Chief Technology Officer - Resolve to Save Lives, Nigeria (Nigeria CDC secondment) at Resolve to Save Lives

Position Summary:

Resolve to Save Lives seeks qualified candidates for a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) position to be seconded to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). This person will oversee the digital transformation strategy across the NCDC to strengthen their capacity and capability to prepare for, detect and respond to disease threats quickly and effectively in Nigeria. S/he will work closely with directors from several divisions across NCDC as well as partners to drive effective digital strategy, governance, architecture, data-use, solution development and associated interventions across the organization related to epidemic preparedness and response. 

In addition to managing the strategy and coordinating across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and partners, the CTO will lead a team of technologists to provide immediate human resource capacity for the design, development, implementation and support of NCDC digital strategy, governance, and solutions. Through continuous engagement and bold strides, a successful CTO will create an enabling environment necessary for a successful digital transformation for disease surveillance and detection, with the end of goal of giving decision-makers the ability to make timely, data-driven, and informed decisions.

This is a full-time position based in Abuja, Nigeria. The position will be for a two-year contract with potential for extension. Salary and benefits will be competitive with industry standards in Nigeria.

This position will work as a seconded staff within NCDC, coordinating closely with the leads of surveillance, laboratory, ICT, emergency operations, and those leading state-level EOCs. S/he will also work closely with and receive support from the project and technical leads in the Epidemic Intelligence Unit (EIU) at Resolve to Save Lives.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

Establish an enabling environment to actualize a digital transformation for the detection and response to disease threats.

• Lead the evolution and implementation for the digital transformation of NCDC, including a digital governance, financing and management strategy, to strengthen disease surveillance, emergency operations and response.
• Identify knowledge and capacity gaps and design and implement a strategy for improving digital capabilities within NCDC.
• Coordinate and manage the relationships between relevant MDAs, domestic and international partners and donors to strengthen existing digital solutions in alignment with the overall objectives and goals of NCDC.

Lead and manage a team of technologists to provide targeted technical assistance and facilitate institutional change

• Identify gaps in digital capabilities necessary for success of NCDC programs.
• Recruit and establish a high-performing, small team of technologists to facilitate improvement of existing and/or new data products, workflows and analytics that address identified gaps.
• Oversee management processes (e.g. routine prioritization/workload management, leave, travel)
• Enable effective goal-setting, team process, performance management; coach staff to identify leadership and technical challenges and implement commensurate solutions

Support the implementation of specific digital solutions and/or pilot programs, to systematically support epidemic preparedness and response

• Develop clear, evidence-informed proposals and budgets to support any new RTSL-funded initiatives related to digital transformation
• Support the piloting of digital and data-driven projects, with a focus on human-centered design and quick, iterative learning.
• Evaluate the application of standard, interoperability profiles and associated utilities to support communication with and between digital systems and technology standards to improve health system performance.
• Engage state-level users to understand the product use cases and requirements to inform the development and roll-out of solutions across sub-national levels.

Required experience, skills, and abilities:

• 10+ years of experience leading data, product management, software development, or design teams as a product, engineering or design lead
• Understanding of public health or healthcare, particularly in LMICs, is highly desirable, ideally with experience in Ministries of Health or other associated government structures
• Required leadership experience in:
  • collaborating and coordinating with stakeholders with different interests in a fast-paced environment to ensure product deliverables are met
  • interacting with organizational leadership on change management
  • managing product development, sprints, roadmaps and backlogs, ideally in a digital transformation initiative, with a focus on systems thinking and user-centered design
  • managing a government technology team that has external vendors and in-house digital solutions
  • software development experience for public health applications with an eye towards interoperability and security challenges of working with health data, particularly in LMICs
  • analyzing and translating data for appropriate decision-makers, connecting data to action
  • managing data systems at scale, ideally experience with DHIS2
• Desirable experience in:
  • developing technical strategies for a diverse range of organizational ambitions
  • building and managing diverse and inclusive teams
  • budget management and proposal writing
  • the Agile product management framework
  • engaging and influencing global health stakeholders on advancing technological innovation