Country Director, Côte d'Ivoire

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.

CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work in conjunction with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.

At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work: 

CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture.

The Country Director will lead CHAI's global health program, driving both program design and execution. She (He) will coordinate across country operations teams, market shaping initiatives, and global program management. At the same time, she (he) will help shape the long-term vision for this CHAI Côte d'Ivoire development, working with governments, donors, and regional, global programs and senior leadership to build partnerships, and chart a path for lasting impact.

The primary purpose of the Country Director is to conceive, develop, and lead a complex portfolio of projects to support the country's health programs in alignment with CHAI Global approved strategy.

We are seeking a highly motivated, entrepreneurial individual with outstanding problem-solving abilities and communication skills that share in CHAI's mission and values. The Country Director must be able to function independently, manage staff, and have a strong commitment to excellence.

Externally, the Country Director will engage with West & Central Africa regional, national, and provincial health authorities to support health system strengthening.

This role reports to the Regional Director, West & Central Africa and the position will be based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Lead CHAI Côte d'Ivoire program office, ensuring strong execution across Global Health, market shaping, and country-level programs (e.g., governance, measurement).
• Lead donor engagement, proposal development, program reporting, ensuring timely, high-quality communication and accountability to funders, and mobilizing resources for lead exposure programming.
• Coordinate across multiple country project teams to ensure coherent strategy design and effective implementation.
• Build and maintain partnerships with governments, NGOs, multilaterals, suppliers, and other stakeholders to advance the global health agenda.
• Support the design and delivery of governance initiatives at the country level, working closely with Ministries of Health, Finance, and other agencies.
• Manage multi-stakeholder projects and ensure high-quality, on-time delivery of outputs.
• Represent CHAI externally with donors, technical partners, and international fora.
• Mentor, manage, and support staff within a matrixed team.
• Manage the country operations, including necessary compliance processes as required by the laws of the country.
• Lead country-focused fundraising efforts to support the execution of high-impact transformational health programs.
• Other responsibilities as needed. 

• Master's degree in a relevant field plus at least 10 years' work experience.
• Minimum 5 years of directly related professional experience leading management or implementation of health programs in the francophone region of Africa, with a strong focus on strengthening health systems.
• Demonstrated experience in global health, environmental health, or policy/regulatory strengthening in low- and middle-income countries.
• Exceptional analytical (qualitative and quantitative) and communication (written and verbal) skills.
• Strong track record of managing complex projects and multi-stakeholder teams in dynamic environments.
• Demonstrated experience in grant management and fundraising.
• Experience leading staff and building high-performing teams.
• Ability to navigate complex government processes and influence decision-making collaboratively.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Willingness to travel frequently.
• Commitment to humility, resourcefulness, tenacity, and CHAI's values.
• Able to read, write and speak French fluently. English proficiency is an advantage.

• Experience in the private sector (strategy consulting, investment banking, pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostic, chemical industries) or similarly fast-paced, results-oriented environments.
• Demonstrated success in donor relationship management.
• Experience designing and conduct monitoring, evaluation, and research activities.

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