Health Systems Advisor

The Health Systems Advisor leads Ipas’ advocacy- and partnership-focused portfolio of projects aimed at strengthening the enabling environment for reproductive justice, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and resilient health systems in Uganda.

The role provides strategic and technical leadership in policy engagement, advocacy coordination, and partnership management at national and sub-national levels, while leading assigned advocacy and partnerships projects through planning, implementation, budgeting, and reporting.

The Advisor represents Ipas in key policy and technical platforms, supports coalition and consortium coordination, and strengthens the advocacy capacity of civil society partners and sub-grantees. The role works closely with program implementation and legal/compliance colleagues to ensure coherence, accountability, and impact across the country program. 

• Contributes inputs to assigned sections of the country and alliance strategic plans, particularly related to advocacy, policy engagement, partnerships, and health systems strengthening.
• Participates in implementation of the local strategic plan within assigned advocacy and partnerships work areas.
• Works collaboratively with program, MEL, communications, and operations teams to ensure coherence across service delivery, advocacy, and systems work.
• Accountable for deliverables and results within assigned advocacy- and partnership-focused projects and workstreams.
• Develops project workplans and activity budgets for assigned advocacy and partnerships projects that are cost-effective and aligned with donor requirements.
• Leads implementation of approved workplans and monitors project-level budgets for assigned projects.
• Identifies, monitors, and implements mitigation measures for advocacy, partnership, and contextual risks.
• Ensures assigned projects comply with Ipas policies, procedures, quality standards, and donor contractual requirements.
• Contributes to the development or revision of internal tools, procedures, and standards related to advocacy, policy engagement, and partnerships.
• Ensures quality and compliance across assigned advocacy and partnership initiatives.
• Coordinates Ipas’ engagement in national and sub-national advocacy and policy platforms related to SRHR and health systems, including Ministry of Health led working groups and task forces.
• Collaborates closely with Ministry of Health technical units, relevant departments, and district-level structures to support policy dialogue, systems strengthening, and advocacy objectives.
• Represents Ipas in district and national-level meetings, forums, and dialogues (as assigned), and presents programmatic and advocacy outcomes from supported districts.
• Leads coordination of advocacy focused projects, including coalition-building, stakeholder engagement, and policy tracking.
• Supports civil society organizations, coalitions, and partners to engage effectively in advocacy processes with government and non-governmental actors.
• Leads advocacy focused capacity strengthening for CSOs, CBOs, and sub-grantees, including mentorship and learning exchanges.
• Tracks policy developments, implementation gaps, and emerging health systems issues affecting SRHR.
• Drafts advocacy briefs, policy inputs, presentations, donor proposals, and reports as required.
• Manages and forecasts project expenditures for assigned advocacy and partnerships projects.
• Conducts regular reviews of assigned projects and advocacy activities and uses data to inform adaptive management.
• Shares learning, data, and analysis with internal teams to support problem-solving and decision-making.
• Provides technical leadership and innovative problem-solving within assigned advocacy and partnerships projects.
• Supports country team members with policy, advocacy, and health systems–related information as needed.
• Apply culturally responsive and politically aware approaches in advocacy, partnership engagement, and community facing work, particularly in sensitive SRHR and abortion-related spaces.
• Contributes to preparation of donor reports and externally facing documents related to advocacy, partnerships, and health systems.
• Provides technical input to proposal development and concept notes in relevant advocacy, policy, and partnerships areas.
• Documents advocacy results, learning, and outcomes from assigned projects.
• Contributes technical content and messaging for communications materials related to advocacy, policy engagement, and partnerships.
• Supports strong partnerships through effective representation, coordination, and follow-up in project and activity implementation.

• Demonstrated commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, with a strong focus on abortion access, contraception, and reproductive justice.
• A deep commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially abortion and contraception access and reproductive justice
• Proven ability to build and sustain effective working relationships with government, civil society, donors, and internal teams.
• Demonstrated capacity for strong stewardship of funds, including work planning, budgeting, financial monitoring, and data-driven decision-making.
• Professional-level fluency English (speaking, reading, and writing)
• Unwavering commitment to professional integrity, ethical conduct, and transparency in all project and partnership managements, dealings and decision-making.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate teams and create a positive work environment, including through supportive supervision, strong communication, shared leadership approaches, and modelling the Ipas core values.
• Demonstrated capacity and commitment to good stewardship of funds, including strong skills in work planning, budgeting, financial monitoring, and data-driven problem solving.
• Proven ability to build positive working relationships with diverse internal teams and external partners adopting a positive, solutions-oriented, and collaborative approach to resolve challenges across departments, partnerships in feminist ways.
• Excellent organization and time-management skills, with ability to handle competing priorities.
• Conflict resolution and problem-solving skills.
• A proactive team player with a strong focus on collective success, demonstrating respect, open communication, mutual accountability, and High emotional intelligence and ability to work across, colleagues, partners, geographies and cultures.
• Graduate degree in Public Health, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Law, Health Policy, or a related field.
• A Masters degree in a relevant field is an added advantage
• 5–7 years’ experience in advocacy, policy engagement, partnerships, or health systems strengthening within SRHR or public health programs in low-resource settings.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multi-stakeholder initiatives and engaging government institutions, particularly at national and district levels.
• General understanding of SRHR and adolescent/youth health issues.
• Strong computer skills, particularly in Microsoft Office applications.
• Experience working with Ministry of Health structures at national and district levels.
• Experience supporting advocacy platforms, coalitions, or consortia.
• Experience contributing to donor-funded programs and reporting.
• Training or experience in project design and management.
• Experience working within a nonprofit or international NGO environment.
• Experience working in politically sensitive, values driven, or contested policy environments.
• Ability to travel up to 40% domestically.