Palladium

Deputy Chief of Party, USAID/Ethiopia, Digital Health Activity

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 Proposal Opportunity:

Palladium is seeking a Deputy Chief of Party (COP) to support an anticipated five-year USAID-funded project intended to support the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) to build 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 Ethiopians. 

Under the Chief of Party's (COP) supervision, the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will be responsible for providing managerial and operational guidance for the project, ensuring adherence to USAID and Palladium regulations to meet project objectives. They will be responsible for overseeing project technical aspects, ensuring that the program functions are aligned with both the technical priorities of the GOE and USAID. They will actively engage and foster positive relationships with relevant stakeholders. Additionally, the DCOP supports the COP in liaison, programmatic, strategic development, and 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 Addis Ababa and is contingent upon award and USAID approval.

• This is a proposal position and is contingent upon award from USAID.* 

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Co-lead and oversee programmatic functions, including work plan and budget development, as well as the preparation of quarterly/annual reports, ensuring effective implementation of program strategy.
• Maintain open communication throughout the project with Chief of Party, USAID Ethiopia, GOE, 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
• Serve in an acting capacity in the absence of the COP.
• Advise on technical direction and guidance for all project activities, ensuring program activities are technically sound, responsive, and appropriate
• Strengthen the capabilities of project staff and local stakeholders (including GOE 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 utilization.
• Utilize analytical and evaluative techniques to identify and resolve issues as they arise.
• 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

Key Competencies Required:

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Information Sciences, Data Science, Nutrition, project management, public policy and management, international development, or other related areas.
• Minimum 8 years of experience managing operational, project management, and administrative duties for large donor projects involving coordination with multiple implementing partners, local partners, and/or or institutions
• At least 5 years proven leadership in the administration of similar sized international donor- supported programs with skills in strategic planning, work planning, management of implementation, staff supervision, and budgeting.
• Knowledge of USG contract management, policies, procedures, regulations and reporting requirements.
• 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.
• 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 Ethiopia) 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 English, including evidence of quality report writing and oral presentations. Amharic proficiency preferred.
• Ethiopian nationals with relevant experience are encouraged to apply
• Must be willing to live and travel within Ethiopia.

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

• USAID project management experience, especially in digital health.
• Strong leadership and staff oversight skills.
• 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 Ethiopia.

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. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status. 

Should you require any adjustments or accommodation 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.