Consultant, Lead Exposure Reduction

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is a global health organization that partners locally and globally to create and scale solutions to the world’s deadliest health threats. Millions of people die from preventable health threats. We collaborate to close the gap between proven, life-saving solutions and the people who need them. Since 2017, we’ve worked with governments and other partners in more than 60 countries to save millions of lives. We work toward a future where people live longer, healthier lives, communities flourish, and economies thrive. This is an ambitious vision, and it inspires us and our partners to make progress every day.

The Cardiovascular Health (CVH) team at RTSL provides technical assistance in developing cardiovascular disease prevention programs to help countries improve the heart health of their people. Working with our partners to improve the control of high blood pressure, reduce salt intake, and eliminate trans fats from the global food supply, the CVH team has helped save countless lives from cardiovascular disease.

Location: Abuja, Nigeria

Job Structure: Independent Contractor

Length of Engagement: 12 months

Level of Effort: Full-time equivalent

Position Summary

Lead exposure remains one of the most significant yet preventable environmental public health threats in Nigeria, particularly affecting children under five, pregnant women, and populations exposed through environmental and consumer product pathways. Increasing evidence points to consumer products—such as cosmetics, spices, and other locally available goods—as important and under-addressed sources of exposure.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW), under the leadership of the Honourable Minister of State for Health, plays a central role in coordinating national efforts to reduce lead exposure through policy development, stakeholder coordination, surveillance, and public health interventions, in collaboration with key regulatory agencies including the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

Significant progress has already been made in addressing lead exposure in Nigeria, including the development of a national lead poisoning policy and multisectoral coordination frameworks, as well as RTSL-supported efforts in laboratory capacity assessment reports and legal landscape assessments. There is now a critical need to build on these gains by accelerating implementation and strengthening enforcement of existing regulations, while advancing national policy frameworks and increasing government resource allocation—particularly for consumer product–related exposures.

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) seeks to engage a consultant to be embedded within the Office of the Honourable Minister of State for Health to support implementation, cross-ministerial coordination, policy advancement, and the use of the Minister’s convening power to drive high-level action on lead exposure reduction and response in Nigeria.

Core Tasks and Activities

The Consultant will work closely with the Office of the Honorable Minister of State for Health, the Senior Technical Advisor, Lead Poisoning Nigeria, the Principal Advisor, Cardiovascular Health Nigeria, the Executive Director, RTSL, Nigeria and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) on Lead Elimination.

Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

• Build on the existing stakeholder mapping to strengthen coordination among actors working to reduce lead exposure.
• Track activities of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, including the Inter-Agency Working Group on Lead Elimination.
• Identify coordination gaps and support alignment of stakeholder efforts toward implementation priorities.
• Develop recommendations on human resource and institutional strengthening needs.

Regulatory Implementation and Enforcement Support

• Build on the completed regulatory landscape to support the implementation of existing regulations on lead in consumer products, including cosmetics, spices, and other goods.
• Identify key bottlenecks to effective enforcement of policies and regulations across relevant agencies and sectors.
• Develop actionable recommendations to strengthen enforcement mechanisms and compliance.
• Support alignment and coordination of regulatory actions across ministries and agencies.
• Track progress on implementation of existing regulations and identify opportunities for acceleration.

Capacity Strengthening

• Identify priority capacity gaps that affect the implementation and enforcement of lead-related interventions.
• Assess technical and laboratory capacity for biomonitoring, consumer product testing, environmental and ambient testing
• Propose targeted strategies to strengthen systems, including workforce, infrastructure, and training.

High-Level Policy Advancement and Government Program Acceleration

• Support the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) in advancing the National Lead Policy and its Implementation Plan, with a strong emphasis on operationalization.
• Leverage the convening power of the Office of the Honourable Minister of State for Health to facilitate coordinated high-level inter-ministerial dialogue among key ministries, agencies, and stakeholders.
• Jointly plan and support strategic engagements, roundtables, and policy dialogues aimed at accelerating implementation and enforcement.
• Identify priority opportunities within government systems to accelerate program delivery on lead exposure reduction.
• Support the development of policy briefs, talking points, and strategic materials forhigh-level decision-making and advocacy.
• Support efforts to improve government resource allocation and financing for implementation and enforcement activities.

Coordination and Advisory Support

• Provide technical advisory support to the Office of the Minister of State for Health on lead exposure, with emphasis on implementation and enforcement.
• Prepare briefs, reports, and analyses on project progress to ensure the Minister and RTSL program team make informed decisions.
• Support coordination and facilitating collaboration across relevant government ministries, departments, agencies (MDA) and partners working on lead elimination.
• Work closely with the STA, Lead Poisoning Nigeria and the Principal Advisor, Cardiovascular Health Nigeria to ensure alignment with national priorities.
• Support convening, documentation, and follow-up actions of IAWG meetings, regional and global convenings.
• Contribute to policy discussions, technical briefs, and strategic documents.
• Undertake any other related duties assigned by RTSL technical leadership in collaboration with government stakeholders.

Contract Deliverables

• Brief on stakeholder coordination status and recommendations to strengthen alignment and implementation to be shared with the Ministry.
• Report on progress and gaps in implementation and enforcement of existing lead-related regulations, particularly for consumer products, to be shared with relevant stakeholders
• Report on identified bottlenecks, government processes, and priority actions to accelerate regulatory enforcement to relevant stakeholders.
• Documentation and outputs from high-level policy dialogues and stakeholder engagements facilitated through the office of the Minister of State.
• Support senior government leadership on developing policy briefs, talking points, and advocacy materials to support senior government decision-making.
• Provide and recommend strategies to strengthen government resource allocation and investment for implementation of lead poisoning intervention.
• Technical inputs and documented contributions to the National Lead Policy and its Implementation Plan, with emphasis on operationalization through the IAWG.
• Periodic technical updates to the Office of the Minister of State Health.
• Periodic reports, quarterly consultancy report with strategic recommendations for sustained implementation, enforcement, and national scale-up shared with RTSL

Contract Management

The Independent Contractor will submit all deliverables to the Principal Advisor & Manager, CVH, Nigeria, who will manage this contract and monitor progress toward the deliverables.

Qualifications

• Advanced degrees in Public Health, Environmental Health, Toxicology, Environmental Science, Food Safety, Public Policy, or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in environmental health, with demonstrated expertise in lead exposure prevention, regulatory systems, or public health programs.
• Proven experience supporting policy implementation, government coordination, and high-level stakeholder engagement.
• Strong experience in facilitating policy dialogues and working with senior government officials.
• Experience working with government institutions and understanding government systems, particularly Ministries, Departments and regulatory agencies.
• Strong understanding of public sector systems, regulatory enforcement, and policy processes.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and technical report writing skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in high-level policy and political environments.
• Able to travel within Nigeria if required.

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit their CV and a cover letter detailing their suitability for the role.

RTSL believes its programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We encourage applications from and provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, organ donor status, or status as a veteran. Resolve to Save Lives complies with all applicable US EEO laws.