About Tropical Health
Tropical Health is a leading international consultancy group specialising in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) for health and related programmes in Africa, Asia and beyond.
We are dedicated to enhancing the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of development aid by improving the availability, quality, and use of evidence for strategic and operational planning and programme implementation. Our commitment to strengthening local capacity and transferring skills and knowledge underpins all our work.
Tropical Health has an extensive portfolio, having delivered projects in over 45 countries around the world. Our clients include prestigious organisations such as UK Aid, USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Fund, the World Health Organization and the World Bank. We also work with large NGOs and consultancies to deliver high-impact solutions.
Tropical Health is committed to improving human development outcomes through high quality MERL services, strategic leadership and capacity building. Our extensive experience, technical expertise and commitment to innovation and quality make us a trusted partner in the global health and development sector. Our approach integrates the latest industry knowledge and best practice to ensure our programmes are evidence-based and responsive to client needs. We set rigorous quality standards and oversee
data collection and interpretation to measure success and drive continuous improvement. Capacity building is a cornerstone of our work. We design and implement capacity building approaches that meet organisational needs and priorities, ensuring sustainable growth and development. Our leadership, coaching and mentoring builds the skills and knowledge of our staff, partners and consultants. We actively seek and cultivate new partnerships with local partners, supporting them to become the leading providers of MERL services in their context.
We continually secure funding to expand our portfolio. Our expertise and strong professional relationships enable us to identify new opportunities, design innovative approaches and develop successful proposals. We actively represent Tropical Health in global technical forums, networks and working groups, enhancing our reputation and influence.
We operate a fully remote working model with a small core team to oversee and support our project portfolio. We deliver our work directly and in collaboration with a large network of project staff and associate medium- and short-term consultants.
Our broad range of MERL services includes:
• Independent Evaluations & Reviews: Conducting thorough and unbiased assessments to inform decision-making and improve programme outcomes.
• Health Research Studies: Designing and conducting rigorous research to generate new insights and evidence.
• Comprehensive Programme MEL Solutions: Providing end-to-end MEL services to support programme design, implementation, and evaluation. Developing and maintaining specific systems to track health trends and inform public health responses.
The Role
Role: Technical Director
Location: Home-based with travel as required by the role
Reporting: Reports to Managing Director
Job Summary
The Technical Director will lead the development and implementation of the organisation’s technical strategy and ensure the quality of technically sound project delivery.
As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), the Technical Director will ensure that the company becomes and remains a leading organisation in the field of MERL in health and related sectors, including representing Tropical Health globally to develop and maintain relationships to grow Tropical Health’s reputation and portfolio.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Contributions to Organisational Development:
• Contribute to the development of the organisation’s strategy and ensure its effective implementation, taking the lead on technical strategy and oversight.
• Contribute to the development of organisational policies and procedures.
• Be an active member of the SMT, which oversees the overall performance, development and risk management of the organisation.
• Provide input to Tropical Health Board meetings.
• Contribute to organisational and project performance reviews, including budget development and review.
• Lead the identification of new donor interests, new public health developments or other technical areas of interest with potential for organisational development, proposing innovative approaches as appropriate.
• Identify strategic opportunities to demonstrate Tropical Health’s technical excellence Represent Tropical Health at high-level engagements.
2. Technical Leadership and Quality Assurance:
• In collaboration with the SMT, define and implement a coherent technical staff structure.
• Design technical capacity building approaches to meet our own and our local partners’ organisational development needs.
• Build Tropical Health’s reputation as a global leader in technical working groups, scientific committees and technical meetings to influence changes in policy and practice in our field.
• Keep abreast of current developments in public health, related fields and in the field of MERL, including but not limited to qualitative and quasi-experimental
survey and evaluation designs, new and innovative approaches to e.g. statistical methods, participatory MERL, methods making a safe use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Ensure systems are in place to meet technical compliance, data management, ethical and security requirements.
• Establish quality standards and provide quality assurance for project proposals, technical approaches and outputs to ensure that they are of the highest possible quality within available resources and that up-to-date technical knowledge and practices are applied.
• Provide troubleshooting and recommendations for technical problem solving across the portfolio.
• Translate technical successes and challenges into actionable learning for all staff and future projects.
• Oversee and write for peer-reviewed publications.
Key Responsibilities
3. Personnel Management & Development:
• Support the recruitment of new talent.
• Provide leadership and management to direct reports who perform technical work including performance appraisals, motivation and support to the line managed technical staff.
• Promote team spirit and peer exchange/review among the technical team and associate consultants.
• Actively participate in fortnightly team management meetings.
• Co-organise and co-facilitate bi-annual technical and management staff meetings.
4. Business Development:
• Represent Tropical Health and actively participate in relevant global technical fora, networks, committees and working groups.
• Develop new partnerships and foster collaboration with relevant institutions and represent Tropical Health’s interests as required with partners and clients.
• Contribute to the identification and acquisition of additional business, including through relationships.
• Lead the methodological design for major proposals, including defining project inputs required to inform budgeting.
• Review dissemination documents and ensure wide sharing of Tropical Health’s learning, results and successes.
5. Consultancy Services:
• Provide direct senior consultant services to projects and national health authorities and partners on selected strategic assignments, which may include design, oversight of primary data collection, secondary data management, data analysis, report writing, dissemination of results.
*FTE is indicative and may vary depending on the needs of the business at different times.
Candidate Profile
Experience & Qualifications
• 10+ years of progressive technical experience, including leading field-based programmes in public health and MERL.; experience in MERL in health-related fields (e.g. WASH, social inclusion, nutrition, climate) an advantage.
• At least 5 years in a proven leadership role with strategic planning and management experience.
• Experience in setting and monitoring MERL technical quality standards.
• Understanding of technical assistance programme delivery.
• A clear understanding of the methodologies and processes required for business development in the sector.
• Working knowledge of major international donors such as US and UK governments, the Global Fund, the UN etc.
• Experience working in Africa, Asia, and fragile and conflictaffected states; additional geographical track record, an added advantage.
Technical Expertise
• Advanced skills in quantitative epidemiology and statistical analysis of communicable diseases, as evidenced through experience and publication record
• Advanced skills in designing and leading quantitative and mixed-methods evaluations of public health and related fields interventions
• Advanced skills in scripting in R (preferred) or Stata
• Experience of using routine data in research and evaluations
• Experience of conducting or commissioning qualitative research and qualitative evaluations
• Experience of using common qualitative coding and analysis software
• Experience of conducting or commissioning evaluations using the OECD DAC criteria and / or FCDO’s Value for Money framework
• Experience of participatory and capacity building approaches for MERL
• Experience of using dashboards and data visualization software (e.g. the Shiny R package, Tableau, Power BI)
• Knowledge of or readiness to learn fast about AI use in MERL practice
Other Skills
• Proven leadership skills and strategic thinker with a history of developing and operationalising visionary approaches to organisational development and change management
• Results and solution oriented
• Independent and self-motivated
• Ability to work with short deadlines while managing multiple tasks
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
• Proven team building and line management skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent networking and business negotiation skills.
• Motivated by and able to motivate others in a remote working model
• Willingness to travel extensively (up to 30% of the time).
• Fluency in English and at least one other major language relevant to areas of focus (e.g. French, Portuguese, Spanish).
How to Apply
All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter as two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process.
The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. The document should be saved in PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., Pat-Jones-CV-082024-TropicalHealth or Pat-Jones-CoverLetter-082024-TropicalHealth.
This role is home-based and our client expects the successful candidate to be eligible to work in their country of residence without resident visa support from Tropical Health. *UK based candidates are legally obliged to confirm that the appointee is eligible to work in the UK. As of 1 January 2021, Government’s new regulations apply. For further information visit the Home Office website at https://www.gov.uk/ browse/visas-immigration/work-visas
Timeline
Closing Date: 20th September 2024
First stage interviews: TBC
Final interviews: TBC
Selection Process
All candidates will receive an update regarding their application after the closing date. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder.
Equality Statement
Equality and diversity are at the core of Tropical Health’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.
Queries
If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email at [email protected] in the first instance.
About Oxford HR
Oxford HR is a B Corp certified leadership consultancy.
Having worked within a diverse range of institutions, from not-for-profits and charities to governments and corporate environments, we’ve seen the powerful impact that the perfect team can have.
Finding innovative leaders can be a challenge; and yet their transition into leadership is vital to an organisation’s mission and success. We work across the globe to search for a support remarkable leaders and teams, improve their board effectiveness and support on a range of leadership functions. Learn more at: oxfordhr.com
