Zambia Director D-tree International

Zambia Director

Reports to: Director of Programs

Location: Lusaka, Zambia

Start Date: March 2022

Who we are

D-tree International is a global digital health organization dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality primary healthcare in underserved areas. We do this by working with governments to design, build and deploy digital tools for frontline health workers that improve their ability to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care. D-tree engages with governments to develop a shared vision for the potential of digital health, demonstrates the effectiveness of digital systems to improve health outcomes, and accompanies governments to scale these digital systems nationally and institutionalize them within their broader health systems.

For over 15 years, D-tree has worked in countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa with governments and NGO partners on a wide range of digital health programs focused on improving the quality of healthcare delivery. In Zambia and Malawi, we have worked to strengthen the quality of HIV service delivery using digital tools on USAID and PEPFAR-funded programs. In Tanzania, we are working with the MOH and local partners to develop a digitally enabled primary health care program to strengthen the quality of maternal, child and adolescent care. In Zanzibar, D-tree has worked hand-in-hand with the MOH to bring the government’s first national digital community health program to national scale, supporting every household in Zanzibar.

As our portfolio of digital health programs continues to grow, we have an opportunity to expand our engagement in Zambia to support HIV service delivery and prevention at the community level and build relationships with the national government to support to the broader primary health system. This role is new to the organization and first full time position in Zambia. It is an exciting opportunity to help expand D-tree’s work by establishing a D-tree office in Zambia, and leading the implementation of government-aligned digital health systems to improve access to quality healthcare in Zambia.

Who you are

We are seeking a Zambia Director based in Lusaka to manage and grow D-tree’s Zambia portfolio and serve as the leader of D-tree in Zambia. The Zambia Director will establish the D-tree Zambia office and lead the team’s efforts on a USAID-funded HIV service delivery and prevention project and a foundation-funded initiative to engage with digital community health efforts. The Director is responsible for positioning D-tree as a key digital health partner to the Zambia government. You will lead D-tree’s government engagement and collaboration efforts and participate in technical working groups, individual meetings, and networking activities to ensure D-tree’s programs reflect government priorities and are integrated as part of the Zambian health system.

Your main responsibilities will be three-fold: First, you will be accountable for ensuring that D-tree implements high quality projects in Zambia that are aligned with and promote D-tree’s strategic approach and objectives; exceed donor and partner expectations; and position D-tree for future contributions to the Zambia health system. Second, you will be responsible for setting the direction of D-tree’s growth in Zambia, working closely with D-tree’s organizational leadership to identify opportunities, design new projects, developing new strategic partnerships, and contribute to funding proposals that move the organization towards achievement of D-tree’s 5-year strategic plan. Finally, as we initiate our presence in Zambia, you will be responsible for D-tree team leadership in Zambia—building out a team and establishing a D-tree office and solidifying our legal registrations and setting up operational processes aligned with D-tree’s global policies and procedures in Zambia; fostering team collaboration, motivation, and individual skills building; and promoting team alignment around D-tree’s objectives in Zambia and globally.

This is a dynamic and challenging role requiring an individual with experience fostering and developing strong teams, managing programs and financial operations, engaging with a diverse group of stakeholders (including government, funders, and partners), and strategically leveraging resources to deepen impact. You have strong technical skills and experience in digital health or health systems strengthening and are eager to collaborate with D-tree’s organizational leadership to expand D-tree’s impact in Zambia.

Team Leadership (20% LOE)

Lead the Zambia team with overall responsibility for fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing environment in which the team builds the skills needed for long-term success. Key responsibilities include:

Zambia team oversight, alignment, and growth:

• Directly supervise 1-2 staff, including a Program Manager and a Finance and Operations officer
• Mentor and coach team to effectively manage projects; achieve high quality programs that set Zambia up for future growth; and promote their performance and skills development
• Foster a positive, collaborative and effective environment in which all staff feel empowered, energized, supported and aligned with program and organizational goals.
• Develop team building and professional development opportunities for staff and engage in frequent feedback sessions to gage staff satisfaction and identify areas for further improvement mutually beneficial to staff and organizational goals
• As the Zambia portfolio grows, collaborate with the global Director of Programs to strategize and plan for long term staffing needs for the Zambia office.

Zambia office start-up

• Collaborate with Global Support Team to assume and finalize operational and administrative start-up and management thereof of D-tree’s presence in Zambia (including human resource, financial, operational and country level compliance matters)
• Stay abreast of NGO Compliance in Zambia by having up to date working knowledge of the operating environment and networking with other INGOs.  Lead action plan for any necessary changes that arise to ensure compliance with spirit of all applicable regulatory laws

Link between Zambia team and D-tree as a global organization:

• Serve as a member of D-tree’s senior leadership team to contribute to organization-wide decision-making and strategy and ensure that the Zambia program plans and strategy are aligned with D-tree’s direction.
• Connect with staff and leadership across D-tree’s country offices and global team to foster organizational team cohesion and take advantage of talent, tools, resources, and best-practices available across the organization.
• Champion organization-wide initiatives, processes, and policies, and inspire the team to be aligned and engaged

Program Oversight (30% LOE)

The Zambia Program Director is accountable for ensuring that D-tree implements high quality programs in Zambia that align with D-tree organizational approach, exceed donor and partner expectations, and improve access to high quality healthcare. Key responsibilities include:

• Serve as the lead D-tree point of contact for the USAID HIV Service Delivery for HIV Prevention project, oversee the Zambia team in delivering this project and ensure our work is aligned with D-tree’s values, approach, and objectives and exceeds donor and partner expectations.
• Serve as the lead D-tree representative to identify areas of engagement and contribution towards Zambia’s digital community health initiatives
• Oversee Zambia projects and contribute directly to program outputs, including preparing and reviewing project reports and setting program strategies, with a focus on health systems strengthening and building skills of government agencies and local partners.
• Be accountable for financial stewardship of donor funds and have working knowledge of budget.
• Lead donor and partner engagement to foster strong relationships. Understand their key interests and priorities as well as contractual requirements and communicate regularly to ensure that we deliver and are aligned consistently.
• Collaborate with Zambia Program Manager and D-tree’s Director of Programs to ensure that programs have robust research and learning components to generate evidence of impact and contribute to global learning.

National-level engagement (30% LOE)

The Director will lead engagement with the Government of Zambia and other key stakeholders in order to foster the integration of D-tree efforts within the Zambian health system and increase D-tree’s standing as a key digital health partner. Responsibilities include:

• Lead project efforts and activities involving government and implementing partner engagement to ensure that D-tree’s efforts are aligned with MOH needs and priorities
• Collaborate with D-tree’s Director of Programs and Director of Partnerships to plan and execute a government engagement strategy with the aim of positioning D-tree as a key digital health partner in Zambia
• Regularly participate in relevant technical working groups and individual meetings with government officials and development partners
• Cultivate relationships with key influencers and decision-makers to position D-tree as a key digital health partner, particularly in the area of primary healthcare systems strengthening.
• Articulate a vision for digitally enabled primary health care in Zambia and garner government excitement and commitment to partner with D-tree in strengthening primary health care system.
• Stay abreast of government plans, policies, and strategies to align and expand D-tree’s work with government systems
• Cultivate strong working relationships with senior government officials and keep them apprised of D-tree’s work and plans

Strategic Growth and Business Development (20% LOE)

• Devise, implement, and monitor a Zambia country strategy, which includes clear goals that are aligned with current program and organizational priorities and how we are positioning ourselves for growth. Regularly track progress against the plan and update the country strategy as the environment or plans evolve
• Work with the Zambia team and D-tree’s global support team to identify key health system challenges in Zambia, prioritize areas to address in current or future programs, and develop strategies that apply or expand upon D-tree’s areas of expertise to tackle the problems
• Strategically engage with potential partners and/or funders and identify alignment between D-tree’s vision and donor and partner priorities to highlight new funding opportunities
• Work with the global support team to design new projects, iterate and expand existing programs and contribute to funding proposals that move the organization towards achievement of D-tree’s 5-year strategic plan
• Represent D-tree externally, including at national and international conferences, presenting our work in an exciting and inspiring way and linking our programs to the broader field of global digital health.

What we are looking for

We are looking for a motivated, passionate leader who is willing to wear multiple hats and do what it takes to make our programs and staff succeed. The following attributes are a general overview, but we will consider individuals who do not meet all of the details below if you have the right skill set and attitude.

Basic requirements

• Minimum 10 years work experience with 7 years in leadership positions specifically with a digital, primary health and /or health system strengthening focus
• Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. public health, global development)
• Experience strategically engaging with governments (preference for digital health engagements)
• Experience representing an organization within national level technical working groups and contributing meaningfully to national health system efforts
• Excellent networking skills, with demonstrated experience cultivating relationships with key stakeholders
• Experience managing, motivating and mentoring a large, multi-cultural team and demonstrated success in cultivating a positive, empowering environment for all team members
• Superior analytical skills; ability to think logically and rationally about problems and solution oriented
• Must be able to handle complex priorities, collaborate effectively with a distributed team, be persistent and work under tight deadlines with minimal supervision
• Experience developing and implementing strategies to efficiently expand and scale programs, while maintaining program quality
• Excellent written and spoken English required;  competency in Chewa or Bemba preferred
• Experience cultivating diverse donor relationships (such as UN agencies, US government, private foundations)

Desired characteristics

• A positive team leader: You are a caring, collaborative leader with experience coaching and mentoring staff, gaining more satisfaction by empowering others than taking credit yourself.
• A can-do attitude: You remain optimistic in the face of adversity and creatively solve problems to get things done.
• A systems thinker: You are able to understand linkages and interactions between individual components in a health system, and design solutions to strengthen the overall system.
• An innovator: You enjoy thinking outside of the box and want to use that thinking to solve pressing global health problems.
• A detail oriented & strategic thinker: You pay attention to small details and focus on quality and consistency, but also have the ability to see the big picture and think strategically.

Salary Range:

$68,000 to $78,000 USD annual salary inclusive of all cash compensation (equivalent – to be paid in Zambian Kwacha)

Note: Starting salaries typically fall in the lower half of the salary range; however, they are ultimately determined by the scope of the position, the candidate’s relevant experience, and internal equity