Director of country expansion

Type: Full-time, permanent

Compensation: Compensation is commensurate with the cost of living in the country of assignment, within the range of $24,000–$45,000 USD. $24,000 USD serves as the minimum starting salary and will be subject to review for countries with a higher cost of living.

A relocation package is provided, including accommodation and transportation coverage for onboarding in Nigeria and scoping to an expansion country, and coverage for two annual round-trip flights to the home base country.

Location: Nigeria + second country

Reports to: CEO

Apply here: https://hiring.lafiya.org/r/Bz0GAA

Deadline: 23:30 GMT, Sunday June 28th, 2026

About Lafiya

At Lafiya, we're on a mission to make contraception accessible to anyone who needs it and wants it, no matter where they live. Through our network of dedicated female health professionals, our Lafiya Sisters, we provide information and deliver contraception directly to communities that need it most. Our approach is cost-effective, community-based, and deeply rooted in respect and agency. We operate in hard-to-reach communities that otherwise do not have access to contraceptive products and information. We currently run our core programme across four states in northern Nigeria, managing 500 Lafiya Sisters. In addition to our direct community-based work, we are partnering with the government to co-create sustainable financing models for contraception procurement and to address critical data and delivery gaps. To date, we have supported more than 500,000 women through our innovative last-mile approach.

We're a fast-growing nonprofit in the middle of a transition from a start-up to a scale-up. Our focus is on impact, cost-effectiveness, and ensuring our work enhances the dignity and agency of those we serve.

Position overview 

Lafiya is transitioning from a single-country operation to a multi-country, mature scale-up. We are seeking a proactive and resilient Director of Country Expansion to lead this expansion.

The primary mandate for this role in the first 12 months is to lead Lafiya’s country expansion, adapting our established model to a new geography. You will outline the pilot and learning agenda, oversee the initial rollout, and manage this launch as a replication of the Lafiya model in a new environment. After the expansion, this role will evolve into leading our internal pilots and iterations of the model, such as introducing blended training models or layering other maternal health interventions onto the main service. It is a unique opportunity for an operationally savvy problem-solver. Based on desk research and feasibility scoping, we have considered Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Senegal, Mali, Uganda, Rwanda, Madagascar, Zambia, Guinea and Mozambique for expansion. We are currently still considering the following five  countries: Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin and Senegal. Final selection will happen in collaboration with the chosen candidate based on projected impact.

What You’ll Do

1. Country Expansion with Established Model (Priority focus for the 1st year)

  • Spend your first few months embedded in our Nigerian operations to get onboarded. This deep immersion will include shadowing Lafiya Sisters to understand the core model at the community level, observing how various roles function across the organisation, and closely studying our existing partnership with the Nigerian Ministry of Health.

  • Conduct deep-dive research into the health landscape to identify hurdles, navigate power structures, and define the partner landscape, working directly with the CEO to synthesise findings and create the operational blueprint for launch.

  • Relocate to the first expansion country for a 3-6-month scoping period to lead high-level negotiations with the Ministries of Health. You will secure buy-in to start the pilot and lead the effort to get financial buy-in from governments from the beginning. 

  • If a market presents insurmountable barriers, you advise the Lafiya leadership on re-scoping and entry in a new country.

  • After securing necessary government approval and passing Lafiya's internal feasibility criteria, you will lead the pilot launch. This involves building the initial operational team and providing strategic oversight as they train the first group of health workers, manage the initial 6-month learning agenda, and conduct rigorous monitoring and evaluation.

2. Internal Venture Building (2nd year onwards)

Building on the deep operational and strategic understanding gained from leading the country expansion, this role will likely transition in the second year to focus on improving, refining, and testing new iterations of the Lafiya model and internal pilots within existing geographies.

  • Dive deep into potential new verticals (for example, routine immunisation integration or electronic family planning tools). You will conduct the technical research required to determine how best to serve our users while prioritising lasting impact and cost-effectiveness.

  • For the most promising new initiatives, you will develop the full pilot documentation. This involves drafting a lean pilot plan, a transparent budget, and a rigorous learning agenda that clearly defines what success looks like. The technical execution roadmap should be built on a 'gated' approach, giving you the flexibility to pivot or discontinue a project if it is not achieving its intended goals.

  • Partner closely with the Programmes and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) teams to leverage existing lessons learned, guide all pilots with high-quality evidence, and ensure that successful initiatives are seamlessly integrated into the core Lafiya model.

Who You Are

You are an entrepreneur at heart and a creative problem solver by nature.You have the ambition to build something from nothing and the appetite for risk that comes with it, but you are strategic enough to want the support of a big organisation and the scale of impact that comes with an established model. Most importantly, you are deeply committed to health equity and are ready to be based in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the flexibility to relocate as Lafiya expands its reach across the continent.

Education and Experience

  • A strong technical background in sexual and reproductive health is highly desired.

  • Professional fluency in both English and French is required to navigate diverse regulatory environments across Sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Proven track record of negotiating with Ministries of Health or other high-level government stakeholders, securing high-level buy-in, and navigating complex bureaucratic landscapes.

  • Significant professional experience living and working within Sub-Saharan Africa, with a deep understanding of the diverse sociocultural and religious factors that influence health access.

Skills & Personal Qualities

  • You are a natural builder and an effective operator who not only identifies hurdles but also creates paths around them. You have the problem-solving drive to take the established Lafiya model and determine the exact technical and operational blueprint needed for replication in a new country.

  • You possess exceptional organisational and high-functioning project management skills, enabling you to keep complex, multi-stage initiatives moving and on track, regardless of ambiguity. 

  • You have exceptional communication skills, ensuring you consistently and proactively communicate your thought process, progress, and risks back to leadership to keep them deeply informed throughout the expansion process.

  • You possess the resilience and professional confidence to operate independently in high-pressure environments, standing your ground in a room full of ministry officials while remaining deeply value-aligned with Lafiya’s mission. 

  • You are a fantastic executor, proficient at putting together lean, research-backed pilot plans, budgets, and learning agendas designed to generate evidence rapidly. 

  • You can translate messy field data and complex policy landscapes into a clear, winning narrative, demonstrating the intellectual honesty to pivot when necessary.

  • You can commit to an initial 3-month onboarding period in Nigeria and a 3-6-month relocation to the new expansion country, while maintaining flexibility to relocate as priorities shift.

  • As we are a remote organisation, you are highly proficient with digital work tools (Google Workspace, Slack, etc.) and can manage complex projects and teams without losing momentum.

Why should you apply

This is a crucial role for growing Lafiya’s work across sub-Saharan Africa. You will have high agency to launch our program in a second country and architect the next generation of our health ventures. This is for someone who wants the impact of a startup but with the leverage, experience, and evidence of an established organisation behind them. 

There is room to take initiative, make decisions, and leave your mark on a critical stage of Lafiya’s growth. At Lafiya, we bypass bureaucratic layers; if the evidence is there, you will have the mandate to implement bold, transformative changes.

You will work directly and extensively with the Senior Leadership Team. We have a strong culture of constant learning, and we invest in developing our people. We hold biannual performance reviews to discuss your aspirations and career goals. 

Benefits include:

  • Comprehensive health and travel insurance

  • 30 days of paid annual leave 

  • Fully paid maternity leave 

  • Bonus compensation scheme up to two full months of additional pay based on performance

  • Working closely with a team of senior leaders who are collaborative, ambitious and serious about impact.

What is the recruitment process for this role?

We value your time and aim to make our recruitment process as insightful as possible. It includes: 

  • Stage 1: Application Form & Assessment. Share your CV and complete a 30-minute multiple-choice quiz to assess your fit for the role. 

  • Stage 2: Test Task. Engage in a 2-3 hour task that mirrors the kind of work you'll do with us.

  • Stage 3: Interview. This is the final stage, after which we’ll make offers. All candidates will be asked the same questions in a 1-hour interview. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask us questions. 

NOTE: We recognise that AI tools are changing how people work and can be helpful thought partners. However, this role is rooted in creativity and human understanding. Writing with authenticity is part of building trust. Submissions that appear to rely excessively on AI will be disqualified. 

We're committed to transparency and will provide feedback from Stage 2 onwards. If you're ready to embark on this journey with us, apply here: https://hiring.lafiya.org/r/Bz0GAA

For any questions, reach out to our Operations Team at operations@lafiyanigeria.org