Job Opportunity at D-tree International, Deputy Director, Zanzibar

Reports to:        Zanzibar Director

Location:            Zanzibar, Tanzania

Start Date:          Immediate opening (June 2021 or earlier if possible)

Who we are

D-tree International is a global digital health organization committed to improving lives by ensuring that everyone has access to quality primary healthcare in underserved areas. We do this by supporting governments to build and deploy digital tools for frontline health workers to improve their ability to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care. D-tree collaborates with governments to demonstrate these digital systems, builds the capacity of health workers, supervisors and leaders, and accompanies governments as they scale digitally enabled health systems nationally. 

Since 2011, D-tree has partnered with the Zanzibar Ministry of Health to implement an innovative digital health program, Jamii ni Afya (“Community is health”), supporting Community Health Volunteers to provide health services within their communities. This program has consistently demonstrated improved health outcomes, a strengthened community health system, and increased use of data for decision-making. Over time, Jamii  ni Afya has grown from a pilot to a national program and has demonstrated how digital technology can transform the quality of a health system. The Zanzibar government has committed to adopting Jamii ni Afya at national scale; integrating digitally enabled Community Health Volunteers into their formal Community Health Strategy. This represents the world’s first nationally scaled digital community health program, bringing high quality health services to the doorsteps of all of Zanzibar. The digital health program will be fully scaled in July 2021, allowing D-tree to focus on program sustainability, quality and impact. 

As our program has expanded, so has our portfolio of donors. We are currently funded by five donors with varying scopes, timelines and reporting requirements. Further, we have a team of nearly 20 staff within various technical areas supporting program delivery. As the program and team continue to grow, we have a need for a Deputy Director to look across our portfolio and team to ensure strong processes and procedures, cross-team collaboration and programmatic excellence. This is an exciting opportunity to continue to strengthen our work and help us to realize the potential of digital health in Zanzibar to improve healthcare delivery and save lives.  

Who you are

We are seeking a full time Deputy Director, based in Stone Town, Zanzibar, to manage D-tree’s Zanzibar portfolio, which consists of multiple funding streams supporting the Zanzibar government to integrate digital technology into their primary health system. This is a dynamic and challenging role requiring an individual with experience managing and building capacity of a multi-cultural team and managing a complex program portfolio. You are someone who is just as comfortable motivating team members and creating a positive office environment as you are managing budgets and work plans across multiple funders. You have the ability to see the big picture, as well as have excellent attention to detail and are very proactive. You are passionate about building the capacity of staff and supporting others to effectively manage projects and supervise others. 

What you will do

Staff Management (40% LOE)

• Manage team leads who are overseeing functional areas within the portfolio, including monitoring & evaluation, programs, technology and finance & operations. 
• Directly supervise 4-6 staff who are themselves supervising staff in various roles, including
• Approving staff timesheets
• Approving advances and expenses
• Conduct staff performance reviews and quarterly conversations 
• Supporting staff to develop Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and establish performance action plans where necessary
• Ensure teams are on track to meet performance goals (including setting team and individual objectives and goals that help achieve program success) 
• Provide technical mentoring, coaching and support to program leads and teams through regular meetings, in-person support, and identification of relevant professional development and learning opportunities.
• Support team leads to take on leadership roles, effectively supervise their teams, and be accountable for program outcomes and work in a coordinated way across units
• Support capacity building of team leads to further develop technical program management and leadership skills 
• Participate in recruitment of key staff for country programs
• Support strong cohesion among team leads, and develop strong structures for collaboration and communication across functional areas
• Together with Zanzibar Director, foster a positive, collaborative and effective environment in which all staff feel empowered, energized, supported and aligned with program and organizational goals
• Portfolio Management & Program Quality (30% LOE)
• Provide strategic, technical, and programmatic leadership and support to country program, technical and operations staff
• Facilitate coordination between program, M&E, technology (digital) and operations units, including joint financial and programmatic planning, with the objective of improving the quality of our programs and the impact on people’s lives
• Provide oversight to program work plans and support quality implementation 
• Oversee program budgeting, projections and financial management together with finance and operations manager 
• Together with Zanzibar team leads, set and refine program strategies, with a focus on health systems strengthening and building local capacity
• Together with finance and operations manager, ensure integrity of petty cash, mobile money account/s, and bank accounts 
• Together with D-tree’s Communications Manager, generate content for external communications aligned with D-tree’s communications strategy
• Grants Management (30% LOE)
• Guide development of programmatic reports and analyses for donors
• Understand and contribute to a culture of compliance and ensure adherence to donor requirements and D-tree policies across diverse portfolio 
• Serve as the technical point of contact for donors
• Manage cross portfolio budget across all funders and projects, including ensuring projections align with activities and staffing needs to meet program objectives, and spending is on track 
• Stay abreast of progress on holistic program objectives; ensure staff and partners are kept on track and informed of progress and challenges maximizing ability to achieve results
• Be accountable for financial stewardship of donor funds and have working knowledge of budgets
• Contribute to development of high-quality proposals, including providing support for project design as well as reviews at relevant design stages.

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 team 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 6 years work experience, with a digital, primary health and /or health system strengthening focus preferred 
• Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. public health, global development)
• Experience managing, motivating and mentoring a large, multi-cultural team and demonstrated success in cultivating a positive, empowering environment for all team members
• Minimum 2 years’ experience living in a low- or middle-income country (Tanzania or East Africa preferred) 
• Strong project management skills
• 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 
• Excellent written and spoken English required; Swahili preferred
• Experience managing grants across multiple donors (such as UN agencies, US government, private foundations)
• Committed to spending 3 or more years in Zanzibar 

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.

Application information  

To apply for this role please fill in the google form here.

Only applicants who respond to all questions and include their CV and a thoughtful cover letter will be considered. 

Deadline for applications: Open until filled