Country Lead

QED (https://qed.ai) is a tech company focused on public health and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. We build the digital infrastructure and AI used at the intersection of aid and scientific inquiry, including in-situ nutrient analysis of crops and soils, and surveillance of HIV, TB, malaria, and other epidemics at national-scale in multiple African countries. Our funding comes from philanthropic and governmental organizations such as the Gates Foundation, U.S. government, the WHO, the EU, the Global Fund, and many more.

We are looking for a Country Lead based in selected countries in Africa. These may include: Nigeria, Mozambique, Malawi, Cameroon, and other countries, depending on where projects go to scale. The Country Lead should be eager for the challenge of leading high-impact change through ScanForm’s leapfrog technology. You will serve as the frontline in-country interface for QED with ministerial officers and international organizations, managing their expectations, and lead international teams in the planning and execution of workplans to design and deploy ScanForm at national scale. Language fluency, diplomacy, emotional intelligence, ability to lead and collaborate, and cultural sensitivity are key. You’ll contribute to building well-structured, intuitive tools for capturing data efficiently; standardizing identifiers for specimens, patients, cards, pages, books, diseases, diagnoses, and treatments; and ensuring that data is captured on time, adheres to mathematical and clinical sensibilities, and is converted into dashboards that tell clear stories to quickly identify actionable trends and patterns. You’ll work closely with end users to understand their needs and help them extract relevant information, including high-level stakeholders at the Ministry of Health and healthcare providers working in clinics and the community, always with the aim of achieving a large, meaningful impact that matters. You will also communicate, sharing the stories of how ScanForm is making a difference in the country you work in.

Scope of Work

• Engage with Ministries of Health and Agriculture in Africa, as well as donor organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. Department of State, Global Fund, UNICEF, etc., to first fully understand all current data processing workflows and pains, and governmental requirements for data capture and data analysis.

• Help local and international agencies understand the many financial and epidemiological benefits of converting health systems to ScanForm, including streamlining of business processes, and achieving much more monitoring and evaluation with much less. Express cost-benefit arguments and analyses convincingly and clearly.

• Manage and build local teams in target countries. Listen to their needs, get them to open up and share their thoughts, and be an empathetic and receptive ear for staff that seek your help.

• Lead collaboration with other in-country Implementing Partners, as appropriate.

• Communicate regularly, effectively, and in a timely manner with in-country funders, the host nation government, and QED’s central staff and offices, particularly when there are challenges on the ground that may require intervention from headquarters.

• Lead discussions and seminars about ScanForm and health system strengthening.

• Assist with the co-design of data capture and data management solutions for our clients. This design should incorporate crafting of questionnaires, layout of data elements, visual aesthetics, and identifiers, while also being sensitive to our client’s needs.

• Contribute to and supervise the development of indicator dashboards, queries, and analyses that support data use and public health decision-making.

• Assist with representing and presenting ScanForm at conferences and technical working groups.

Basic Requirements

• Working proficiency (ILR 4/5, or CEFR ≥C1) in speaking, reading, writing, and typing in English.

• For Francophone countries, at least B2 proficiency in French speaking, reading, writing and typing is required; C1 or above is preferred.

• For Lusophone countries, at least B2 proficiency in Poruguese speaking, reading, writing and typing is required; C1 or above is preferred.

• Must be willing to be physically based in the country of project implementation. Culturally adaptive and adventurous!

• Logical reasoning, number sense, creative problem solving skills, and ability to express quantitative ideas clearly, both orally and in writing.

• At ease using computers and digital systems - no coding or engineering experience expected, although it can be helpful.

• Willingness and interest in working with people from other cultures.

• Basic working knowledge of public health and computational arithmetic.

• Foreign language skills, especially in French, Portuguese, Swahili, Chichewa, or Chinese.

• Emotional resilience

• High Emotional intelligence.

• Experience with managing people.

• Experience working with governments and navigating regulatory processes, governance structures, and competing stakeholder interests.

• A demonstrated interest in innovative problem solving. We look for people who are courageous, forward-leaning problem-solvers.

• … and you have to care about the work that you do!

Nice to haves

• some experience or exposure to the natural sciences, such as medicine, chemistry, biology, agronomy, or environmental science

• past experience with data analysis and research, to help inform data-driven work plans