Digital Health Program Officer

Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, Speak Up Africa is a Policy and Advocacy Action Tank dedicated to catalyzing leadership, enabling policy change, and increasing awareness for sustainable development in Africa. Through our platforms and relationships and with the help of our partners, we ensure that policy makers meet implementers, that solutions are showcased and that every sector contributes critically to the dialogue and strives to form the blueprints for concrete action for sustainable development – from individual citizens and civil society groups to global donors and business leaders.

As a women-led organization, gender equality is in our DNA. Unless women and girls in all their diversity can meaningfully hold leadership positions, make decisions, and allocate resources, our continent will never fully thrive. We support the inclusion of women and girls on public platforms and as leaders and encourage them to significantly participate in decision-making spaces.

The African Women in Digital Health (AWiDH) initiative, a flagship of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Digital Transformation Strategy, was launched during the December 2022 Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) meeting in Kigali by Africa CDC, Speak Up Africa, and partners. AWiDH is a coalition of organizations and individuals that advocate for gender equality in technology for health with an objective of closing the gender digital gap in Africa. Selected Member States are supported to design or update their digital health strategy to include a gender lens, with quantitative targets set to clearly measure the impact of these partnerships. AWiDH will focus on achieving equal gender representation in incubators and accelerators, and within both the public and private sectors. In addition to increasing representation, AWiDH will sustain partnerships that invest in upskilling and executive training for women already working in the digital health space.

The Program Officer will play a pivotal role in implementing the initiative to advance gender equality within the digital health sector across Africa.

• Program Implementation
  • Lead the implementation of AWiDH workplan activities
  • Manage the AWiDH network and coordinate the selection of country focal points as a part of the network building efforts.
  • Lead and coordinate consultant activities in alignment with program goals.
  • Ensure alignment of AWiDH supported interventions with national digital health strategies and policy frameworks of Member States.
  • Organize in-person and virtual meetings and events to promote the initiative, its progress, and overall outcomes.
  • Foster peer-to-peer learning in network through conference calls, newsletters, facilitation of conferences.
  • Act as a representative and advocate for AWiDH in various forums, conferences, and meetings to promote gender equality in technology for health and showcase the initiative’s impact.
  • Lead monthly calls with donors to provide updates, gather feedback, and strengthen long-term partnerships.
  • Lead capacity strengthening activities aimed at upskilling and executive training women already working in the digital health space, ensuring continuous professional development.
  • Coordinate the development and dissemination of knowledge products and learning resources (e.g., case studies, digital toolkits, briefs) that showcase AWiDH’s learnings and impact.

• Partnership Development and Management
  • Identify, engage, and foster strategic partnerships with governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations, private sector entities, and other stakeholders to support AWiDH’s mission.
  • Collaborate closely with other Africa CDC flagship initiatives to ensure alignment and facilitate coordinated efforts towards gender equality in digital health.
  • Facilitate effective communication and collaboration among AWiDH stakeholders, ensuring that all parties are informed and engaged in the initiative’s activities.
  • Support the engagement with regional bodies and technical platforms to promote cross-country learning and policy harmonization.
  • Liaise with funders as needed and lead resource mobilization efforts for AWiDH, ensuring sustained donor engagement and funding growth.

• Monitoring and evaluation
  • Develop and implement the monitoring and evaluation plan for the project to track progress, identify challenges, and adapt strategies as needed to meet AWiDH’s objectives.
  • Maintain accurate and comprehensive documentation of program activities, milestones, and outcomes.
  • Work in close collaboration with Speak Up Africa’s gender Expert to maintain and monitor AWiDH’s impact.

• Reporting
  • Produce quarterly reports highlighting current progress, achievements, potential bottlenecks to be shared with Speak Up Africa and AWIDH flagship partners.
  • Monitor and evaluate portfolio’s implementation to meet targets and milestones.
  • Lead the development of external-facing annual reports.

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in public health, public policy, gender studies, international development, or a related field.
• Proven experience in program management, preferably in the field of digital health or gender equality.
• Strong organizational, synthesis and reporting skills.
• Excellent project management and communications skills and a high level of organization.
• Strong understanding of public health issues in Africa and the role of technology in healthcare.
• Ability to travel up to 30%.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain partnerships with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and advocacy skills.
• Must be fluent in French and English.
• Ability to work as a collegiate member of a small team, and with minimal supervision.