Lead, Health Systems Resilience and Emergency Response

Amref Health Africa was founded in 1957 and has since grown to become the largest African-based international health development organization, currently implementing more than 150 programs which directly reach more than 20 million people across 35 countries in Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Amref has fully-fledged offices in Ethiopia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal, South Sudan, and Zambia; eleven advocacy and fundraising offices in Europe and North America; and a staff complement of over 1,500.

The Ethiopia Country office is registered in 2002 and operational for more than two decades. Currently, we are operational in all regions of Ethiopia with more than 300 staffs and wide portfolio of PHC, RMNCAYH-N, Youth Development, WASH and DPC including NTDs.

Our vision is to bring about ‘Lasting health change in Africa’, by supporting Ethiopia’s vision of healthy, productive and prosperous society.  We believe that the power to transform Africa’s health lies within its communities, and therefore strive to ensure that health systems are not only functional but that communities are empowered to hold these systems accountable for the delivery of quality and affordable health care.

ABOUT INTEGRATED HEALTH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING (HSS) PROJECT

Integrated Health System Strengthening (IHSS) Project is a Gates Foundation (GF) investment co-designed with Amref Health Africa and MOH to support the design and implementation of a platform mechanism/s for health systems strengthening for primary health care (PHC) in Ethiopia. The focus of this investment is primarily at the subnational level (regional and district) with links to national efforts. The design will focus on integration of key HSS pillars – e.g., Human Resources for Health (HRH), Health Care Financing (HCF), Data, and Leadership and Governance – to support PHC administrators and managers toward optimizing health systems for improved service delivery.

JOB PURPOSE

Amref is seeking a competent professional to lead the health systems resilience and emergency response Initiative through the IHSS.  The Lead will spearhead the design, coordination, and implementation of Public Health resilience and Emergency Response component.  The role ensures that the IHSS investment implemented by Amref contribute to a resilient, risk-informed, and shock-responsive primary health care system across program implementation regions.

The Health System Resilience and Emergency Response Lead will provide technical, and operational leadership to strengthen emergency preparedness and response (EPRP), develop and follow protocols to respond to emergencies, support rapid mobilization of flexible funding, and ensure continuity of essential health services during crises. This position bridges development and humanitarian action, ensuring that essential health services—especially RMNCH—continue during crises and that local systems become progressively more shock-responsive and self-reliant, contributing directly to Ethiopia’s journey toward a resilient and equitable primary health care system.  The Lead serves as principal focal point for integrating resilience and emergency response into the health system. By linking preparedness, response, and recovery, the Lead ensures that iHSS-supported regions can withstand shocks, sustain essential services, and recover faster from crises.

The role requires frequent travel to regions and woredas to actively engage with the regions at subnational levels and ensure health system resilience. Hence, the position holder is expected to have an in-depth understanding of the technical, programmatic and operational context especially at sub-national level and tactics of addressing emergency related issues as they arise through the project’s and Amref’s structure, as required.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Health System Preparedness and Resilience Building

• Coordinate with national-level PHEM or Health Cluster mechanisms to develop  the public health emergency management (PHEM) capacities within the health system to enhance the regional level governance and leadership capacities and enabling them to manage and lead with accountability
• Design and oversee capacity-building programs for Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs), on early detection, response planning, and coordination mechanisms.
• Build institutional capacity of RHBs and WoHOs to integrate emergency planning and budgeting into their annual operational plans.
• Strengthen surveillance systems, data use, and early warning mechanisms through continuous mentorship and technical support.
• Support the establishment and/or functionality of Emergency Preparedness and Response Technical Working Groups at regional and woreda levels.

B. Emergency Response and Recovery Coordination

Develop and operationalize a structured Fund Activation Protocol,

• Defining eligibility criteria, decision thresholds, fund release procedures, and reporting timelines.
• Establish accountability and transparency mechanisms, including documentation standards, expenditure tracking tools, and performance audits.
• Ensure compliance with Amref and donor financial regulations, while enabling agile response during emergencies.
• Conduct periodic reviews of fund utilization to strengthen governance and learning for future crises.

Crisis Activation and Rapid Response

• Lead the activation of the Emergency Fund to address emerging crises promptly, ensuring rapid deployment of resources.
• Provide technical assistance to RHBs and WoHOs in mounting context-specific responses to disease outbreaks, conflicts, or natural disasters.
• Coordinate with the MoH, RHBs, and partners to ensure continuity of essential RMNCH, nutrition, and PHC services during crises.
• Support the mobilization and management of emergency response teams and mobile health units in affected woredas.

Operational and Financial Oversight

• Manage financial planning and accountability of emergency-related expenditures, ensuring donor compliance and transparency.
• Monitor the performance and utilization of the contingency fund and produce regular financial and narrative reports.
• Ensure efficient resource allocation between short-term response needs and long-term resilience goals.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

• Oversee the design and implementation of M&E frameworks for emergency interventions, tracking performance indicators such as service continuity, timeliness of response, and coordination effectiveness.
• Ensure regular reporting to Amref leadership, and the Gates Foundation on emergency response results and lessons.
• Facilitate post-crisis reviews to identify systems gaps and propose recovery or adaptation measures.

Recovery and Resilience Integration

• Support RHBs in post-crisis recovery planning, including rehabilitation of health facilities, restoration of HMIS, and resumption of community health outreach.
• Ensure that recovery actions strengthen long-term resilience and do not remain purely reactive.

• Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Systems Management, or related field.
• At least 8–10 years of progressive experience in health systems resilience , emergency response, or humanitarian health programming,
• Demonstrated experience managing donor-funded programs and flexible funding mechanisms.

Excellent communication and analytical reporting skills in English and Amharic

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Amref Health Africa does not require applicants to pay any money at whatever stage of the recruitment and selection process and has not retained any agent in connection with recruitment. Although Amref may use different job boards from time to time to further spread its reach for applicants, all open vacancies are published on our website under the Vacancies page and on our official social media pages. Kindly also note that official emails from Amref Health Africa will arrive from an @amref.org address.

Amref Health Africa is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Amref Health Africa is is dedicated to diversity and is an equal-opportunity employer with a non-smoking environment policy.