Data.FI Kenya Country Director / Governance and Policy Lead

Data.FI Kenya Country Director / Governance and Policy Lead

About Palladium

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development, and delivery of Positive Impact-the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. For more than 50 years, Palladium has been helping clients achieve impact through innovative strategies, practical approaches, and measurable results.

Project Overview and Position Summary

Data.FI is a global project funded by the U.S. Department of State to strengthen health information systems, health financing and improve the use of data for decision making. In Kenya, Data.FI will support the Ministry of Health (MoH) through the Digital Health Agency (DHA), National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), the National Public Health Institute (NPHI) and other relevant state agencies to enhance digital health governance, public health surveillance, and health financing integration.

The Country Director / Governance and Policy Lead will
lead the Data.FI Kenya project, providing strategic leadership, coordination,
and technical oversight. This role supports bilateral health cooperation under
the America First Global Health Strategy, with a focus on national ownership,
strong governance, and data-driven outcomes. Acting as the senior liaison to
Kenya's Digital Health Agency (DHA), the position will also support the DHA in
the execution of its mandate and strategic priorities. The Country Director
will ensure alignment with Kenyan laws and global standards while fostering
close collaboration with U.S. Government agencies and key partners.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

*Provide strategic leadership for Data.FI Kenya to advance bilateral cooperation between the Government of Kenya and the United States under the America First Global Health Strategy.
*Ensure robust interagency coordination with US CDC, State Department, and other USG entities to advance shared global health security goals, surveillance strengthening, and digital transformation agendas that protect both Kenyan and American public health interests.
*Maintain close and deliberate collaboration with the DHA and the CDC-funded KeHMIS project, ensuring harmonized implementation of digital architectures, aligned workplans, cost-effective implementation, and a unified USG presence in support of Kenya's digital health priorities.
*Support the DHA in national-scale implementation of digital health solutions; ensuring they strengthen surveillance, improve service delivery, and contribute to early warning and rapid response capabilities.
*Support DHA in instituting system-wide HIS strengthening including maturity assessments, digital readiness reviews, interoperability alignment, governance reforms, and national standards adoption to improve the integrity, completeness, and timeliness of health data.
*Lead project planning, budgeting, compliance, and performance management for USG funds, ensuring transparency, accountability, and adherence to federal standards, while reinforcing Kenyan government institutional capabilities.
*Guide evidence generation, implementation science activities, and strategic analytics that inform GOK, DHA and USG decision-making on surveillance, digital transformation, and national health security priorities.
*Supervise and mentor multi-disciplinary teams: technical, operational, financial, and digital health specialists, to ensure disciplined execution, high-quality outputs, and a culture of continuous improvement.
*Represent Data.FI and USG-supported digital health investments in national digital health technical forums, interagency coordination meetings, and security-sensitive health information discussions.

Required Qualifications:

*Master of Public Health (MPH) or an advanced degree in computer science, digital health, health informatics, epidemiology, health systems management, or a related field.
*At least 15 years of senior leadership experience supporting national digital health, HIS, surveillance, or public health systems, including extensive engagement with the Kenya Ministry of Health and DHA.
*Demonstrated experience co-creating and institutionalizing national digital health governance frameworks, interoperability standards, and policy instruments with government, in line with the Kenya Data Protection Act and Digital Health Act.
*Strong experience working across USG interagency structures, including familiarity with State Department priorities, coordination mechanisms, and global health security expectations.
*Proven ability to coordinate or complement the CDC-funded KeHMIS program, ensuring aligned implementation, efficiency gains, and a coherent USG technical presence to minimize fragmentation and duplication.
*Track record implementing national-scale digital health solutions, including EMRs, POC systems, community digitization platforms, surveillance data tools, and unique patient identifier frameworks, with clear results in system performance and data quality.
*At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience managing large, USG-funded health or digital-transformation programs.
*Proven experience in governance, policy engagement, and institutional capacity development.
*Strong program and financial management capability, including multi-award oversight, forecasting, risk mitigation, compliance with USG financial controls, and alignment with national legal frameworks.
*Experience leading system assessments, digital system maturity reviews, surveillance strengthening activities, and implementation research relevant to health security, systems integration and digital transformation.
*Proven leadership managing complex multi-disciplinary teams, with the ability to cultivate a high-performance culture anchored in transparency, accountability, and consistent delivery.
*Publication or thought-leadership contributions in digital health, surveillance, implementation science, or health information systems.
*Excellence in diplomacy and government engagement, with the ability to build trusted relationships across national ministries, USG interagency teams, and implementing partners to advance jointly defined strategic outcomes.

Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Reports To: Data.FI Project Director (Global)
Type: Full-time, National Position

Safeguarding
Palladium is committed to safeguarding
and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults, and expects
all staff and partners to share this commitment.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Our company provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.

Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.