Deputy Director, Technical – Palladium

This Opportunity:
Funded under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through a cooperative agreement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Palladium Development and Consultancy Kenya Ltd (Palladium Kenya) is implementing 5-year funding to support the Kenya Ministry of Health, county governments, and healthcare service delivery partners to implement technological innovations in health information systems.

Position Summary: 

The Deputy Director, Technical will support the Program Director in attaining project goals and objectives by providing technical advice and direction when appropriate. He/she will oversee the day-to-day planning, design, and operations of project and technical teams to ensure effective project implementation.

Location:
The position is based in Palladium’s KeHMIS Office, Nairobi.  

You and Your Career:

We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start.  We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a fulfilling career!

Reporting:
The Deputy Director, Technical will report to the Program Director.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Work closely with the Project Director, Operations, and Technical Leads to determine and support strategic objectives of the project.
•  Provide leadership for the technical strategy, oversight of project implementation, project monitoring, and evaluation.
• Provide technical direction and oversight in the design, implementation, and monitoring of work plans and budgets in consultation with the project manager.
• Liaise with the CDC project team on all issues pertaining to technical aspects of the project, including meetings, work plans, and technical updates and reviews.

• Support technical strategies and activities at the national, regional, and local levels, including conceptualizing new activities related to emerging global trends and initiatives.
  
• Advise the Project Director in the alignment of human resources with project work plans and additional requests from CDC, including sourcing of full-time employees and consultants.
  
• Supervise and mentor staff to carry out project activities, ensure activities are on track, meet Palladium’s technical quality standards, and are delivered on schedule and budget.
  Work with project technical leads to design and implement strategic approaches to expand project activities and innovation.
  
• Ensure adherence to CDC, project, corporate, and in-country policies, and procedures governing all technical work.
  
• Oversee and participate in the preparation of necessary technical and program-related reports, including presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and white papers.
  
• Guide and support training and capacity development efforts in support of project activities and deliverables.
  
• Represent the project and organization, as needed, and participate in outside associations, conferences, and symposia.
  
• Contribute to MOH, CDC, partner, and other external communications and relationships.
  
• Lead in identifying and pursuing opportunities to apply existing evidence and high-impact practices to improve HIV policy, advocacy, financing, and governance in Kenya.
  
• Lead strategic planning and reporting for the project.
  
• Identify technical capacity-building needs among project partners; develop and execute appropriate and effective capacity-building plans.
  
• Enhance and sustain relationships with the Client and key stakeholders including NASCOP, MOH, and Counties.
  
• Represent the Project, as appropriate, through participation in technical advisory groups, steering committees, and conferences.
  
• To serve as the principal point of contact for procedural and substantive matters in the absence of the Program Director.
  
• Support the development of strategic plans, annual and quarterly work plans, and other deliverables in line with CDC guidelines to achieve objectives.
  
• Work closely with subcontractors and private sector associations to provide technical and organizational assistance.
  
• Identify and effectively manage all key risks related to the program, including compliance with donor transparency and due diligence requirements.
  
• Ensure that synergies among activity elements and grantees are capitalized upon.
  
• Provide input into the performance monitoring plan to measure success and validate causal model assumptions.
  

Required Qualifications:

Mandatory:

• A master’s degree in any of the related fields, Information Systems, Health Informatics, Digital Health, Public Health, or a bachelor’s degree in any of the specified fields. Five (5) additional years of relevant experience may be accepted for bachelor’s degree holders in lieu of the master’s degree.
  
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the related fields for individuals with a master’s degree and 15 years of experience for those without a master’s degree with a proven track record of successful implementation of projects such as health information systems development and implementation, digital health strategy development and implementation, eHealth architecture development, and interoperability services, digital health infrastructure development at a national scale.
  
• At least 5 years of proven leadership in the administration of similar-sized international donor-supported programs with skills in strategic planning, management, supervision, and budgeting.
  
• Demonstrated experience working with senior-level representatives of developing country governments, international organizations, U.S. government agencies, other bilateral donors, civil society organizations, and private sector organizations.
  
• Demonstrated ability to organize and effectively and efficiently navigate the rules and regulations of U.S. government awards; experience with PEPFAR-supported projects, including CDC projects, preferred.
  
• Experience implementing donor-funded programs is required; CDC and USAID Health System Strengthening projects experience is preferred.
  
• Possess a combination of technical familiarity and management skills that span the subject areas covered by the activities including digital health, and health data management.
  
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical assistance and advisory services to a range of technical teams.
  
• Strong organizational skills, ability to work independently and virtually, and to track timelines and deliverables with minimal guidance.
  
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work successfully in a culturally diverse, team-based organizational structure.
  
• Strong presentation skills.
  
• Experience working on gender, equity, rights, and accountability desired.
  
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

Preferred:

• Health informatics experience: Proven experience managing large HIS development, implementation, and health data management projects or programs at a leadership level.
  
• Business Development: Additional experience in Business Development will be an added advantage
  
• A capacity builder: Experience in building institutional, local technical, management, and leadership capacity.
  
• Be results-oriented: Knows how to design and successfully implement, monitor, and disseminate results, adapting as needed to achieve the greatest impact.
  
• A responsive manager: Able to motivate staff to perform effectively toward project objectives.
  
• A strategist and an innovator: Demonstrated creative and innovative problem solver with a strong interest in private-sector approaches to development and a proven ability to produce results.
  
• A motivator: Have the ability to re-energize a team and steer them towards high productivity
  
• A collaborator: Demonstrated success in collaboration and coordination across sister projects, digital health and clinical partners, public, private sectors, and other stakeholders.
  
• Analytical: Demonstrated problem-solving, analytic, financial, and evaluative skills.
  
• Agility: Ability to anticipate, respond, and adapt quickly to changing requirements and competing demands.
  
• Autonomy: Ability to take initiative and/or respond independently to situations.
  
• Diligence: Attention to detail and ability to effectively and efficiently perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities often within a required timeframe.