Do you believe that everyone deserves access to affordable, quality healthcare? Are you driven by creativity, bold ideas, and innovation? Are you inspired by exceptionally talented, diverse, and impact-oriented colleagues? Do you thrive in a dynamic, high-growth, fast-paced environment? Then consider a job with the ThinkWell Institute.
ThinkWell Institute is recruiting a Country Director (CD) to lead, represent, and grow our Pakistan portfolio of programs. The CD will provide unified leadership across a growing body of work in Pakistan, with responsibilities spanning country strategy implementation, new business development and partnership, program coordination and delivery, and team management. S/he will drive synergy across a diverse portfolio of projects to elevate our influence and contribution to the country’s health system, create collaborative and cohesive corporate culture, and strengthen our operational excellence. Our flagship project is the Strategic Purchasing for Primary Health Care (SP4PHC) project, which supports province and national efforts to strengthen health financing and governance for primary health care under Pakistan’s decentralized governance structure. The CD will partner closely with global staff members, including program directors and Global Business Operations teams, and peer country leaders to exemplify cross country knowledge exchanges and project delivery excellence.
S/he is a thought leader in the field of health systems strengthening, with a preferred focus on health financing and strategic purchasing. In this role, the CD provides technical leadership to ThinkWell Institute’s portfolio in Pakistan and is responsible for ensuring high-quality technical project execution while playing a leading role overall in the organization.
S/he has primary responsibility for country-level operational oversight, including office management, finance, human resources, and compliance systems, ensuring effective support across all projects and adherence to ThinkWell Institute and donor requirements. The CD reports to a Program Director outside Pakistan and serves as ThinkWell Institute’s senior-most representative, engaging with government, donors, implementing partners, and other stakeholders in the country.
The ideal candidate is an experienced politically astute manager who brings strategic vision, contextual fluency, technical excellence, and operational savviness. Clear, respectful, and direct communication is essential, using calls and collaborative platforms to foster a cohesive and high-performing team culture across the portfolio.
Please note: This position is open to applicants from all locations in Pakistan and is not limited to the location listed above.
Pakistan nationals are encouraged to apply. This position includes a national benefits package and does not include international relocation or expatriate benefits. This position is contingent upon funding.
Technical Leadership:
- Lead program strategy, coordination, and execution in Pakistan, ensuring timely and effective delivery across multiple projects and alignment with strategic objectives.
- Provide strategic and technical oversight across all projects in ThinkWell Institute’s Pakistan portfolio, coordinating closely with project directors and leads across technical and operational teams. Navigate matrixed management structures to ensure coherent implementation, alignment with national and province health priorities, and delivery of high-quality results.
- Provide technical leadership to in-country teams to design and implement program activities and associated learning outputs aligned with ThinkWell Institute’s thought leadership goals.
- Provide direct technical assistance in health financing, with a particular focus on the purchasing of primary care services, including through contracting with public and private providers, health insurance, and public sector budgets.
- Monitor program progress through review of the evidence, regular field visits, and meetings with policymakers and other partners, service providers, communities, and other stakeholders. Track progress through discussions with project leads and propose timely course corrections where needed.
- Ensure production of high-quality learning outputs. Provide written input into technical documents, project status reports, blogs, and articles for publication and dissemination on ThinkWell Institute’s website, external sites, and at conferences.
- In collaboration with partners, monitor strategic and environmental opportunities and challenges. Work together with the country partners and ThinkWell Institute leadership to adjust and refine the strategy as needed to seize opportunities and mitigate risks.
- Communicate with other ThinkWell Institute project managers globally to build, share, exchange, and disseminate technical knowledge.
- Oversee monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning functions, staff, and outputs across the Pakistan portfolio.
Team Management
- Recruit, onboard, and lead outstanding team members across all operational and programmatic areas; provide line management or matrixed oversight of staff based in multiple provinces.
- Collaborate with in-country and US-based Talent team on all human resources-related functions: recruitment, employee relations, performance management, benefits, compensation, and staff duty of care (safety & security).
- Lead by example, delegate effectively, demonstrate integrity, motivate, and inspire others.
- Create a positive, respectful country team operating culture and environment, and engage respectfully with employees at all levels across the firm.
- Support the professional development, coaching, and performance management of team members across projects, ensuring alignment with ThinkWell Institute’s values and operational realities.
- Coordinate country-level staffing strategies to ensure efficient resource use, role clarity, and collaboration across the Pakistan portfolio.
- Lead and coordinate country-level project start-up and close-out processes, ensuring teams are aligned on scope, roles, systems, and close-out deliverables.
Finance, Operations and Contracts Administration
- Work with ThinkWell Institute Global Business Operations team to maintain operational excellence for the Pakistan office including policies, procedures, and systems as well as banking, inventory management, licensing, insurance, visas, business registrations, etc.
- Take responsibility for the effective use of donor resources and compliance with all rules, regulations, and laws.
- Partner with contracts and compliance staff globally to operationalize systems that ensure consistent adherence to all company and external requirements across operational and programmatic activities in Pakistan.
- Ensure stringent management of financial systems, including financial tracking, recording of financial transactions, financial risk management, and fraud prevention. Oversee monthly financial projections and cash flow.
- Oversee project budget management and projections to ensure compliance with donor requirements, consistency with implementation plans, and effective coordination with finance and program teams.
- Manage and monitor project sub-contracts and local procurement of goods and services, including consultants, to ensure compliance with ThinkWell Institute and donor requirements, proper documentation, and alignment with project objectives and budgets.
External Representation
- Actively engage with key stakeholders in Pakistan to contribute to ongoing discussions around health financing reforms more broadly and the purchasing of primary health care using learnings from ThinkWell Institute’s work in in-country and globally.
- Represent Thinkwell Institute, consult and coordinate with key stakeholders within government, donors, and other entities to build the Institute’s program and reputation.
- Represent ThinkWell Institute in-country and be the focal point with all local, external clients, partners, donors, etc.
- Publish papers, articles, and blogs. Present at conferences and contribute to technical working groups to share ThinkWell Institute project-related technical innovations, priorities, and results. Build ThinkWell Institute’s reputation as a thought leader in the field.
New Business Development
- In collaboration with ThinkWell Institute management, gather new business intelligence and partner information lead the design and execution of new projects, including building relationships and proposal development.
- Collaborate with Design Lab and other global teams to identify, analyze, and pursue new business information and contacts locally.
- Play a organization-wide leadership role, participate in company initiatives and teams to build intellectual and human capital in the technical area of specialization.
We are:
ThinkWell Institute core values are our fundamental organizational guiding principles. They define our corporate culture, influence our behavior at work and help us achieve our mission. Our values are:
Think big
Influence the conversation
Empower others
Be exceptional
Always question
Relate authentically
Evolve by learning
You are:
ThinkWell Institute core competencies are foundational skills and behaviors that align with our values and are expected of all employees.
An entrepreneurial, results-oriented ‘do-er’ with a willingness to take risks, think big, and challenge conventional wisdom.
Demonstrates a strong commitment to operational excellence by optimizing processes and delivering high-quality results, while upholding the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct.
A change-maker who reaches independent judgment with an open mind, influences the conversation, and seeks innovation.
Able to help create an empowering environment in which everyone feels free to take initiative, be accountable, and fail intelligently (learn from mistakes).
A collaborative colleague who engages constructively with people from different cultures, orientations, and perspectives and maintains positive relations in a virtual world.
Principally motivated by a growth mindset, meaning the pursuit of knowledge, experience, and self-improvement. You always question and continuously learn.
Authentic, honest, direct, self-aware, and open to giving and receiving feedback.
Requirements
- At a minimum, BA/BS and 12+ years of experience or graduate degree and 10+ years of relevant experience in health systems strengthening with preferable focus on health financing; Experience in multiple countries preferred.
- Substantive, relevant work experience in one of ThinkWell Institute’s core technical areas including health financing, health systems strengthening, and related international programming.
- Extensive experience managing large, complex projects in Pakistan.
- Track record in successful strategic pursuit of new business opportunities
- Demonstrated ability to guide teams in the design, implementation, quality assurance, and publication of technical reports/articles related to health system strengthening; preferably with at least one co-authored publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
- Demonstrated team and people management abilities with a focus on growing staff, mentoring, and coaching junior professionals.
- A senior leader, able to rally staff around ThinkWell Institute’s mission and priorities.
- Proven track record in budgeting and financial management.
- Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with external strategic partners, donors, government ministries, and stakeholders.
- Full written and verbal fluency in English.
- Outstanding cross-cultural communication skills, including the ability to relate respectfully with staff at all levels, ages, genders, nationalities, and orientations as well as across work areas.
- Ability and willingness to travel in-country and internationally up to 25%. The incumbent will be expected to travel within Pakistan and periodically outside of Pakistan to attend ThinkWell Institute meetings.