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