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Identify and build relationships and business development opportunities to engage with funders and key stakeholders.
Coordinate program creation and lead the development of funding proposals for business development opportunities.
Represent the Nigeria country office and R4D at other meetings, conferences and events as required.
Coordinate and collaborate with other R4D teams (principally in Health, Nutrition, Education, Innovation and Market Shaping) to ensure the integration and alignment of activities under R4D’s evolving strategy for the Nigeria country portfolio.
Design, organize and participate in Nigeria country team events (e.g. Team Retreats) as required.
Participate fully as a member of R4D by contributing, assisting and participating in projects, activities, and initiatives as requested by R4D management.

2. Project / program management (30%)

Facilitate and support annual team planning and progress monitoring in line with R4D’s organizational and strategic priorities
Independently lead significant components of large, complex programs and/or projects
Establish clear strategic direction, governance structures and other supporting mechanisms for programs.
Oversee the development of project work plans and ensure timely execution of activities,monitor and track results including proactively identifying programmatic risks and creatively managing problems that arise and anticipating ways to avoid them.
Oversee process streamlining and efficiency improvement initiatives within the team and across workstreams and practice areas in line with organizational priorities and operational needs of the country office.
Provide people and talent management by providing direction, input, and coaching to R4D Nigeria team members.
Manage the development of funder reporting and effective coordination and tracking of outputs and deliverables across different workstreams.
Oversee operational processes such as procurement, budgeting, resourcing and strategic communication.
Oversee relevant budgets in close collaboration with Grants Management, Finance and Operations staff and ensure sound financial management.
Lead internal evaluation of how work is progressing on programs / projects. Find appropriate ways to measure, demonstrate and communicate results. Identify programs that have not achieved intended results and seek lessons learned.

3. Technical input (20%)

Serve as a technical resource on health systems, health financing, and health policy and other R4D practice areas.
Contribute knowledge and expertise to all components of projects, especially when drawing insights from analyses and developing high quality and actionable government, donor, and partner-facing documents.
Identify creative ways to expand R4D’s current work in Nigeria, in close coordination with relevant practice leads and R4D leadership
- Independently lead the production of technical / analytical products such as articles, reports, tools and frameworks including effectively structuring complex analytical problems and high-quality qualitative and quantitative analytics.
- Manage small teams to produce technical deliverables and provide direction on the content, structure, etc.
- Provide technical and quality review of project deliverables as required.
- Significantly contribute to the development of new knowledge and approaches within given project areas, and/or begin work in some new areas.

4. Partner engagement (10%)

Establish and maintain strong relationships with a diverse range of project partners including funders and implementing partners at country and global levels.
Create and deliver crisp, impactful content and effectively adapt it for presentation to relevant audiences.
Present at external events as required.
Plan and lead engaging and productive meetings and workshops with funders and partners

Qualifications / Requirements:

Significant program leadership and management experience, expertise in global health and/or nutrition, strong communication, presentation and facilitation skills, and an ability to think strategically and entrepreneurially about R4D programs and portfolio development are required.

Excellent interpersonal skills and an approachable management style are essential to the success of the individual in this role along with the ability to work collaboratively, build-relationships, understand the perspectives of all stakeholders, problem solve, and create/foster relationships and forge compromises.

Experience working closely with the Nigerian government (federal and state level) and major international and local development partners is essential, and experience working with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Service( FMOHSC) and its parastatal agencies (e.g. National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) or National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is particularly relevant.

Relevant experience leading or directly supporting large-scale government-led reform, including designing operations and successfully implementing complex programs with multiple partners and work streams

Relevant experience collaborating with local partners and facilitating organizational design and institutional capacity development

Strong strategic thinking skills and an entrepreneurial approach

Demonstrated track record of successfully creating and fostering partnerships and generating new business and thought leadership opportunities

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience leading the development of analytical products and ensuring high quality of all deliverables

Exceptional facilitation, written and verbal communication skills; ability to prepare compelling presentations, written reports, and effectively present work/findings in international and country-level forums

Ability to effectively set priorities and handle competing time and resource demands for self and others, with an ability to adapt and manage change processes

Please note, this position will be based in Abuja Nigeria. Nigerian nationals are encouraged to apply. This position includes a local benefits package and does not include international relocation or expatriate benefits.

You’re a great fit if you are:

A highly motivated individual with demonstrated people and project leadership abilities, experience in implementing complex public policy reforms in health and other development areas..
A strong communicator with highly effective presentation and interpersonal communication skills.
Able to demonstrate effectiveness in a highly collaborative environment, complementing strong leadership with the ability to build relationships, understanding the perspectives of all stakeholders, and solve problems in a structured and creative manner.
Enthusiastic about working within a culturally diverse team.
Collaborative, approachable, and invested in enabling a positive working environment

Ideal candidates will also possess:

Undergraduate or Postgraduate degree in international development, public health, business administration, or related fields.
A minimum of 9 years of experience with an emphasis on health systems strengthening (HSS), including health financing and health policy; experience in nutrition, governance and accountability and/or other relevant human development areas also highly desired.
Demonstrated leadership showing strategic and structured thinking in designing and overseeing the execution of highly analytical projects across technical and operational aspects, leveraging findings to support action by decision-makers for ultimate impact.
Track record of building trust, forging partnerships, and conducting advocacy across a wide variety of stakeholders in multicultural environments and across public and private sector actors.
Strong writer and oral communicator who can lead the production of highly professional work products with demonstrated ability to develop and deliver compelling presentations.
Experience managing teams across multiple work streams and with ambitious, yet sometimes ambiguous, mandates.
Enthusiastic about supporting team members’ professional growth.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, open-structure, multicultural environment and effectively handle competing time and resource demands for self and others.
Fluency in oral and written English, and able to communicate in indigenous any of the major Nigerian local languages.