Service Delivery Director

Purpose

The Service Delivery Director (SDD) plays a crucial role in providing strategic leadership, technical direction, and operational oversight for Amref Health Africa’s service delivery initiatives in Ethiopia. This position is integral to ensuring the delivery of high-quality, equitable, and integrated primary health care services. The SDD focuses particularly on key areas such as Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH), which aims to foster improvements in health outcomes for mothers, newborns, and children. Additionally, the SDD addresses adolescent and youth nutrition by promoting healthy practices and addressing nutritional needs among young populations, as well as implementing effective measures for disease prevention and control.

Beyond these core health services, the SDD is responsible for overseeing programs that tackle Social Determinants of Health (SDH), with a strong emphasis on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) to promote access to clean water and sanitation facilities, thus improving overall public health. Youth Development and Engagement is another critical area, where the SDD encourages the active participation and empowerment of youth in health initiatives. By ensuring the effective integration of health systems strengthening with MNCH, WASH, youth engagement, and disease control, the SDD adopts a holistic approach aimed at driving measurable improvements in health outcomes and enhancing the resilience of health systems throughout the region.

Key Responsibilities

II. Strategic Leadership and Technical Direction

1. Service Delivery Strategy & Systems Strengthening

• Lead the development and execution of Amref Ethiopia’s service delivery strategy aligned with national health sector priorities and Amref’s global strategy.
• Ensure integrated delivery of MNCH, disease prevention, and primary health care services across all program areas.
• Strengthen health system components including service quality, workforce capacity, supply chain coordination, referral systems, and community-health facility linkages.
• Promote implementation of evidence-based, high-impact interventions across maternal, neonatal, and child health continuum of care.
• Ensure integration of preventive and promotive services within PHC platforms.

2. Maternal, Neonatal & Child Health (MNCH) Leadership

• Provide overall technical oversight to MNCH programs to ensure quality, access, equity, and measurable reductions in maternal and child morbidity and mortality.
• Ensure implementation of demand creation strategies and community engagement models that improve uptake of MNCH services.
• Guide quality assurance systems, clinical mentorship, and training initiatives for MNCH service providers.
• Oversee integration of adolescent and youth-responsive MNCH services within primary care systems.
• Promote operational research and innovation to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

3. Disease Prevention & Control

• Provide strategic oversight for communicable and non-communicable disease prevention initiatives embedded within primary health care services.
• Ensure alignment of disease control programs with national strategies and global technical standards.
• Strengthen surveillance, community-level prevention, and early detection systems.
• Ensure integration of prevention services (e.g., immunization, screening, health promotion) within routine PHC platforms.

4. Oversight of Social Determinants of Health (WASH & Youth Development)

• Provide high-level technical and strategic supervision of WASH programs to ensure alignment with health service delivery outcomes.
• Promote integration of WASH interventions within health facilities and communities to improve MNCH and disease outcomes.
• Oversee youth development programs with strong integration into health promotion, reproductive health, employability, and social resilience.
• Ensure youth-centered programming is linked to health systems strengthening and community health strategies.
• Promote cross-sectoral collaboration to address structural barriers affecting health outcomes.

III. Program Quality, Integration & Performance Management

• Ensure all service delivery programs meet donor compliance, national standards, and Amref quality benchmarks.
• Lead quarterly and annual program performance reviews to identify service delivery gaps and implement corrective measures.
• Establish robust monitoring systems in collaboration with MEAL teams to track service delivery outcomes.
• Ensure documentation of best practices, lessons learned, and innovation models for scale-up.
• Lead integration across MNCH, WASH, youth, and disease programs to avoid silos and maximize impact.
• Accountable for technical quality, performance outcomes, and strategic growth of the service delivery portfolio.
• Responsible for ensuring effective utilization of program budgets and adherence to donor and Amref policies.

IV. Growth, Innovation & Business Development

• Contribute to organizational growth by identifying new funding opportunities in service delivery, MNCH, WASH, youth and PHC strengthening.
• Lead technical design of proposals and concept notes related to service delivery and primary health care.
• Position Amref as a technical leader in PHC and MNCH through participation in national technical working groups and policy forums.
• Promote innovative models including digital health, community-based service delivery, and youth-led health solutions.
• Active and key player in the organization resource mobilization in the service delivery function in collaboration of the Organizational program strategy and growth director and BD manager

V. Partnerships & Representation

• Represent Amref in national and regional technical working groups related to MNCH, PHC, WASH, and youth development.
• Build and sustain strategic partnerships with: Ministry of Health and Regional Health Bureaus,  development partners and donor, Academic and research institutions and civil society and private sector actors
• Strengthen collaboration between program teams, regional offices, and partners to ensure coherence and synergy.

VI. Leadership & People Management

• Provide direct supervision to senior program managers and technical leads within service delivery portfolios.
• Foster a high-performing, accountable, and collaborative team culture.
• Identify capacity gaps and lead structured professional development and mentorship initiatives.
• Ensure strong coordination between technical, finance, operations, and MEAL teams.
• Promote safeguarding, gender equity, and inclusive leadership across all service delivery programs.