Director of External Affairs
Reports to: Executive Director, HealthLearn
Role flexibility: Strong candidates who don’t meet all requirements may be considered for the position of Head of External Affairs
Engagement: Full-time
Compensation - Director of External Affairs: $60,000-$78,000/year for US-based candidates
Compensation - Head of External Affairs: $48,000-$54,000/year for US-based candidates
Note: salary offers will be adjusted within these ranges based on experience and candidate needs; candidates based outside of the US should expect these salary bands to be adjusted by cost of living to ensure pay equity
Location: United States, EU, or United Kingdom residency required; remote with regular availability 10:00–17:00 UTC; up to 30% travel
Apply by: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. For full consideration, please apply by 15 February.
About HealthLearn
HealthLearn is a fast-growing global health edtech charity currently offering courses in multiple Sub-Saharan African countries. Since early 2024, engaging, practice-oriented courses on our online and mobile-first platform have been completed over 100,000 times. Our flagship course, Newborn Care Foundations, has been completed by over 60,000 health workers. HealthLearn has already had a huge impact – we estimate our program to be at least 24x more cost-effective than GiveWell’s impact benchmark.
Role Overview
The Director of External Affairs is a leadership role responsible for HealthLearn’s external growth. External Affairs includes outward-facing marketing and communications, shepherding government adoption, strategic partnerships with NGOs and professional councils, and fundraising, facilitating expansion into new countries. The role integrates government engagement, partnerships, and external positioning into a coherent external strategy and operates as part of the management team with shared responsibility for organizational performance. The role owns external growth strategy in close partnership with the Executive Director, is accountable for outcomes across a defined portfolio of priority countries and programs, and is expected to lead a small, focused team while remaining hands-on in execution. This Director will act as a key catalyst for transformative impact by helping millions of health workers gain access to excellent and free online training, ensuring they save more lives by improving the quality of the care they deliver.
Key Results in Year One
Full Ministry of Health approval and CPD accreditation in at least four countries
Launch and successful government- or partner-led dissemination in at least two countries
One new partnership with another NGO to offer one or more new courses
At least 20,000 new course completions driven through approved dissemination pathways
Clear, maintained pipeline of external opportunities with defined scale and conversion estimates
Primary Responsibilities
Strategy and Organizational Leadership (30%)
Shape external growth strategy, including country sequencing and partnership approach
Identify high-leverage opportunities for scale via government uptake, partnerships, or funding
Support board and advisor engagement, including preparation of materials and follow-through
Build and maintain systems to track external relationships, commitments, and dependencies
Contribute to day-to-day operations in a small, execution-driven organization
Contribute to organizational strategy, planning, and prioritization
Advise the executive team on political, reputational, and institutional risk
Maintain documentation of approvals, commitments, and stakeholder history
Government Engagement and Approvals (40%)
Own and drive government engagement strategy across priority countries
Lead high-stakes engagements while supervising day-to-day government engagement execution
Set direction and sequencing for MOH endorsement, CPD/CME accreditation, and regulatory approvals
Personally unblock stalled approval or dissemination processes through outreach, judgment, and escalation
Oversee government-led dissemination at national and subnational levels
Ensure localization, expert review, and submissions are completed accurately and on schedule
Explore international / intergovernmental partnerships to facilitate rapid scaling of reach and impact
Manage continuity of relationships across time and political changes
Partnerships, Fundraising, and Public Presence (30%)
Build and manage relationships with NGOs, multilaterals, donors, and ecosystem partners
Represent HealthLearn at conferences, meetings, and external events
Support prospecting and pitching for partnership and funding opportunities
Maintain a forward-looking opportunity pipeline with estimated scale and likelihood of conversion
Lead external communications for broad audiences (e.g., blog posts, newsletters, media)
Track and manage key external relationships using CRM-style systems
Qualifications and Experience
We are open to candidates with deep experience in government engagement, partnerships, business development, enterprise sales, fundraising, policy, or related fields.
Minimum of eight years of relevant experience, including work in sub-Saharan Africa or comparable contexts
Ownership of complex, multi-step external initiatives with senior stakeholders and long timelines, with a history of demonstrable successes and wins
Primary responsibility for representing an organization in high-stakes external relationships (e.g., government, regulators, executives, or major partners)
Experience prioritizing and advancing a portfolio of external opportunities under resource constraints, including deciding what not to pursue
Experience supervising or building small, focused teams or workstreams
Experience operating in highly regulated, bureaucratic, or politically complex environments where progress depends on extreme persistence and relationship-building
Strong operational discipline, including systems for tracking relationships, commitments, and follow-up, and willingness to personally execute any necessary tasks
Additional context
Experience in health, education, or other regulated sectors is a strong plus, but not required
A postgraduate degree in a relevant field is a plus, but not required
Full professional proficiency in English required; French is a strong advantage