Country-Based Public Financial Management (PFM) Specialist (AfCDC)- 10 Posts at Africa CDC
Organization Information
- Position:
Country-based Public Financial Management (PFM) Specialist
- Reports
to: Head of Africa CDC PFM and Lusaka agenda department at HQ in Addis
Ababa
- Directorate/Department/Organ:
Africa CDC
- Division:
- Number
of Direct Reports:
- Number
of Indirect Reports:
- Job
Grade: P4
- Number
of Positions: 10
- Contract
Type: Fixed Term- Secondment
- Location:
Africa CDC Country Offices in the 10 African priority countries– embedded
within the Ministry of Health
Purpose of Job
The purpose of this position is to strengthen the PFM
systems that underpin health financing in AU Member States. The PFM Specialist
will ensure that health financing is not treated as a discretionary or
donor-driven expenditure, but rather as a sovereign investment central to
stability, security, and prosperity. The role will consider models of health
financing including publicly socialized health insurance issues and the major
questions of strategic purchasing. By embedding within both the Ministry of Health
and working closely with the Ministry of Finance, the PFM Specialist will
provide direct support to government counterparts and various stakeholders,
ensuring that political commitments are translated into concrete fiscal
reforms, resource allocations, and implementation frameworks.
The role combines technical, strategic, and political
economy dimensions. It is technical in that the PFM Specialist will support
budget formulation, expenditure tracking, fiscal space analysis, and execution
processes. It is strategic in that the position will help design national
health financing roadmaps aligned with Africa CDC’s framework and the outcomes
of the Addis–Accra–Kigali processes. It is political in that the PFM Specialist
will navigate inter-ministerial dynamics, engage parliamentarians and civil
society, and facilitate accountability to the highest levels of government,
including reporting to the AU Assembly through Africa CDC’s continental
scorecard.
Ultimately, the PFM Specialist’s purpose is to anchor Africa
CDC’s financing vision within the heart of national systems, so that health
budgets are predictable, well-managed, and increasingly domestically financed.
By doing so, the Specialist will contribute to expanding fiscal space,
strengthening governance, and building the resilience and sovereignty of
African health systems.
Main Functions
The role of the country-based Public Financial Management
Specialist is situated within this decisive moment. Each specialist will be
deployed as a practical driver of this transformation, embedded within
Ministries of Health, and closely working with Ministries of Finance,
Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs),
Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Africa CDC Regional Coordination Centers
(RCCs) and Donors alike to operationalize the principles of sovereignty, sustainability,
and accountability in public financial management in the health area. In
essence, the specialist becomes the bridge between AU guidance through Africa
CDC on the continental vision and the realities of national systems, helping to
ensure that health financing is secured by African leadership, resources, and
innovation, and not hostage to external unpredictability. Doing so will also
strengthen resilience against health emergencies.
Specific Responsibilities
The Public Financial Management Specialist will be
responsible for a wide spectrum of activities that span policy advisory,
systems strengthening, capacity building, and stakeholder coordination.
1. Strategic Advisory and Technical Support
- Provide
high-level policy advice to Ministries of Health and Finance on
integrating Rethinking Africa Health Financing in a New Era priorities
into national health financing strategies and budget frameworks.
- Guide
fiscal space analysis, health budget prioritization, and medium-term
expenditure frameworks (MTEFs), ensuring alignment with national
development and macro-fiscal policies.
- Support
compliance with the Abuja Declaration commitment of allocating at least
fifteen percent of national budgets to health.
- Serve
as a trusted advisor in negotiations between Health, Finance, and Planning
ministries to ensure budget allocations are evidence-based, equitable, and
sustainable. Also serve as a trusted advisor to support negotiations with
external financing.
2. Public Financial Management (PFM) Systems Strengthening
- Support
the design and implementation of country-specific PFM reforms to improve
efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in health spending.
- Strengthen
budget formulation, execution, and monitoring processes in the health
sector, with emphasis on program-based budgeting and timely disbursement.
- Develop
or refine budget classification systems to better track health allocations
and expenditures.
- •Institutionalize
health expenditure tracking systems, including National Health Accounts
and public expenditure reviews, and ensure they inform policy
decision-making.
- Advise
on digital PFM tools for health budget management, including digital
expenditure tracking
- Bridge
technical analysis with strategic insights on how PFM interacts with
models of financing including insurance, strategic purchasing, and
accountability.
3. Domestic Resource Mobilization and Innovative Financing
- Identify
and promote opportunities to increase domestic health revenues through
improved tax policy, earmarked levies, social health insurance schemes,
and public–private partnerships.
- Support
the costing of health sector strategies and investment cases to strengthen
budget negotiations.
- Facilitate
the design and adoption of innovative financing instruments, such as
solidarity levies, earmarked taxes, diaspora bonds, and blended finance
facilities, ensuring they are embedded within national PFM systems for
sustainability.
4. Governance, Accountability, Transparency, and
Anti-Corruption
- Strengthen
audit systems, procurement oversight, and financial reporting in the
health sector.
- Promote
citizen engagement and parliamentary oversight in health budget processes,
reinforcing transparency and accountability.
- Develop
and support the use of dashboards, scorecards, and other monitoring tools
aligned with Africa CDC’s continental accountability framework.
- Enhance
anti-fraud measures and financial oversight in collaboration with
ministries, parliaments, and civil society organizations.
5. Coordination, Partnerships, and Capacity Building
- Act as
Africa CDC’s focal point on PFM within the country, ensuring coordination
between Africa CDC HQ, the country office, national ministries, and
external stakeholders.
- Harmonize
health financing support with development partners to reduce transaction
costs and strengthen alignment with national priorities.
- Design
and deliver capacity-building programmes for government officials,
including training on gender-responsive and equity-oriented budgeting.
- Serve
as an embedded catalyst within national institutions, reinforcing local
ownership and leadership rather than creating parallel structures.
Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience
- Master’s
degree in public financial management, Economics, Public Policy, Public
Administration, Finance, or a related field with 10 years of progressively
responsible experience in public financial management reform, preferably
with a focus on the health sector in Africa .
- Bachelor’s
degree in public financial management, Economics, Public Policy, Public
Administration, Finance, or a related field with 12 years of
progressively responsible experience in public financial management
reform, preferably with a focus on the health sector in Africa .
- Demonstrated
experience in budget formulation, execution, and monitoring; fiscal space
analysis; and expenditure tracking and high-level reports for senior
government and AU leadership.
- Experience
working with ministries of health, ministries of finance, international
financial institutions and/or development partners on PFM issues.
- Knowledge
of AU health financing frameworks and familiarity with Africa CDC’s
strategic priorities is an asset.
Required Skills
The Public Financial Management Specialist must demonstrate
advanced functional competencies that directly respond to the demands of health
financing reform in Africa, including areas such as the following:
- Strong
analytical capacity in public finance and macro-fiscal analysis, with the
ability to conduct rigorous assessments that inform health financing
strategies.
- Proven
expertise in program-based budgeting and expenditure reviews, including
the ability to design, build institutional capacities and support the
implementation of systems that improve the efficiency and accountability
of public spending.
- Familiarity
with health financing policies and systems in Africa, with a clear
understanding of how PFM reforms can be tailored to different national
contexts including models of subsidized insurance
- Understanding
of health financing models of publicly socialized health insurance.
Including the major questions of strategic purchasing, actuarial analysis
and expenditures tracking
- Health
financing governance arrangements including societal dialogue and
participatory approaches to defining benefits and contributions
- Ability
to institutionalize expenditure tracking mechanisms—such as National
Health Accounts and public expenditure reviews—that withstand technical
scrutiny and support transparent oversight.
- Knowledge
of innovative and blended financing mechanisms, including solidarity
levies, earmarked taxes, health bonds, and facilities that mobilize
- Literacy
of digital PFM Systems