Principal Technical Officer-Public Financial Management- Lusaka Agenda (PFM-LA) - (AfCDC)

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Organization Information

Position: Principal Technical Officer-Public Financial Management- Lusaka Agenda( PFM-LA)
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: 5
Contract Type: Appointment for Limited Duration (ALD)
Location: Abuja, Nigeria ; Libreville, Gabon; Nairobi,Kenya; Lusaka,Zambia; Addis Abeba, Ethiopia (Northern RCC) 

Purpose of Job

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is an autonomous health institution of the African Union (AU) mandated to strengthen the capacity of Member States to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats. 

In response to an African Union Assembly decision to “Support the establishment of an accountability mechanism within the AU architecture to ensure the effective implementation of the Lusaka Agenda”, and noting the centrality of public financial management systems in moving towards Universal Health Coverage, the Africa CDC has established a Public Financial Management (PFM) and Lusaka Agenda (LA) Division to advance, in collaboration with partners, health reforms in line with the five shifts of the Lusaka Agenda i.e. (1) strengthened primary health care (PHC); (2) domestically financed health services; (3) equity in health outcomes; (4) strategic and operational coherence; and (5) coordinated approaches to products, research and development (R&D), and regional manufacturing 

The establishment of the Division is timely, particularly in light of the sharp decline in official development assistance experienced in 2025 and the growing imperative for sustainable and domestically financed health systems. The Division will play a pivotal role in advancing the Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) agenda, the new way forward of the Africa CDC.

Main Functions

The Principal Technical Officer (PFM-LA) will translate Africa CDC’s vision on public financial management reform into regional action. They will also coordinate with in-country PFM Specialists to advance country-specific PFM and Lusaka Agenda reform priorities, while strengthening collaboration between Ministries of Health and Ministries of Finance. The role will also facilitate engagement with Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), development partners, and civil society organizations to promote alignment around national and regional health financing priorities. In addition, the position will promote regional learning, peer exchange, and knowledge sharing on public financial management for health and Lusaka Agenda related reforms, contributing to greater coherence and consistency in reform efforts within RCCs.

Specific Responsibilities

The (PFM-LA) will be responsible for a wide range of activities that span policy advisory, systems strengthening, capacity building, stakeholder coordination and research and knowledge translation.

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 serves as a trusted advisor to support negotiations with donors and other partners.

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.
•  Support the strengthening of budget formulation, execution, and monitoring processes in the health sector, with emphasis on program-based budgeting and timely disbursement.
• Support the development or refinement of budget classification systems to better track health allocations and expenditures.
• Support the institutionalization of health expenditure tracking systems, including National Health Accounts and public expenditure reviews, and ensure they inform policy decision-making.
• Support the strengthening of accountability systems, including audit systems, procurement oversight, and financial reporting, citizen engagement and parliamentary oversight in health budget processes.
• Bridge technical analysis with strategic insights on how PFM interacts with models of financing, including insurance, strategic purchasing, and accountability.
• Coordinate with all relevant stakeholders on PFM and LA within the RCC
• Facilitate regional PFM knowledge exchange and peer learning.

3.    Lusaka Agenda

•  In collaboration with in-country PFM Experts and partners, support the design and implementation of Lusaka Agenda-related reforms corresponding to the five LA shifts
• Track the implementation progress of national LA roadmaps within the RCC
•  Collate country-level LA data and reports for regional monitoring and reporting.

4.    Regional Coordinating Centre Support

• Support the preparation of relevant periodic technical reports and ensure adherence to Africa CDC and donor reporting formats and timelines
• Provide capacity-building and on-the-job training to RCC staff and partners on PFM topics, including budgeting, expenditure tracking, reporting, and use of financial systems.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

Master’s degree in Public Financial Management, Economics, Public Policy, Public Administration, Finance, or a related field with at least ten (10) years of progressively responsible professional experience in public financial management reform, preferably with a focus on the health sector in Africa, with 6 years at an expert level and 3 years at a supervisory level.
OR

Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Public Policy, Public Administration, Finance, or a related field with at least twelve (12) years of progressively responsible professional experience in public financial management reform, preferably with a focus on the health sector in Africa,with 6 years at an expert level and 3 years at a supervisory level.

• Budget formulation, execution, and monitoring, including engagement with government budgeting processes
• Fiscal space analysis, public expenditure reviews, and expenditure tracking to inform policy and strategic decision-making
• Preparing analytical briefs and high-level reports for senior government officials and institutional leadership
•  Working with Ministries of Health, Ministries of Finance, International Financial Institutions, and development partners on public financial management reforms
• Supporting or advising on PFM reforms in the health sector, particularly in African country contexts.

Required Skills

• Technical expertise in program-based budgeting and public expenditure analysis, including the ability to design and support the implementation of systems that improve the efficiency and accountability of public spending.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, with the ability to conduct rigorous assessments that inform public financial management reforms and health financing strategies.
•  Ability to design and implement expenditure tracking mechanisms
• Design and implementation of innovative and blended financing mechanisms for health.

Leadership Competencies

Core Competencies

Functional Competencies

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TENURE OF APPOINTMENT:

The Appointment will be for a period of Eleven (11) Months, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract may be renewed subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance and agreed deliverables

GENDER MAINSTREAMING:

Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

LANGUAGES:
Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) is mandatory, and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

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Applications must be submitted no later than May 18, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EAT.
-Only candidates who meet all job requirements and are selected for interviews will be contacted. -Consideration will be given only to those candidates who have submitted a fully completed online application with a curriculum vitae (CV), an African passport, and the required academic qualifications, such as Diplomas, Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees, and any relevant certificates in line with the area of expertise. -The African Union is an equal opportunity employer, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. -Candidates from less-represented countries within the African Union are strongly encouraged to apply for positions that fit their profiles. These countries include Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, and Tunisia.

Requisition ID: 2944