HEAD OF DATA & ANALYTICS

Background

Jacaranda Health is a nonprofit organization whose mission for the last eight years has been to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes in the public health system. We work hand-in-hand with governments, including county health management teams and Ministries of Health, to deploy affordable and scalable solutions through public hospitals, where the majority of underserved mothers and babies receive care. These solutions include PROMPTS, an AI-enabled text messaging service for mothers, and MENTORS, a facility-based training program equipping frontline nurses with lifesaving skills and knowledge. In Kenya, we are in 22 of Kenya’s busiest counties, who co-own our interventions, and work with us to design what and how we measure impact for effective decision-making. These partnerships have helped us reach 2.4 million women with our solutions across 1,100+ health centers and hospitals and will continue to be the cornerstone of how we approach the path to national scale in Kenya. We have expanded operations within Eswatini and Ghana. 

Jacaranda Health is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regards to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. 

Job Summary

Jacaranda Health is seeking to engage an experienced and talented individual for the role of a Head of Data & Analytics who will develop and execute  a departmental strategy that supports the mission and scale of Jacaranda Health. The strategy should be focused on delivering the organizational vision of supporting high quality maternal and child health outcomes via evidence based solutions. He/She will have the opportunity to lead a rapidly growing team that supports the implementation, assessment, and scale of Jacaranda’s package of tech-centered health solutions. The Head will be responsible for leading a dynamic Data and Analytics team and for working closely with other departments, providing data that informs machine learning and AI enabled mobile platforms, directs program implementation, supports the design and analysis of robust research projects, and communicates across stakeholders. The Head of Department will provide a wide range of advanced statistical expertise, guidance, and support to the organization and will  lead the department to collect, analyze, and interpret Jacaranda Health data across multiple platforms towards answering questions of impact, implementation success, and product design. 

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Reports to: Director Research, Design and Evaluation

Preferred start date: October 2024.

Main Responsibilities 

Develop and execute a data and analytics strategy that supports Jacaranda’s mission

• Assess the organizational needs and build a robust and ambitious strategy for the next 3-5 years

• Develop and execute a roadmap to deliver on the strategy

• Collaborate with all other departments within Jacaranda to support the organization to make  programmatic decisions based on data

• Serve as a subject-matter expert for teams, internal and external 

Develop Jacaranda Health’s data backbone as a user-centered decision support product

• Build dashboards that integrate multiple real time data sources and answer program delivery and impact questions for internal and external stakeholders (such as government partners)

• Test user experience of dashboard data and designs with the goal of ensuring usage of data for decision making 

• Continuously integrate user experience research findings into dashboard design and delivery

Create and answer data questions that support program delivery 

• Develop and implement an analysis plan to assess the organization’s theory of change

• Assess programmatic outcomes and health outcomes 

• Apply high quality statistical models that can help in decision making for improvement of programs

• Ensure data is used to focus organizational efforts on our end users 

Ensure consistent, high quality data that serves as a critical resource for the organization

• Develop efficient data collection and  management procedures

• Identify and propose improvements to data management procedures to maximize efficiency and quality

• Ensure data practices are in line with global and local ethical standards

Develop and implement effective data communication strategies

• Assess data communication barriers internally and externally and develop a plan to address them

• Ensure data is used for decision making by all Jacaranda Health staff and by external partners, including the Ministry of Health and other government stakeholders

• Create interactive and cutting edge data visualizations and dashboards Lead in documenting, disseminating, and promoting the utilization of generated knowledge (lessons, successes, challenges) garnered from internal program assessments

Lead a high caliber D&A team 

• Hire high-caliber talent that supports the D&A strategy

• Mentor and coach D&A team members to deliver high-quality data outputs and support individual career growth

Requirements 

• Masters degree in Data Science, Statistics, Informatics, Information Systems or similar 

• At least 7 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

• 3  years should be in a managerial position, leading and mentoring data teams

• Proficiency in STATA, SPSS, SAS or R

• Knowledge of information  databases; SQL and Non-Relational Databases 

• Proficiency in MS Office and G-Suite

• Ability to apply a range of advanced statistical techniques in support of scientific research studies and/or experiments.

• Ability to process data and format and generate insightful and engaging dashboards and reports.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English

• Understanding of quantitative research methods

• Experience networking and building relationships with partners, government, and research institutions in the public and private sectors

• A self-motivated team leader

• Strong interpersonal skills, and ability to work with different people across different levels of experience

• Flexibility and willingness to learn

• Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities 

• Ability to think strategically and creatively to solve problems 

• Ability to find effective and efficient ways to accomplish goals

Contract Period

This position is expected to be a contract of 12 months, renewable.

Application Deadline

Accepting applications on a rolling basis.