Capacity Strengthening Consultant

The Global Executive office serves as Secretariat to the Executive Director, the Executive Team, the Board of Directors and its Committees, the DNDi Scientific Advisory Committee and the Access Committee.  The Office also leads internal communication, facilitates internal leadership processes, and supports the engagement of key external stakeholders. 

Together with more than 200 public research and industry allies worldwide, we use the power of partnership, innovation, open science, and advocacy to find solutions to a great injustice: the lack of medicines for life-threatening diseases that disproportionately impact poor and marginalized people. Driven by collaboration, not competition, and by patients’ needs, not profits, we promote equitable access, foster inclusive and sustainable solutions, and advocate for a more effective global biomedical R&D system that meets the needs of neglected patients.  

Since our inception, DNDi has delivered 13 new treatments for people with sleeping sickness, visceral leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, HIV, hepatitis C, and malaria that have saved millions of lives. We aim to deliver a total of 25 new treatments by 2028– addressing R&D gaps for neglected tropical diseases and viral infections, including new pandemic-prone diseases (such as COVID-19) and climate-sensitive diseases (such as Dengue) with a focus on the needs of patients in low- and middle-income countries.   

With more than 200 employees of 25+ nationalities located in eight offices on four continents, DNDi is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion as essential parts of our culture and key drivers of our success. We encourage candidates of diverse profiles and backgrounds to apply.

The primary objective of this consultancy is to collaborate with the Continental leads of DNDi to design and ensure delivery of a comprehensive, actionable strategy for DNDi’s capacity-strengthening initiatives across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The consultant will create a strategic framework and roadmap that leverage DNDi’s full value chain and existing partnerships – from discovery to implementation – to enhance health research systems and health implementation capacities. The plan would be in alignment with DNDi’s mission, focus areas and R&D portfolio.

The strategy should be grounded in a robust assessment of needs and gaps, covering areas such as human resources, infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, guidelines, and policy environments. It should propose innovative, scalable, and sustainable solutions that strengthen the broader health research and implementation ecosystems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

In addition to developing the strategy, the consultant will identify and engage relevant partners, support resource mobilization through grant applications, and provide oversight or technical guidance for the initial stages of implementation to ensure that proposed initiatives are feasible, impactful, and well-integrated into DNDi’s operational context.

• Landscape analysis to Assess Gaps and Needs

• • Conduct a situational analysis of health research systems, health implementation capacities, and infrastructure needs in targeted regions.
  • Identify strengths and opportunities within DNDi’s R&D portfolio, processes, existing capacity strengthening initiatives and networks to inform the strategy.
  • Analyze the specific challenges and opportunities in LMIC settings across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

• Strategy Development

• • Develop a multi-year, multi-continent strategy for DNDi’s role in strengthening health research and implementation capacities with clear action plan and monitoring metrics
  • Include components on human resources development, infrastructure support, systems strengthening, and enabling policy environments.

• Partnerships & Knowledge Sharing

• • Identify and recommend potential partners for implementation, including academic institutions, research networks, and technical agencies.
  • Stakeholder engagement plan for capacity building collaborators.
  • Propose mechanisms for sustainable knowledge exchange and collaboration.

• Resource Mobilization

• • Support the development of concept notes, proposals, and grant applications to secure funding for capacity-strengthening initiatives.

• Job title reports to Continental Lead
• This role has frequent interaction with DNDi staff and external stakeholders to coordinate provision of work or to advocate, persuade and gain support or commitment. This role represents DNDi for a program/service area and develop and maintain relationship with current and future partners .

• Over 10 years in Senior role
• Proven ability to work effectively in a team environment and matrix structure
• Experience of working in public and private sector is highly desirable
• Proven track record in Resource Mobilisation and Capacity Strengthening
• Advanced post graduate degree or graduate degree with equivalent in experience to reach Master level

• High ability to use initiative, prioritize, multi-task, and work well under pressure to meet deadlines
• Very clear and systematic thinking that demonstrates strong judgment and problem solving competencies
• Excellent communication, and public speaking skills, ability to convince and represent DNDi at high level events
• Knowledge of managing global multicultural teams
• Highly organized and structured
• High analytical skills
• High ability to lead large strategic projects
• High ability to manage large size projects with budget management
• Very strong strategic thinking and leadership abilities
• Excellent management, negotiation, and advocacy skills
• High ability to exercise high degree of independence to ensure program delivery and explore new areas of activities
• High ability to interact with internal and external stakeholders
• High ability to lead and motivate a team for optimum performance

• Fluency in English
• Very good knowledge of Microsoft Suite
• This is a 6 months part time consultancy

DNDi is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive organisation. Our success and global reach are dependent upon our ability to encourage diversity and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of all our people. We particularly welcome applications from those who are underrepresented in at DNDi and across the sector, especially women, and including, but not limited to, black and minority ethnic candidates, and those with other protected characteristic.