The Sanitas Health and Development Foundation (SANHDEF) is a distinguished Nigerian non-governmental organisation established with an unwavering commitment to confronting the nation’s most pressing development challenges. Anchored by a technical partnership with funders such as the Gates Foundation and FCDO, SANHDEF commands a formidable platform of technical expertise, institutional credibility, and operational reach, positioning it as one of the foremost drivers of sustainable development on the continent. SANHDEF exists to deliver high-impact, cost-effective, and evidence-driven interventions across public health, health systems strengthening, environmental sustainability, and social empowerment. The Foundation designs and implements robust, context-specific solutions in close partnership with governments, multilateral and bilateral donors, private-sector actors, and civil society, translating ambitious global commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals, into measurable, on-the-ground results for the communities it serves.
With an expanding operational footprint across Nigeria and a growing portfolio of donor-funded and government-facing programmes, SANHDEF has earned recognition as a trusted, results-oriented implementing partner. Its work is uncompromisingly guided by the principles of integrity, accountability, innovation, and deep respect for local context standards that SANHDEF demands every individual privileged to lead the organisation. SANHDEF’s vision is to become a leading non-governmental organisation providing sustainable development solutions across Africa. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees, which bears ultimate fiduciary and strategic oversight of responsibility for the organisation and to which the Chief Executive Officer is directly and fully accountable.
Location: Abuja, Nigeria, with domestic and international travel.
Reports to: Board of Trustees
Direct Reports: Director, Programs & Technical; Director, Finance & Admin; HR, Business Development & Communications; Heads of Department
Role Overview
- The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) carries paramount responsibility for the strategic direction, institutional integrity, operational performance, and overall stewardship of the Foundation.
- Reporting directly to the Board of Trustees, the CEO is entrusted with translating the Board’s strategic vision into decisive action, and with building, leading, and safeguarding an organisation capable of delivering transformative development outcomes at scale.
- The CEO shall serve as the principal link between the Board of Trustees and the Executive Team and shall bear full accountability for the effective and efficient discharge of duties by all Directors and functional units of the Foundation. This is a position of the highest trust, demanding exceptional judgment, uncompromising ethical standards, and the strategic acuity to steer SANHDEF through a complex and rapidly evolving development landscape while decisively protecting the organisation’s mission, reputation, and resources.
- The CEO shall represent SANHDEF, without exception, as its foremost public face and principal spokesperson before governments, donors, partners, regulators, the media, and the communities the Foundation serves projecting authority, credibility, and unwavering commitment to the organisation’s mandate at every juncture.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership and Governance:
- Bears full and non-delegable accountability for the overall management, performance, and institutional integrity of SANHDEF, ensuring the rigorous pursuit of its mission, vision, and strategic goals.
- Drives aggressive resource mobilization and portfolio growth, proactively identifying new funding opportunities and strategic partnerships, and cultivates deep, sustained networks and relationships with donors, funders, and development partners to secure and diversify the Foundation’s income base.
- Formulates and drives the Foundation’s strategic plan, working in close collaboration with the Board of Trustees to ensure that statutory, regulatory, and donor obligations are met without exception.
- Advises the Board of Trustees decisively and proactively on technical, financial, legal, and reputational matters, ensuring that Board decisions are grounded in accurate, timely, and complete information.
- Executes all Board resolutions with rigor and urgency, and ensures the Foundation’s policies, structures, and internal controls are enforced consistently across every level of the organisation.
- Champions the highest standards of corporate governance, transparency, and ethical conduct, and takes immediate corrective action wherever these standards are placed at risk.
- Safeguards the Foundation’s entrusted resources and assets, and enforces zero-tolerance mechanisms for the prevention, detection, and remediation of fraud, waste, and error.
Organisational Leadership and People Management:
- Provides commanding leadership to Directors, Senior Management, and all staff, ensuring the consistent delivery of effective, high-quality results across every programme and function.
- Builds, mentors, and holds accountable a high-performing executive team, delegating authority appropriately while retaining ultimate responsibility for outcomes.
- Instils a culture of excellence, integrity, collaboration, and unrelenting service to the communities SANHDEF exists to serve.
- Drives continuous organisational improvement, ensuring that robust performance management and re-engineering mechanisms are embedded across the Foundation.
Programme, Operational, and Financial Oversight:
- Directs the planning, organisation, and control of SANHDEF’s physical, financial, and human resources in strict alignment with approved strategic and operational plans.
- Oversees the design, implementation, and rigorous monitoring of all programmes and projects, ensuring quantitative and qualitative targets are met, and donor commitments are fulfilled in full.
- Directs the development, approval, and disciplined execution of business plans and budgets, ensuring sound financial management and unwavering accountability for every resource entrusted to the Foundation.
- Enforces compliance with all applicable Nigerian laws, donor regulations, and internal policies governing SANHDEF’s operations, without compromise.
- Establishes and enforces robust quality-assurance, audit, and risk-management systems across ICT, Finance, Human Resources, and Administration.
Stakeholder Engagement and External Representation:
- Serves as SANHDEF’s principal representative before government bodies, donor agencies (including multilateral and bilateral partners), regulatory authorities, and the media.
- Builds and fiercely protects strategic relationships with national and international partners, positioning SANHDEF as a first-choice implementing partner for high-value development initiatives.
- Negotiates, on behalf of the Foundation, partnership agreements, donor contracts, and strategic alliances that advance SANHDEF’s mission and financial sustainability.
- Represents SANHDEF at conferences, public consultations, negotiations, and official engagements, both within Nigeria and internationally, always defending the Foundation’s interests and reputation.
Risk, Compliance, and Institutional Protection:
- Identifies, assesses, and decisively mitigate strategic, operational, financial, and reputational risks facing the Foundation.
- Ensures rigorous adherence to safeguarding, anti-fraud, data protection, and ethical-conduct policies across all levels of SANHDEF and its programmes.
- Reports promptly, candidly, and comprehensively to the Board of Trustees on all matters of institutional significance, including emerging risks, critical incidents, and material developments.
Qualifications
- A Master’s Degree in public health, Business Administration, Management, International Development, or a closely related field is required; a relevant postgraduate or professional qualification will be given strong preference.
- A bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline is mandatory as a minimum threshold of qualification.
- Experience: A minimum of twelve (12) years of progressively senior leadership experience, including no fewer than five (5) years in a Chief Executive, Executive Director, or comparably senior management role within the development, health, or non-profit sector.
- Demonstrated, proven success in leading donor-funded programmes, including direct engagement with major international donors, government agencies, and multilateral institutions.
- A commanding track record in institutional strategy, financial stewardship, and organisational transformation within complex, resource-constrained environments.
- Deep, current knowledge of Nigeria’s health, development, and regulatory landscape, and firm familiarity with relevant government policy frameworks.
Leadership Competencies and Attributes:
- Exceptional strategic vision paired with the decisiveness to translate vision into disciplined execution.
- Uncompromising integrity, transparency, and accountability in all professional dealings.
- Superior negotiation, diplomatic, and stakeholder-management capabilities at the highest levels of government, donor, and institutional engagement.
- Outstanding communication and public representation skills, with the gravitas to serve as the authoritative voice of the Foundation.
- Resilience and sound judgment under pressure, with the capacity to make high-stakes decisions swiftly and responsibly.
- A demonstrably collaborative, team-building orientation combined with the firmness to enforce standards and hold others accountable.
- Fluency in English, written and spoken, is mandatory; proficiency in relevant local languages is an advantage.
- Reporting and Accountability
- The Chief Executive Officer reports directly to, and is fully accountable to, the SANHDEF Board of Trustees. The CEO shall keep the Board of Trustees comprehensively and continuously informed of all matters bearing on the Foundation’s strategic direction, financial position, programmatic performance, risk exposure, and institutional reputation, and shall implement, without deviation, the Board’s strategic direction and governance decisions.
Application Closing Date
15th October, 2026.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their comprehensive CV and cover letter in one file to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.
