Deputy Chief of Party and Technical Director, USAID/Madagascar Arakisa

Deputy Chief of Party and Technical Director, USAID/Madagascar

About Palladium:

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

This Opportunity:

Palladium is seeking a Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP)/Technical Director to support an anticipated five-year USAID-funded project intended to support the Government of Madagascar in building sustainable, resilient, and interoperable health information systems (HIS) to enable access, analysis, and use of quality data to improve the health and well-being of all Malagasy.

Under the Chief of Party's (COP) supervision, the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP)/Technical Director will be responsible for technical leadership and oversight of project activities, ensuring that the program functions are aligned with both the technical priorities of the GOM and USAID. They will actively engage and foster positive relationships with relevant stakeholders. Additionally, the DCOP/TD supports the COP in liaison, programmatic, strategic development, and technical quality control responsibilities. They are expected to possess extensive technical expertise, a strong professional reputation, interpersonal skills, and professional networks to effectively fulfill activity requirements. This position will be based in Antananarivo and is contingent upon award and USAID approval.

Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar

Primary Roles and Responsibilities:

• Provide overall strategic, technical and programmatic guidance to assist the COP in overseeing all technical components of the program.
• Provide technical leadership to key project areas, including HIS governance and capacity building; data collection, analysis and use; implementation of digital health and health information systems; and resilience strategies.
• Provide technical direction and guidance for the design, implementation, and monitoring of all project activities, ensuring program activities are technically sound, responsive, and appropriate.
• Maintain open communication throughout the project with Chief of Party, USAID Madagascar, GOM, Project Director, Technical Leads, Finance Officer and project operations teams, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the Chief of Party and project staff to continuously refine implementation strategies and processes by integrating lessons learned and best practices.
• Strengthen the capabilities of project staff and local stakeholders (including GOM and local partners) to facilitate the smooth integration of systems, meet data demand and optimize data use, and ensure effective governance of Health Information Systems (HIS).
• Collaborate with diverse stakeholders to promote country-driven, inclusive, and locally-relevant strategies aimed at enhancing harmonized indicator development, data quality, and use.
• Ensure the delivery of high-quality services and compliance with project requirements.
• Contribute to the preparation of project-related reports, presentations, abstracts, and white papers.
• Facilitate and support project trainings, conferences, workshops, and meetings as necessary, and represent the organization at external events.
• Lead and support research, data collection, policy formulation, training, and capacity-building efforts aligned with project objectives.
• Provide supervision and guidance to senior technical staff, as well as mentorship to mid- and junior-level staff members.
• Any and all other project-related tasks as required by the Chief of Party.

Essential Criteria:

• Master’s degree in information systems, health informatics, computer science, public health, project management, public policy and management, international development, or other related area.
• At least 3 years of demonstrable experience in epidemiological, public health, health systems management, strategic information, technical or technological background in Digital Health or Health Information Systems in Southern Africa required; in Madagascar preferred.
• Proven technical leader of a comparable donor-funded project, technology team, or public health institution. Must demonstrate experience building, leading, and managing teams delivering technical projects in public health or technology sectors; and in effectively managing multidisciplinary partnerships.
• Knowledge of USG contract management, policies, procedures, regulations and reporting requirements.
• USAID project management experience, especially in digital health.
• Senior level staff management and supervision skills with ability to plan, routinely track and prioritize staff resources across a complex project.
• Senior level relationship management, diplomacy and negotiation skills, including ability to negotiate workplans and build consensus between clients, partners and colleagues.
• Experience working at regional and/or local government unit level on health and/or social sector issues including liaising with Ministry of Health.
• Strong interpersonal relationships with regional and national key health stakeholders including among CSOs and local institutions.
• Experience relevant to accomplishment of cross-cutting objectives including gender, youth and marginalized populations, private sector engagement, and resilience.
• Proven ability to develop and communicate a common vision among diverse partners and the ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams.
• At least 5 years of experience working in developing countries (preferably Africa and preferably Madagascar) on USAID-funded or other donor funded projects leveraging digital technologies to address healthcare challenges.
• Attention to detail and ability to effectively and efficiently perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities, often within a required timeframe.
• Evidence of strong oral and written communication skills in French, including evidence of quality report writing and oral presentations. English proficiency required.
• Malagasy nationals with relevant experience are encouraged to apply.
• Must be willing to live and travel within Madagascar.

Desirable Criteria:

• Professional experience in fields related to the successful implementation of this project such as national health information systems development and implementation, digital health strategy implementation, data management and use.
• Strong leadership and staff oversight skills.
• Senior level skills in pricing/budgeting.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement.
• Problem-solving and adaptability in dynamic environments.
• Commitment to localization outcomes, and experience strengthening organizational and technical capacity of local organizations.
• Commitment to sustainable health outcomes in Madagascar.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.