The Cardiovascular Health (CVH) unit at RTSL provides technical assistance in developing cardiovascular disease prevention programs to help countries improve their people's heart health. Working with our partners to improve the control of high blood pressure, reduce salt intake, and eliminate transfat from the global food supply, the CVH team has helped save countless lives from cardiovascular disease.

Position Purpose:

The Senior Technical Advisor (STA), Hypertension Control, is a full-time role based in the RTSL Nigeria Country Office with frequent travel to the field. This role provides technical leadership and coordination of efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease through strengthening large scale hypertension prevention, care, and treatment through the implementation of the Nigeria Hypertension Control Initiative (NHCI) in the country. The role works closely with the Government to increase access to high-quality hypertension treatment services across the country. This work includes developing and supporting the implementation of relevant guidance documents, tools, and policies, while advocating for increased funding, and improved access to high-quality medications and basic diagnostic technologies, all aimed at enabling national scale-up of hypertension treatment. The Senior Technical Advisor, Hypertension Control reports to the Principal Advisor & Program Manager of the Cardiovascular Health Program (CVH) within the RTSL Nigeria Country Office. The STA, Hypertension Control will also work closely with the technical counterpart, the global Senior Technical Advisor, Hypertension Control and will collaborate with other RTSL CVH/ Hypertension Control program staff. This is a 12-month fixed-term employment position.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Program Strategy & Technical Leadership

• Contribute to overall program strategy, lead technical implementation, operational management, and address programmatic issues for the Nigeria Hypertension Control Initiative including clinical and operational training, service delivery, continuous quality improvement and policy development to strengthen hypertension management at the primary health care level.

• Coordinate the development and execution of RTSL Nigeria hypertension program strategy, budget, workplans and activities in collaboration with RTSL HQ.

Data & Quality Improvement Systems

• Lead the establishment, maintenance and continuous quality improvement processes within the NHCI and support the development of sustainable team structures and processes in NHCI states.

• Support the development and implementation of digital systems for the collection, collation, analysis, and use of clinical and programmatic hypertension data using standardized recording and reporting platforms within a nationally approved information and data management system.

• Support program partners, including government agencies, in strengthening and scaling up use of electronic health data collection systems to support program monitoring and quality improvement activities.

Partnership & Coordination

• Develop, deliver, and assess health care worker mentoring and formal trainings in line with Government and international (eg, WHO) policies (such as the task shifting, task sharing policy and other relevant national policies).

• Oversee partner implementation and foster collaboration while streamlining coordination with other development partners, networks and alliances working on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), particularly, hypertension control interventions.

Policy & Advocacy Support

• In close collaboration with the Senior Technical Advisor, Policy and Advocacy and the embedded Principal Advisor, CVH, support the FMOHSW, NPHCDA, NHIA and other government departments and agencies in the development of relevant guidance documents, toolkits and policies that facilitate enabling environment for scale-up and sustainability of hypertension treatment services.

• Coordinate with partners to deliver monthly reports on hypertension treatment activities, ensuring timely submission of high-quality data and generate evidence to inform the development and review of the CVH advocacy and communications plan to be used to build support for desired policy changes and provision of quality hypertension treatment services.

• Support advocacy efforts to improve government allocation and funding for NCD prevention and control activities in the country and lead efforts to improve funding of insurance systems and inclusion of adequate coverage for hypertension and other chronic NCD services in those schemes.

Technical Support, Capacity Building & Knowledge Sharing

• Collaborate with the Ministries of Health at national and sub-national levels as well as other relevant governmental agencies and other stakeholders in quantification, forecasting, and procurement of all the necessary commodities and equipment, and the needed allocation of human resources necessary for high quality implementation of the NHCI at the project sites.

• Support the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW) and other stakeholders in undertaking relevant surveillance and research activities related to generating the necessary evidence for policy making (including the WHO STEPS survey, UATH hypertension study, NIH HIV/Hypertension study and any others as may arise).

• Lead initiatives and explore collaborations to promote the integration of hypertension care and treatment into existing health programs in the country (including HIV, maternal health and other NCDs).

• Engage partner, funders, and stakeholders for national scale-up of HIV and hypertension integrated care in Nigeria.

• Identify other opportunities for promoting and integrating hypertension treatment as a clinically indicated component of other disease control programs.

• Explore opportunities for sub-national and national scale up and expansion of National Hypertension Control Initiative (NHCI).

Required Qualifications:

Education:

• MBBS and / or MPH

Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in implementing public health programs, with knowledge of primary health care service delivery models in Nigeria.

• Experience providing technical support, training, and related capacity building, especially within the Nigeria health sector.

• Experience working within the national and sub-national government health ecosystem.

Skills & abilities:

• Strong analytical skills and ability to establish systems for data collection, analysis and use for program improvement and policy development

• Proven expertise in quality improvement and research methods

• Knowledge of drug supply and related issues

• Well-developed skills in program design, planning, and implementation and in policy advocacy

• Ability to foster, maintain and manage partnerships, collaborate closely with others and contribute to teamwork

• Proven strategic thinking and problem-solving skills

• Results-oriented and adaptable

• Highly effective communication and diplomacy skills

Other:

• Able to travel to project sites and convenings in Nigeria and internationally, if/as needed

RTSL accepts and reviews applications on an ongoing basis. We are grateful for your interest in our work and for your application. Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications, we are unable to respond to every applicant. Someone from our talent team will contact you if your qualifications match the role.