Advancing Key Leadership Roles for WLEH and Gender Equity

By: Jennifer Tapia Boada
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As WLEH continues to grow, so does the need for dedicated leadership and technical expertise to help drive the initiative's next phase. Over recent months, important progress has been made in the recruitment of two key roles that will support the advancement of WLEH and Orbis's broader gender equity agenda: the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Advisor and the newly established Leadership and Innovation Advisor.  

These roles represent an important investment in the people, systems, and leadership required to strengthen women's participation, influence, and advancement across the eye health sector.

Advancing the Search for a GESI Advisor

The recruitment process for the GESI Advisor role continues to progress steadily. Since April 2026, members of the Orbis Gender Team have participated in multiple rounds of candidate reviews and interviews with highly qualified professionals from diverse backgrounds and regions.

The role is expected to play a critical function in supporting gender integration across programs, strengthening organizational approaches to gender equity, and helping advance strategic priorities related to women's leadership and inclusive eye health systems.
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Welcoming a Leadership and Innovation Advisor Consultant

Alongside the GESI recruitment process, WLEH recently completed recruitment for a new Leadership and Innovation Advisor Consultant, a role designed specifically to support the initiative's emerging Incubator–Accelerator Model.  

Launched in late April 2026, the recruitment process moved forward on schedule and without delays. Following several rounds of screening, technical assessments, and interviews, applications formally closed on 26 June 2026. The process attracted a highly qualified group of candidates with extensive experience in leadership development, mentorship, gender-transformative programming, coaching, and capacity strengthening.

The selected Consultant will play a central role in helping connect and strengthen WLEH's growing ecosystem of leadership investments.

At the heart of this consultancy role is an ambitious vision: helping women move from learning and leadership development to implementation, influence, and long-term impact.

The Consultant will support the delivery of AMPLIF-EYE, WLEH's mentorship and leadership incubator program, which is designed to strengthen leadership capabilities, mentorship skills, and action-oriented learning among mid-career women in eye health. Responsibilities include finalizing and delivering the curriculum, facilitating virtual Training-of-Trainers sessions, and providing both group-based and individual coaching throughout the program.  

Participants will be supported not only during training sessions, but throughout the process of developing and refining leadership and mentorship initiatives that can be implemented within their institutions and communities.  

The Leadership and Innovation Advisor will also contribute to the implementation of WLEH's Fellowship and Innovation funding streams, providing technical support during application review processes and helping assess leadership potential, feasibility, and anticipated impact of proposed ideas.  
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Linking different components of the WLEH ecosystem

The Advisor serves as a bridge between leadership development, mentorship, innovation, and funding opportunities, helping ensure that participants can move through a coherent leadership journey over time.  

The position was specifically created to support WLEH's integrated Incubator–Accelerator Model, where AMPLIF-EYE acts as a leadership incubator while fellowship and innovation opportunities serve as accelerators for learning, implementation, and scale.  

Last but not least, the Consultant will also help capture learning and generate insights that can strengthen future program design. This includes documenting lessons learned, reflecting on leadership outcomes, and helping WLEH understand how mentorship, innovation, and targeted investments can contribute to institutional and systems-level change.  

All in all, the recruitment of both the GESI Advisor and the Leadership and Innovation Consultant signals an important moment for WLEH. As the initiative continues to evolve into a platform for leadership, innovation, advocacy, and systems change, investing in the right people remains essential.

With these roles advancing, WLEH is strengthening its capacity to support women leaders, build stronger leadership pipelines, and help create the conditions for more equitable and inclusive eye health systems in the years ahead.