Nairobi, Kenya
Role: Deputy Director, Digital Health and Government Partnerships
Reports to: Country Director Kenya
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Do you want your work to matter? Do you want to use your skills to make a difference, not just a living? Do you want to improve millions of lives, including your own?
At Living Goods, you will have the chance to apply your ideas and creativity at work every day. If you work well in a dynamic collaborative culture, set high standards, and meet challenges with determination and a sense of humor, you’ll thrive here at Living Goods.
The Opportunity:
mHealth is the biggest health transformation of our lifetime. All around the globe, mobile phones are making a difference between life and death. They allow families to call for medical help in emergencies, help rural pharmacists locate lifesaving drugs during stock outs, and enable health workers to track potential pandemics. In developing countries, mobile phones have also transformed community health at the grassroots level.
We have created digital tools, fine-tuned them, and used them to equip over 9000 Community Health Workers and hundreds of supervisors to deliver high impact, low-cost community health services. Our true value is our unique ability to connect and act as the integrator of the various essential components of a community health ecosystem together to make it functional and more importantly, performance based, and impact driven by leveraging digital and data to augment decision making.
You will lead one of the most important Digital Health interventions for LG in Kenya which is targeted at working with Governments to revolutionize the community health landscape in the country. The Deputy Director for the Digital Health & Government Partnerships will play a pivotal role in leading the development, implementation, and scaling of the digital systems under Government led community health information systems. Based in Kenya, this role will provide technical leadership in the at scale digital transformation of the Community Health Workforce.
The Deputy Director will work closely with various stakeholders, including government agencies, healthcare providers, community health workers, and technology partners (both internal teams and external partners), to ensure the digital solutions align with the national health strategy, meets the needs of local communities and is also developed as a digital system which is scalable and stable. Additionally, the role holder will ensure the deployed digital solutions amplify the community health workers efforts in the field, with focus on data driven decision making and meaningful supervision support to enable efficient performance management.
The role will report directly into the Country Director of Kenya Country Office and a close working relationship with the Global Director, Digital Health & Government Partnerships.
The core responsibilities for the role include:
- Leadership and Strategy
- Strategic Leadership: Lead and implement the strategic Digital Health initiatives in Kenya, collaborating with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to ensure the success and sustainability of Community Health digitization.
- Partnership and Scaling: Establish LG as a thought leader and strategic partner with the Government to drive the scaling of Digital Health solutions in Kenya, aligning with broader organizational goals.
- Program and Field Implementation
- Oversee the design, development, deployment, and day-to-day operations of Digital Health systems, ensuring their efficiency, effectiveness, and user-friendliness, while monitoring and evaluating program performance.
- Digital Field Support and SOP Development: Provide backstopping support for Digital Health Solutions implementation, ensuring effective integration into community health practices and developing SOPs and guidelines.
- Data-Driven Optimization: Utilize data and analytics to optimize service delivery and operations, focusing on maximizing impact and minimizing costs.
- Capacity Building and Training: Support training programs for healthcare providers and community health workers on Digital Health solutions and build the capacity of stakeholders to maintain and operate the system.
- Technology and Innovation
- Digital Health Innovation: Stay up to date with the latest Digital Health trends, collaborate with technology partners, and lead efforts to integrate new technologies into Digital Health to enhance its functionality and impact.
- Knowledge Sharing and Best Practices: Catalyze cross-learning to improve the adoption of Digital Health solutions and contribute to the operationalization of best practices.
- Team Management
- Team Leadership and Development: Lead and manage the development, work planning, and upskilling of the Kenya-based team involved in Digital Health implementation, fostering a collaborative culture, providing mentorship and performance management.
- Performance Management: Develop and implement performance management systems to track team progress, address challenges, and recognize achievements.
- Digital Health Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement
- Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, represent the organization in relevant forums, collaborate with government and partners to align Digital Health solutions with the national health policies and standards.
- Digital Health Advocacy: Contribute to the organization’s Digital Health advocacy goals and support business development efforts by providing subject matter expertise.
- Strategic Partnerships: Influence key stakeholders (Government, Partners, Bi & Multilaterals) and collaborate with LG’s Programs and Advocacy team to generate awareness and seek support for Digital Health solutions, catalyze key assets to build a sustainable ecosystem around Digital Health and, identify new partnership opportunities in Digital Health that add value to existing LG’s global vision and programs.
Essential Qualifications, Experience, & Attributes:
- BS/MS in Computer Science Engineering / ICT, or related field.
- At least 7+ years of professional experience across ICT domain and / or management consulting domain with specific focus on public and Digital Health programs.
- Prior experience of engagement with Government agencies and stakeholders for national scale program design and implementation would be accorded a higher weightage.
- The candidate must possess at least 5+ years of leadership experience including hands-on experience of the one of the following:
- Program Management Support and / or Implementation of atleast 02 large scale digital / ICT programs involving service delivery, beneficiary coverage / outreach, process automation / workflow digitalization in any sector with direct government engagement
Or
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- Program Management Support and / or Implementation of at least 01 large scale digital / ICT program involving service delivery, beneficiary coverage / outreach, process automation / workflow digitalization in any sector and 02 small scale / pilot Digital Health projects with direct government engagement
Or
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- Program Management Support and / or Implementation of at least 01 large scale Digital Health program in the space of Community Health with direct government engagement
- Prior professional experience in Africa’s development sector.
- A history of working in matrix reporting structure in a large global organization.
- Prior experience of managing a team of at least 3-5 team members.
Skillsets
- A strong understanding of technology systems, platforms, frameworks, and digital ecosystems, including the software development lifecycle, combined with a deep understanding of the evolving Digital Health and community health landscape, particularly in Africa, including opportunities, challenges, and commonly adopted Digital Health solutions and platforms in low-resource settings, is essential.
- A good understanding of government systems, stakeholder engagement, public health ecosystems, and the detailed landscape of community health programs in Kenya is strongly desirable.
- Skilled in change management and management of various stakeholders with demonstrated range of influence.
- A service-oriented leadership and teamwork approach, combined with a willingness to work in a dynamic environment and manage ambiguity in decision-making processes, is essential to support diverse business teams and partners in delivering optimal solutions aligned with organizational and partner objectives.
- A desirable skillset includes experience in advocacy and policy development around digital interventions, combined with the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders, particularly at the senior management level, and act as a bridge/translator to explain complex technology concepts in simple language, including the use of basic data analysis for informed decision-making.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences, are required, along with proficiency in English. Proficiency in local Kenyan languages is highly preferred.
- Skilled in change management and stakeholder management, with a proven ability to define risks and mitigations and communicate them effectively to relevant stakeholders.
- Strong project and program management skills, coupled with a focus on user adoption of Digital Health solutions through human-centered design, are essential for delivering successful outcomes from inception to delivery.
Compensation:
A competitive salary and benefits package commensurate with experience including health insurance and bonus opportunity. The opportunity to be your best while making lives better for those in need.
Living Goods is an equal opportunity employer and will consider every qualified applicant for employment. Living Goods does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
Our current job openings are displayed on our website, where you can search for open positions and apply directly. Living Goods does not offer any positions without an interview and never asks candidates for money. If you are asked for money, we strongly recommend that you do not respond and do not send money or personal information. If offered a role at Living Goods, we’ll request consent to complete a background check, which is part of our hiring process.
