E4H FED TA: STRATEGIC ADVISOR

The Senior National Short-Term Technical Advisor (STTA) – Strategic Advisor will provide high-level strategic and policy support to Pakistan’s Population Programme Wing (PPW) under the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination (M/o NHSR&C). This role is embedded within the Evidence for Health (E4H) programme, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), which aims to strengthen Pakistan’s health system. The advisor will focus on advancing population stabilisation efforts by supporting the National Population Council (NPC) and facilitating implementation of the National Population Stabilisation Programme (NPSP) 2026–35. Additionally, the role includes providing cross-cutting strategic advisory support on selected priorities under E4H Outputs 2 and 3, ensuring alignment with federal-provincial coordination, policy coherence, and senior stakeholder engagement.

Key Responsibilities

- Provide strategic advice and technical support to PPW for effective engagement with the NPC and other high-level government forums on population stabilisation and related human capital priorities.
- Translate NPC decisions and NPSP priorities into actionable plans with clear responsibilities, timelines, and follow-up mechanisms.
- Facilitate federal-provincial coordination by consolidating provincial inputs, identifying implementation challenges, and supporting resolution through governance structures.
- Develop and maintain monitoring frameworks, including decision/action trackers and progress reports, to support accountability and senior-level decision-making.
- Support PPW in engaging with development partners, UN agencies, donors, and civil society to align resources and technical assistance with population goals.
- Provide senior strategic support to M/o NHSR&C and E4H on Output 2 (evidence-based decision-making) and Output 3 (Universal Health Coverage implementation) priorities, focusing on political economy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and bottleneck resolution.
- Coordinate closely with E4H Output Leads, particularly Output 1, to ensure strategic coherence and avoid duplication of efforts.
- Prepare regular strategic updates, briefs, and decision notes for senior leadership and facilitate high-level meetings and forums.
- Lead institutional strengthening efforts by building PPW capacity in policy analysis, coordination, and decision follow-up, ensuring sustainable handover of tools and processes.
- Document and hand over key strategic relationships, decisions, and outstanding actions to designated government and E4H counterparts.

Required Qualifications

- Postgraduate degree in Public Health, Health Policy, Public Administration, Health Systems, Economics, or a related discipline.
- Minimum of 15 years’ experience in health policy, health systems strengthening, or health reform within Pakistan.
- Proven track record of engaging senior federal and provincial government officials and development partners.
- Strong understanding of Pakistan’s federal health architecture, government decision-making processes, and donor-supported technical assistance.
- Expertise in strategic policy analysis, political economy and contextual analysis, senior stakeholder engagement, negotiation, and coordination.
- Demonstrated ability to navigate complex institutional and political environments and support high-level policy and reform processes.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to produce concise, evidence-informed policy briefs and strategic reports.

Preferred Qualifications and Benefits

- Experience working within multi-stakeholder health programmes, particularly those funded by international donors.
- Familiarity with national and international population frameworks such as ICPD, FP2030, and Pakistan’s National Health and Population Policy.
- Ability to work collaboratively across multiple teams and outputs while maintaining clear accountability and strategic focus.
- Engagement in capacity building and institutionalisation efforts to ensure sustainable impact beyond the assignment.

The assignment is planned for approximately 50 days between October 2026 and March 2027, subject to final confirmation. The role demands a strategic thinker with strong advisory skills who can effectively bridge policy, technical, and political dimensions to advance Pakistan’s population and health system goals.