Health Security Workforce Retention Consultant - Nigeria

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is a global health organization that partners locally and globally to create and scale solutions to the world’s deadliest health threats. Millions of people die from preventable health threats. We collaborate to close the gap between proven, life-saving solutions and the people who need them. Since 2017, we’ve worked with governments and other partners in more than 60 countries to save millions of lives. We work toward a future where people live longer, healthier lives, communities flourish, and economies thrive. This is an ambitious vision, and it inspires us and our partners to make progress every day.

Consultancy Title: Health Security Workforce Retention Consultant

Location: Nigeria 

Duration: 10 months

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is a US-based, global public health organization with a mission to accelerate action against the world's deadliest health threats to save millions of lives. Since 2017, Resolve to Save Lives has partnered with low-and middle-income country governments, multilateral agencies, academic and other civil society partners, and communities to implement policies and programs to treat and control hypertension, reduce sodium intake, eliminate artificial trans fats, and strengthen systems for epidemic prevention.  

Resolve to Save Lives' Prevent Epidemics program works closely with Ministries of Health and national public health institutes in Africa and around the world to strengthen epidemic preparedness capacity, accelerate disease detection and response, and to use data effectively to inform action. In addition to direct partnership with governments, RTSL supports program implementation, prototypes new innovations, and ensures sustainability through increased national ownership, including domestic budget allocations. 

In Nigeria, our Prevent Epidemics country team provides technical assistance and support to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to strengthen epidemic preparedness capacity at national and subnational levels, including improving strategic planning and implementation of National or State Action Plans for Health Security, mobilizing additional resources and ensuring their effective use, developing appropriate health security legal frameworks, strengthening leadership and governance systems, and improving collaborative surveillance.

A key challenge NCDC faces is workforce attrition. RTSL and NCDC are partnering to conduct a project focused on improving health security workforce retention at national and subnational levels.

Consultancy Purpose:   

The Health Security Workforce Retention Consultant will be embedded within the NCDC to support implementation of the health security workforce retention project. This will involve conducting a comprehensive mixed-method assessment, including policy, legal, and fiscal analyses, to evaluate existing salary structures, career pathways, and the financial feasibility of proposed reforms. The assessment will also identify the key drivers of workforce attrition within NCDC at the national level, as well as among the health security workforce at the subnational level.

This project will involve learning from other contexts, including direct compensation and non-monetary retention levers from national, regional, and global public sector agencies to inform the design of context-effective strategies.

The consultant will engage closely with key government stakeholders to develop evidence-based models, strategies, and interventions tailored to the national and subnational context. This work will aim to strengthen institutional capacity for sustainable workforce retention, foster structured career growth pathways, enhance incentives (both financial and non-financial), and improve working conditions.

The ultimate objective is to support NCDC and its partners in building a resilient, motivated, and sustainably supported health security workforce in Nigeria. 

The Consultant will work within the NCDC, coordinating closely with, reporting on, and submitting all deliverables to the Head of Division, Health Security Workforce Training and Capacity Development. The Principal Advisor at RTSL based in Nigeria will manage this contract and monitor progress towards deliverables.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities: 

• Design and implement a comprehensive mixed-method assessment on health security workforce retention in close collaboration with NCDC, RTSL and relevant government stakeholders.
• Coordinate project management, including planning and timeline tracking, risk mitigation, stakeholder consultation, and technical inputs.
• Conduct in-depth desk review of relevant documents, including civil service policies and regulations, NCDC strategies and operational plans, relevant legislation, and regional or global best practices on workforce retention.
• Facilitate the collation and analysis of quantitative data on attrition rates as well as salary and benefits by cadre.
• Conduct key informant interviews with current and former NCDC and state-level health security staff to better understand motivations for retention and attrition, as well as interviews with other key government actors, health agencies such as the NACA, NPHCDA and NHIA and parastatals important for reform, such as Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Civil Service Commission etc.
• Develop evidence-based recommendations in close collaboration with NCDC to improve the workforce retention of health security staff.
• Co-create and validate final recommendations through collaborative workshops and feedback sessions with NCDC, RTSL, and key government officials.
• Contribute to the development of an implementation roadmap or action plans to operationalize approved recommendations and support long-term sustainability.
• Participate in bi-weekly coordination meetings with the NCDC and RTSL to ensure strategic alignment, monitor implementation progress, identify challenges, and support timely adjustments to project activities as necessary.
  
  

Required Qualifications: 

• Education & Background: 
• Graduate degree in human resources, management, policy, law, public health or other relevant area.

• Analytical & Solution-Oriented Thinking
• Ability to translate research findings and field insights into practical, context-sensitive policy recommendations.
• Capacity to navigate ambiguity and institutional complexity while driving towards feasible, high-impact solutions.
• Strong judgment and critical thinking in balancing technical soundness with political and operational realities.

• Project Management & Research Skills: 
• Experience in overseeing research projects end-to-end, including workplans, timelines, and staffing.
• Experience in conducting qualitative research which involves key informant interviews.
• Ability to synthesize complex information from multiple sources into clear, actionable insights. 
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.

• Sector-Specific Expertise: 
• At least 10 years of experience working on civil service issues in Nigeria, preferably at the national level.
• Experience partnering with government officials in key sectors such as health and finance.
• Basic understanding of NCDC’s mandate and organizational structure is preferred.

• Communication & Collaboration: 
• Clear and effective communicator with experience developing reports, policy briefs, proposals, and presentations for senior leadership, donors, and external stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build trust and engage effectively with high-level stakeholders, including government officials, policymakers, and development partners.
• Adept at translating technical and complex content into clear, compelling messages for diverse audiences.
  

Deliverables

S/No

Deliverable

Description

Payment Allocation

Timeline

1

Inception Report and Project Workplan

Detailed project plan outlining methodology, timeline, stakeholder map, and data collection strategy. (+ 1 month)

25%

1 month

2

Workforce Retention Assessment Report

Comprehensive report involving a review of the National Health Security Workforce Plan (2023–2027), National Policy on Health Workforce Migration (2023), analysis of other relevant policy, legal, and fiscal frameworks, quantitative assessment of workforce attrition, synthesis of qualitative insights, and benchmarking of national and international best practices.

25%

5 months

3

Stakeholder Engagement and Report Validation Workshop

Workshop facilitation materials and outputs from engagement sessions with government stakeholders to validate findings. (+10 months)

25%

2 months

4

Final Strategy and Implementation Roadmap

Final report with an action plan, roles, sustainability measures, and funding recommendations, lessons learned for replication, including 1 policy brief for high-level stakeholders’ engagement

25%

2 months

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 or hiring team will contact you if your qualifications match the role.

RTSL believes its programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We encourage applications from and provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, organ donor status, or status as a veteran. Resolve to Save Lives complies with all applicable US EEO laws.