Program Officer, Health Systems Strengthening and Primary Healthcare (PHC) at Gates Foundation in Abuja

Job description

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 Africa team works to enable the foundation’s ambitious goals of scaling evidence-based interventions that target a range of disease and socio-economic conditions which are endemic across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The team implements 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 team also works closely with key continental and regional organizations to help accelerate implementation across multiple geographies. Application Deadline: 28/11/2026 Your Role The Program Officer (PO) will: Support the design, development and implementation of Primary Health Care (PHC) reforms across both foundational reforms and innovation agenda pillars at the country level (federal and sub-nationals) including the Nigeria Integrated Health (NIH) Model and State Delivery and Intelligence Units (SDIU) Support PHC reforms that help Nigeria and other countries “spend well” on PHC by reforming financing fundamentals, delivery platforms, getting funds more directly to facilities or ‘local’ levels, enabling autonomy over the use of these funds and extending recourse and decision making over supplies and human resources Support the operationalization and institutionalization of PHC functionality and use of data for decision-making and accountability Strategically develop and manage one or more portfolios of grants and contracts requiring high-level grant management skills, monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the outcomes are achieved Develop key partnerships to expand and scale health impact at the country level Have a very strong country led focus and will engage with our country teams to ensure excellent partnerships, shared goals and joint vision Foster exceptional relationships with key Government stake holders at Ministerial level in Nigeria, using excellent communication skills with deep technical knowledge to support Ministries of Health (MoH) etc, to embrace the PHC strategy and create impact and better utilization of PHC services in Nigeria. This position reports to the Deputy Director – HSS and PHC, in the Nigeria Country Office. What You'll Do This is a significant role in championing the PHC strategy across both Innovation and Foundational pillars and fostering unparalleled levels of support and partnership from the Nigeria Country Office (NCO). The PO will work closely with all health sub-teams and NCO to support health and PHC systems reforms. Ensure that the results framework is embedded across our HSS and PHC pillars and is fostered and jointly owned by relevant sub-teams and Program Support Teams (PSTs). Facilitate development of annual investment plans and budgets, develop, modify, and implement strategy at the national and sub-national levels. Work with NCO leadership, sub-teams and PSTs as requested to address cross-cutting issues and improve functions and performance. Accountable for the identification and assessment of key portfolio risks, and the development and management of mitigation/contingency plans at the portfolio level. Manage partnerships and grantee relationships to