Senior Manager, Country Engagement – Mental Health

About the role

The Senior Manager, Country Engagement will provide strategic direction and support to CHAI’s Mental Health Access Initiative across six focus countries in sub‑Saharan Africa. Reporting to the Program Lead, Mental Health, this senior relationship role bridges country teams and the global strategy, ensuring alignment with funder commitments and national priorities.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the mental health team’s relationships with all six country teams, serving as the senior point of contact for country leadership.
• Maintain a program‑wide view of each country’s progress against work plans, objectives, and key results.
• Support a subset of focus countries day‑to‑day while retaining visibility across the entire portfolio.
• Identify delivery risks early and collaborate with country and global leadership to resolve them.
• Represent CHAI with senior external stakeholders, including government officials and donors.
• Travel regularly to focus countries to engage with ministries of health, regulators, procurement agencies and other national stakeholders.

Required profile

• Extensive experience in senior‑level engagement with ministries of health, donors and national stakeholders in low‑ and middle‑income settings.
• Proven ability to translate global priorities into actionable country plans and to bring country insights into global strategy.
• Strong judgment, relationship‑building skills and clear written and verbal communication.
• Mission‑driven mindset with a willingness to work at both strategic and detailed levels.

Required skills

• Strategic planning and program management.
• Stakeholder relationship management.
• Monitoring and evaluation framework oversight.