Role purpose

The Portfolio Lead – Healthcare Infrastructure & Service Systems will provide strategic and operational leadership for MBZFH’s global healthcare infrastructure and service systems portfolio. The role owns the “hardware” of the health system, including the physical, digital and operational platforms that enable healthcare delivery, and will ensure that the infrastructure, assets and systems required to deliver services are appropriately planned, available, sustainable and aligned with national health priorities. At its core, the role will ensure that MBZFH has the right infrastructure and systems in place to enable effective service delivery, from facilities, medical equipment and biomedical systems to digital platforms, supply chains and operational infrastructure.

The role will lead the evolution of MBZFH’s infrastructure work from a legacy of hospital construction towards an integrated, system-strengthening model that connects healthcare infrastructure planning and optimisation, facility lifecycle management, medical equipment and biomedical systems, digital health infrastructure and platforms, supply chain and operational systems, financing, government ownership and long-term service sustainability. This requires looking beyond the delivery of individual assets to understand how infrastructure and systems collectively support the intended model of care, what is required to make them operational and sustainable, and how investments can be designed from the outset for long-term integration into national health systems.

Working closely with governments, healthcare leaders, technical teams and partners, the Portfolio Lead will guide strategic and operational decisions across an existing global portfolio of approximately 40–50 hospitals, with the wider UAE legacy extending to around 100 hospitals. The portfolio includes field hospitals, clinics, mobile clinics, tertiary facilities and specialised hospitals at different stages of maturity. The role will ensure that each investment is considered not simply in terms of what is built or delivered, but in terms of the infrastructure, assets, systems, financing, operational arrangements and transition pathways required to enable sustainable healthcare services and ultimately support government ownership.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the Strategic Direction of the Healthcare Infrastructure Portfolio

• Develop and implement the infrastructure portfolio strategy aligned with MBZFH’s health system strengthening ambitions.
• Assess the current portfolio of existing healthcare assets, including approximately 40–50 hospitals under review, covering primary healthcare facilities, field hospitals, mobile clinics, tertiary facilities and specialised hospitals.
• Lead the strategic assessment, optimisation and transition planning of MBZFH’s healthcare infrastructure portfolio, driving decisions on asset retention, targeted intervention, transition to national ownership, or phased exit.
• Ensure infrastructure investments align with disease priorities, healthcare delivery models and national health strategies.
• Align the infrastructure portfolio with MBZFH’s guiding principles, including building country capacity, harnessing UAE expertise, using data-led decisions, prioritising innovation and developing collaborative partnerships.
• Define and maintain clear portfolio focus areas across healthcare infrastructure planning and optimisation, facility lifecycle management, medical equipment and biomedical systems, digital health infrastructure and platforms, and supply chain and operational systems.

Strengthen Healthcare Infrastructure Systems and Integration

• Move beyond standalone facility development by integrating hospitals and healthcare facilities into connected health systems.
• Support the transition from siloed infrastructure investments towards coordinated healthcare networks.
• Ensure infrastructure investments are planned alongside the operational, workforce, equipment, digital and service delivery requirements needed for facilities to function sustainably.
• Ensure each investment considers the full service delivery platform required for sustainability, including infrastructure, equipment, biomedical systems, digital tools, supply chains, staffing interfaces, operations and maintenance arrangements.
• Embed country ownership, sustainability and transition planning into system design, ensuring that assets and platforms can be operated, maintained and governed by national counterparts over time.

Provide Healthcare Facility Lifecycle Expertise

• Guide projects across the full healthcare infrastructure lifecycle i.e. medical planning, design, construction, equipment planning, commissioning, operations and sustainability planning.
• Provide expertise on healthcare facility models from primary care through tertiary hospitals.
• Ensure infrastructure investments are designed for long-term operational success.
• Strengthen planning for operations and maintenance, equipment uptime, biomedical engineering capacity, digital platform readiness, supply availability and transition to local stewardship.

Build Sustainable Operating Models, Financing and Government Ownership

• Advise on sustainable financing approaches for healthcare infrastructure investments.
• Explore innovative financing models, including blended finance and public-private partnerships.
• Embed sustainability criteria into infrastructure investment decisions, including long-term operating models, recurrent cost requirements, government ownership, asset stewardship and transition planning.
• Engage governments and partners to strengthen long-term ownership, sustainable financing, transition pathways and operational models for facilities, donated equipment, digital platforms and supporting health service systems.
• Support investment decisions around future infrastructure requests.
• Contribute to pipeline development, opportunity briefs, investment memos, due diligence, milestone tracking, post-handover reporting and learning cycles in collaboration with MEL, Grant Operations and Strategy & Planning.

Build Government and Partner Relationships

• Act as a senior representative of MBZFH with:
• Ministries of Health
• Government officials
• Healthcare leaders
• Development partners
• Technical organisations
• Engage government and health-sector stakeholders on infrastructure priorities, ownership models, financing arrangements, handover plans and long-term facility sustainability.
• Build partnerships that strengthen the long-term performance, resilience and sustainability of health infrastructure investments.

Capture Learning and Strengthen Infrastructure Performance

• Establish learning frameworks to capture lessons from MBZFH’s existing and historical hospital investments and translate those lessons into future infrastructure decisions.
• Translate implementation and post-handover experience into stronger future infrastructure planning, investment and delivery decisions.
• Develop evidence on infrastructure performance, post-handover functionality, operating costs, utilisation and sustainability to inform future investment decisions.
• Work with MEL to develop asset-specific indicators, portfolio dashboards and performance reporting so that infrastructure investments can be monitored beyond construction and assessed against long-term operational and system-strengthening outcomes.
• Within the first 12 months, establish a clear infrastructure portfolio framework covering assessment, prioritisation, investment criteria, sustainability requirements, governance, lifecycle management and transition planning.

Profile 

Education

• Advanced university degree in engineering, architecture, healthcare management, construction management, project management, infrastructure planning, or another relevant discipline.
• Postgraduate qualifications in business administration (MBA), healthcare administration (MHA), public health (MPH) or a related field are an asset.
• Professional registration or certification (e.g. Chartered Engineer (CEng), Professional Engineer (PE), Project Management Professional (PMP), PRINCE2 Practitioner or equivalent) is desirable.

Experience

The successful candidate will be a senior healthcare infrastructure, hospital systems or health service systems leader with the technical credibility, strategic judgement and stakeholder authority to guide a complex global portfolio through assessment, optimisation, investment, sustainability planning and transition. They should bring capability across the physical, digital and operational platforms that enable healthcare delivery, with skills aligned to healthcare infrastructure planning and optimisation, facility lifecycle management, medical equipment and biomedical systems, digital health infrastructure, supply chain and operational systems, and country-owned transition planning.

• 15+ years of experience delivering hospital development, hospital transformation, health infrastructure investment, national hospital networks, healthcare PPPs or comparable global health infrastructure portfolios.
• Experience managing complex healthcare infrastructure portfolios across multiple countries.
• Understanding of hospital planning, healthcare facility operations and health delivery models.
• Experience working with governments, foundations, donors, international organisations, healthcare systems or infrastructure financing partners. Knowledge and practical experience across:
• healthcare infrastructure planning and optimisation
• facility lifecycle management, including planning, delivery, operations, maintenance, handover and transition
• medical equipment, biomedical systems and digital health infrastructure and platforms
• supply chain, maintenance and operational systems required for healthcare delivery
• sustainability models, country ownership arrangements and transition planning

Key Competencies

• Strategic infrastructure portfolio leadership, with the ability to translate ambition into practical portfolio architecture, investment decisions and delivery plans.
• Deep understanding of healthcare infrastructure, hospital systems, facility lifecycle management and health systems strengthening in low- and middle-income country contexts.
• Strong judgement in infrastructure investment, asset assessment, partner selection, due diligence, implementation oversight and portfolio performance management.
• Excellent government, ministerial and senior stakeholder engagement skills, with cultural sensitivity and political awareness.
• Ability to work across technical, operational, financial and policy agendas and create coherence across teams, partners and geographies.
• Evidence-led approach to decision-making, infrastructure performance, learning and impact measurement.
• Strong understanding of sustainable healthcare infrastructure, blended financing mechanisms, government ownership models, transition and handover planning, and long-term operating models.
• Comfort operating in a start-up or scale-up philanthropic environment where systems, governance rhythms and ways of working are still being built.

Languages

• Fluency in English is required. Arabic language skills would be a strong advantage.

First 12 Months – Success Outcomes

• Complete a strategic assessment of MBZFH’s existing hospital and health facility portfolio.
• Develop an infrastructure investment framework aligned to MBZFH’s health systems strengthening mandate.
• Introduce sustainability criteria for new and existing infrastructure investments, including operating models, recurrent cost implications, ownership arrangements and transition plans.
• Establish portfolio governance, decision-making and escalation mechanisms for infrastructure investments.
• Create a lifecycle management approach covering planning, delivery, operations, monitoring, handover and transition.

Terms of Appointment

This is a two-year renewable contract.

Role Location

The role is based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with some travel.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please ensure you complete the Application Form provided below by 14 September 2026 (23:59 hrs, GMT +4). It is essential that you submit your CV in English, specifically in Microsoft Word format (.doc/.docx), not exceeding 10MB.

Applications in other languages or formats will not be considered.

Rest assured, all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.

SRI Executive is exclusively retained by the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity to undertake this assignment.