Career Opportunity: Senior Technical Adviser to the HCH / SDIU Stand-Up Lead
Kainuwa Sustainable Development Foundation (KSDF)
Career Opportunity: Senior Technical Adviser to the HCH / SDIU Stand-Up Lead
About Us
The Kainuwa Sustainable Development Foundation (KSDF) was founded in 2019 out of a deep commitment to social equity and human development. Registered formally in 2025, KSDF is a non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to improving human capital and expanding access to essential resources across underserved communities through community-driven development work.
Role Overview
Position Title: Senior Technical Adviser to the Honorable Commissioner for Health (HCH) / SDIU Stand-Up Lead
Location: Gombe State, Nigeria
Employment Type: Full-Time / Contract
Target Start Date: Immediate
The Gombe State Delivery and Insights Unit (SDIU) is an initiative designed to strengthen the state’s existing health-system architecture. It connects data, management decisions, coordinated implementation, follow-up, and escalation into a consistent, government-led decision-to-action mechanism.
As the Senior Technical Adviser, you will serve as the principal technical and management adviser to the HCH during the establishment and initial operating phase of the SDIU. You will facilitate coordination across core ministry departments, state health agencies (GSPHCDA, HSMB, GoHealth/GSCHMA, GODMA/GoPharma), Local Government Areas (LGAs), and development partners—establishing a sustainable, government-owned operating routine.
Key Responsibilities
1. Establish the SDIU Operating Model
Translate approved SDIU architecture into functional operating arrangements, review calendars, standard templates, and clear decision pathways.
Establish effective interfaces between the Top Management Team (TMT), Delivery Management Unit (DMU), Delivery and Insights Unit (DIU), existing technical committees, and implementation agencies.
Ensure SDIU routines complement—rather than duplicate—existing planning, data-review, supportive-supervision, or government mechanisms.
Develop, test, and refine Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for decision preparation, performance review, action tracking, escalation, and closure.
2. Support HCH-Led Top Management Team (TMT)
Partner with the HCH, TMT Secretary, and Senior Programme Analyst to curate action-oriented agendas that mandate executive leadership decision-making.
Drive TMT meeting discipline, focusing conversations strictly on decision-making rather than passive updates.
Ensure every agenda item explicitly defines the core problem, supporting evidence, required action/decision, accountable owner, and expected outcome.
Assist the HCH in routing technical matters to relevant existing committees while keeping executive focus on strategic interventions and unresolved cross-agency bottlenecks.
3. Strengthen Cross-Institutional Coordination
Resolve inter-agency dependencies across primary healthcare (PHC), secondary care, health financing, commodities, human resources for health (HRH), planning, and data systems.
Direct Management Advisors to facilitate government delivery rather than substituting for agency program managers.
Align Execution Grant actions, Annual Operational Plan (AOP) priorities, and partner-supported interventions directly with core government priorities.
4. Build Delivery-Management & Institutional Capability
Coach the TMT Secretary and government counterparts in structured problem-solving, review preparation, action management, and escalation.
Ensure every partner-supported role maintains a named government counterpart alongside documented knowledge-transfer milestones.
Assess routine maturity, leading phased reductions in embedded technical assistance as capabilities transition fully to government ownership.
5. Drive Data & Evidence Utilization
Collaborate with the Head of DIU to base all TMT strategic discussions on validated evidence.
Translate complex analytical findings into clear, actionable executive management choices.
Promote rigorous data triangulation across conflicting or disparate information sources.
Primary Deliverables & Key Performance Indicators
Primary DeliverablesPerformance Indicators (KPIs)
• Operationalized SDIU SOP and review calendar.• % of TMT agenda items resulting in a documented decision, owner, and deadline.
• TMT agenda and decision-preparation protocol.• % of escalated cross-agency issues resolved within agreed timelines.
• Monthly synthesis report of cross-agency bottlenecks.• Measurable reduction in repeatedly overdue cross-agency actions.
• Quarterly SDIU operating-model performance review.• Successful, progressive transfer of DMU routines to government counterparts.
• Capability-transfer plan with government counterparts.• Full integration of partner-supported routines into formal government structures.
• Drawdown and institutionalization strategy recommendations.
Qualifications & Competencies
Experience: Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible senior leadership experience across public-sector health systems, health-sector management, public transformation, delivery units, strategic management consulting, or development programs.
Government Engagement: Proven background collaborating directly with high-level government leadership, state ministries, or executive stakeholders.
Domain Knowledge: Deep understanding of Nigerian health-sector institutions, state-level delivery architectures, and public administration dynamics.
Leadership & Facilitation: Proven ability to manage complex, politically sensitive cross-agency topics, coordinate multidisciplinary teams, and drive consensus.
Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of translating complex analytical data into executive decision briefings.
Method of Application
Qualified candidates are invited to submit their application package online through the official Kainuwa Sustainable Development Foundation recruitment portal.
Note: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
