Health Budget Advocacy Advisor at Options Consultancy Services Limited

Options is a leading provider of technical expertise, short-term consultancy and long-term management services in the health and the social sectors. Established in 1992, Options has evolved into a dynamic organisation with a broad portfolio of work that includes over 900 assignments in 50 countries. We work with a wide range of clients that includes donors, national governments, the private sector, academic institutions, and civil society.

Evidence for Action (E4A) is a programme managed by Options Consultancy Services and funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) until 2016 to improve maternal and newborn survival through a combined focus on evidence, advocacy and accountability across six sub-Saharan African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. The E4A consortium brings together experts from academic institutions, internationally recognized advocacy and accountability coalitions and civil society organizations. It works through local institutions in each of the six selected countries which hosts a small E4A Country Team.

In each country and at a regional level, E4A has launched a locally driven programme under an umbrella E4A regional advocacy campaign known as MamaYe! The campaign has a clear focus on survival and positive stories rather than a resigned social acceptance of death in pregnancy and childbirth which is common throughout Africa.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the advocacy work, has committed resources to expand the reach of the E4A program and enable existing and effective models of change to be scaled-up, improving maternal and newborn survival in Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia.

We are looking for a Health Budget Advocacy Advisor to lead health financing research and advocacy.

Job Title: Health Budget Advocacy Advisor

Location: Abuja

Job Summary

• As the Health Budget Advocacy Advisor you will be responsible for leading technical inputs and support on health budget and resource tracking and advocacy for the E4A team in Nigeria.
• Responsibilities will be directly aimed at advocating for MNCH/health budget allocation, release and expenditure and that such evidence is regularly tracked and shared annually at national and state levels. The role may involve carrying out some primary research, but will focus primarily on synthesising, packaging and disseminating existing evidence, conducting secondary analysis of existing data, and making sure evidence is communicated for advocacy and strengthening accountability to different stakeholders, including transparent national and state health budget release and expenditure
• You will report to the Country Director and work closely with other members of the country team supported by the host agency, and Options’ head office team members, in particular the Technical Support Unit (TSU). You will work closely with the team in Nigeria including the National Coordinator, Communications Advisor, MamaYe Lead, Advocacy Coordinator, State Coordinators, and Health Correspondent.

Job Responsibilities
Coordinate budget and resource tracking work for E4A in Nigeria and regionally:

• Identify organisations and opportunities for collaboration in budget and resource tracking to analyse and communicate current evidence on government health and MNH expenditure and resource allocation at both state and national levels.
• Work with local coalitions or groups working on budget tracking to use findings for evidence driven advocacy and to strengthen transparency of results.
• Use results of budget tracking exercise to effectively illustrate where blockages, leakages and delays occur and to advocate for better and more timely allocation and utilization of resources.
• Assess timeliness and quantity of disbursement of decentralised funds in our focus states.
• Support and expand regional Africa Health Budget Network efforts and activities in Nigeria, in collaboration with other members of the E4A team.

Facilitate capacity building on health financing and budget tracking:

• Work with partners to ensure functional broad based budget tracking committees at national and state level and that members are in a position to advocate/influence the budget cycle
• Develop training materials and conduct trainings for diverse stakeholders including civil society and media to increase the skills among CSOs and the media for monitoring and tracking health planning and expenditures, particularly at state level.

Packing and dissemination of budget tracking results:

• Report and package key findings in different formats, and support the dissemination of results to increase transparency and action at state and national levels
• Support and work with the E4A advocacy team to develop targeted evidence-based advocacy messaging using State budget tracking findings for the increased availability of resources for MNH.
• Support the advocacy team and MamaYe campaign lead to share budget tracking results with local organisations and accountability mechanisms, media networks and journalists, communities and MamaYe activists to catalyse action

Lead evidence-gathering and updating on health financing evidence and data in Nigeria:

• Identify local, national and international financial commitments on MNH in Nigeria and assess progress to achieving these promises.

Person Specification
Essential:

• Degree in Health Economics or a related subject
• Extensive experience in health economics, budget and resource tracking in Nigeria
• Strong experience in using and communicating evidence effectively to different stakeholders to better inform MNH planning, decision making, advocacy and accountability efforts
• An excellent understanding of the Nigeria political, cultural, economic and social context and health financing landscape in Nigeria.
• Self-starter, can work independently and as part of a team
• Excellent written, online and oral communication skills
• Fluent in English

Desirable:

• Masters degree in health economics or public health
• Training others on budget tracking and advocacy

Others:

• You have extensive experience and knowledge of health financing and budget tracking.
• You have very good knowledge and understanding of the Nigerian health system structure and health financing processes including budget cycles.
• You have an understanding of the political, social, cultural and economic landscape in Nigeria
• You have previous experience in training others on budget and resource tracking.
• You are passionate about maternal and newborn health issues.
• You are a strong writer, communicator and connector.

Remuneration
Commensurate with experience

Application Closing Date
8th January, 2015

Duration
January 2015 - March 2017

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should email their CV and covering letter to: [email protected]

Click here to download Role Profile

Note

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview