Mainland Tanzania Director At D-tree International

Reports to: Director of Programs

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Start Date: February or March 2023

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.

D-tree is among the most experienced digital health partners in Tanzania, having worked with the government and multiple NGO partners since 2008 on a wide range of digital health programs focused on improving the quality of healthcare delivery. We are currently collaborating with the Tanzanian government on a digitally-enabled primary health care program in Kibaha, which has gained significant interest and is poised to strengthen a number of government digital health systems in Tanzania. We are also serving as the digital health partner in a large-scale community health TB/HIV program and have a growing portfolio of work around digitally-enabled, community-based early child development (ECD) services. As our portfolio in the digital community health space continues to grow, we have an opportunity to expand our engagement with the national government to serve as a key digital health partner for strengthening primary health care services. This is an exciting opportunity to help deepen and expand our work and impact.

Who you are

We are seeking a full time Mainland Tanzania Director, based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to manage and grow D-tree’s Mainland Tanzania portfolio and serve as the leader of D-tree in Tanzania. The Tanzania Director is responsible for positioning D-tree as a key trusted digital health partner within the Tanzania government. You will lead the D-tree team in engaging with the Government of Tanzania and key stakeholders through participation 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 Tanzanian health system. You will be accountable for ensuring that D-tree implements high quality programs in Tanzania that are aligned with and promote D-tree’s strategic approach and objectives; exceed donor and partner expectations; and are positioned for scale within the government health system. The Director will foster team collaboration, motivation, and individual skills building, while promoting team alignment around D-tree’s objectives in Tanzania and globally. Finally, the Director is responsible for setting the direction of D-tree’s growth in Tanzania, including designing new projects, expanding upon existing programs, developing new strategic partnerships, and contributing to funding proposals that move the organization towards achievement of D-tree’s 5-year strategic plan. This is a dynamic and challenging role requiring an individual with experience fostering and developing strong teams, managing programs, engaging with a diverse group of stakeholders (including government, funders, and partners), and strategically leveraging resources to deepen impact.

You are someone who is just as comfortable motivating team members and creating a positive office environment as you are engaging in strategic conversations with the Ministry of Health and development partners. 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 leading teams and have demonstrated your ability to develop leaders and create a positive, supportive environment in which all staff feel engaged, empowered and valued. You are a humble leader who aims to serve and support your team and you are able to balance an inclusive leadership approach with decisiveness and high quality work outputs. You enjoy devising and pursuing new business opportunities and developing partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders, including government, local and international implementers, and potential donors. 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 Tanzania.

Team Leadership (20% LOE)

Lead the Mainland Tanzania 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:

• Tanzania team oversight, alignment, and growth:
  • Directly supervise 1-3 senior staff, including the Deputy Director and oversee the entire Mainland Tanzania team (currently 18 employees)
  • Provide oversight and support to Deputy Director to effectively manage projects; achieve high quality programs that set Tanzania up for future growth; and supervise and promote the performance and skills development of direct reports.
  • 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
  • In collaboration with the Senior Management Team, strategize and plan for long-term staffing needs for the Tanzania program including supporting the recruitment and onboarding processes and seamlessly integrating new staff into the team
• Link between Tanzania 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 Mainland 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

National-level engagement (30% LOE)

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

• Work closely with the Senior Government Advisor and project teams to plan and execute government engagement and integration strategies for each project and for D-tree’s Tanzania portfolio as a whole
• Regularly participate in relevant technical working groups and individual meetings with government officials and development partners
• Cultivate relationships with key influencers and decision-makers within the Tanzania government, donors and among development partners
• 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 Tanzania and garner government excitement and commitment to partner with D-tree in strengthening Tanzania’s 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

Program Oversight (30% LOE)

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

• Lead the Mainland Tanzania team in delivering high quality programs, which align with D-tree’s values, approach, and objectives and set the program up for future growth
• 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
• Collaborate with Deputy Director to provide on-going technical oversight to programs, including reviewing reports and outputs and setting and refining 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 budgets
• 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 Deputy Director and global team to ensure that programs have robust research and learning components to generate evidence of impact and contribute to global learning

Strategic Growth (20% LOE)

• Devise, implement, and monitor a Mainland Tanzania country strategy, which includes clear goals for mainland Tanzania, which 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 Tanzania team and D-tree’s global support team to identify key health system challenges in Tanzania, 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 (ideally with health programs)
• 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
• Minimum 2 years’ experience living in a low- or middle-income country (Tanzania or East Africa preferred)
• 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; Swahili preferred
• Experience cultivating diverse donor relationships (such as UN agencies, US government, private foundations)
• Committed to spending 3 or more years in Tanzania

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:

131,625,000 TZS to 178,875,000 TZS gross annual salary inclusive of all cash compensation.

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.