Maluti Adventist Hospital – Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Organisation: Maluti Adventist Hospital (MAH)
Position: Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Location: Lesotho
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Employment Type: Full-time employment with benefits
Contract Duration: Five (5) years – Fixed-term contract
Salary Grade: Grade I
Closing Date: 20 November 2026 at 12:00 noon
1. About Maluti Adventist Hospital
Maluti Adventist Hospital is one of Lesotho’s significant healthcare institutions, serving communities across the Maluti Mountain region and providing critical healthcare services to a largely underserved population.
As the hospital continues its transformation journey, it seeks an exceptional Chief Operations Officer (COO) to partner with the CEO, Executive Team and Board in strengthening operational excellence, modernising infrastructure, improving institutional capability and building a financially sustainable healthcare organisation capable of delivering world-class patient care.
This is an opportunity for a visionary operational leader passionate about healthcare, organisational transformation, community impact and the development of sustainable healthcare systems in challenging environments.
2. Purpose of the Role
The COO will serve as the hospital’s senior operational executive, responsible for translating strategy into execution and ensuring alignment across clinical, support, infrastructure, quality, information, procurement and administrative functions.
Reporting directly to the CEO and working closely with the Board and Executive Committee, the COO will provide leadership across the organisation, driving operational performance, service quality, governance, capability development, financial discipline and capital improvement initiatives.
The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in leading the hospital’s transition towards private-sector levels of operational effectiveness, infrastructure readiness, service excellence and workforce capability, while preserving its mission of serving vulnerable communities.
In addition to leading day-to-day operations, the COO will act as the CEO’s strategic partner and may assume executive leadership responsibilities in the CEO’s absence.
3. Key Functional Outputs and Responsibilities
A. Strategic Leadership and Transformation
- Partner with the CEO and Board in executing the hospital’s strategic vision and long-term transformation agenda.
- Drive organisational alignment between strategy, operational priorities, budgets and service delivery.
- Lead large-scale improvement initiatives aimed at modernising hospital operations, infrastructure services and support functions.
- Develop and monitor strategic and operational plans, ensuring delivery against agreed objectives.
- Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, innovation and service excellence.
B. Operational Excellence
Provide executive oversight of all operational functions, including:
- Facilities and infrastructure.
- Engineering and maintenance.
- Transport services.
- Security services.
- Laundry and housekeeping.
- Catering and hospitality services.
- Health information management.
- Quality improvement.
- Procurement.
Additional responsibilities include:
- Ensure effective coordination and integration across clinical and non-clinical departments.
- Establish operational standards, performance measures and governance systems that support excellence in service delivery.
- Drive operational efficiency, process optimisation and resource utilisation across the institution.
C. Infrastructure and Asset Management
- Plan and lead the development and execution of infrastructure renewal and maintenance programmes.
- Oversee preventative maintenance systems and asset management practices.
- Ensure facilities, equipment and support services are fit for purpose and support high-quality healthcare delivery.
- Drive initiatives aimed at elevating hospital facilities to contemporary healthcare standards.
D. Organisational Capability Development
- Lead initiatives to strengthen institutional capability and operational maturity.
- Partner with Human Resources and functional leaders to identify critical capability gaps and implement development interventions.
- Support the development of leadership capability, succession plans and workforce readiness.
- Promote a culture of learning, continuous improvement and professional excellence.
E. Governance, Risk and Compliance
- Ensure compliance with all legislation, regulatory requirements and healthcare standards applicable within Lesotho.
- Ensure operational alignment with Board directives and Seventh-day Adventist Church governance requirements.
- Work closely with the Risk Manager to lead risk identification, mitigation and business continuity planning initiatives.
- Promote ethical leadership, accountability and sound governance practices.
F. Stakeholder Management
Build and maintain productive relationships with:
- Government departments.
- Healthcare regulators.
- Development partners.
- Donors and funding agencies.
- Community stakeholders.
- Church leadership structures.
- Healthcare and educational institutions.
Additional responsibilities include:
- Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO and Board on operational matters.
- Support collaboration between the hospital, training institutions and community partners.
4. Candidate Requirements
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Master’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Engineering, Public Health, Health Administration or a related field.
- 5–7 years of working experience in a similar position.
- Previous experience in developing and implementing institutional policies and procedures.
- Proven programme management experience, leading multiple concurrent strategic initiatives, projects and transformation programmes at executive level, with accountability for cross-functional integration, governance and delivery.
- Demonstrated ability to make sound, timely and commercially informed decisions in high-stakes, ambiguous and fast-changing environments.
- Experience driving organisation-wide change while balancing operational priorities with long-term strategic objectives.
- Experience managing large operational budgets and resources.
- Previous healthcare sector experience, with an in-depth understanding of the industry and the workings of different departments within a healthcare institution, including clinical and non-clinical operations.
5. Required Competencies and Skills
- Strategic leadership and systems thinking.
- Exceptional stakeholder management capability.
- Strong business and financial acumen.
- High levels of execution discipline.
- Programme and project leadership capability.
- Sound governance and risk management judgement.
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making ability.
- Emotional intelligence and resilience.
- Exceptional communication and influencing skills.
- Integrity, professionalism and ethical leadership.
- Ability to lead through complexity and change.
- Strong organisational skills.
- Ability to multitask and work within tight deadlines.
- Budget management skills.
- Effective spoken and written communication.
6. How to Apply
Interested candidates should submit the following documents:
- Cover letter.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- Certified copies of academic certificates.
- Certified copy of ID document.
All applications must be submitted in one PDF file to:
Email: [email protected]
Email Subject: Clearly state the position applied for (Chief Operations Officer).
Application Deadline: 20 November 2026 at 12:00 noon.
7. Additional Requirements and Important Information
The successful candidate must not conflict with the philosophy and policies of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The incumbent must be a team leader and willing to exemplify the purpose of Maluti Adventist Hospital as an Adventist institution by valuing the Church’s mission alongside the requirements of the position.
Note:
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
- Maluti Adventist Hospital reserves the right not to make an appointment or to withdraw this job advertisement.
- If you do not hear from the hospital within two weeks after the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.