Associate Director, Application Services

About MSI

MSI Reproductive Choices is one of the world’s leading providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare. We believe that everyone should have the right to choose. From contraception to safe abortion and life-saving post-abortion care, we are committed to delivering compassionate, affordable, high-quality services for all.

Today, our organisation has almost 9,000 team members working in 36 countries across the world. Our success lies in the fact that MSI teams are locally led, entrepreneurial and results-driven, and are passionate about delivering high quality, client-centred care in their own communities. As a social business, we focus on sustainable delivery, efficiency, and funding models that are built to last, so that the women and girls we serve today will have a choice in the future too. #

We know that access to reproductive choice is life changing. For some, it can mean the ability to complete an education or start a career. For others, it means being able to look after the family they already have. For everyone, it means the freedom to decide their own future, creating a fairer, more equal world.

About the Role

Reporting to the CIO and a key member of the Global Information Services (GIS) leadership team, the Associate Director of Application Services will have considerable global strategic and people management responsibilities as we strive to successfully deliver our ambitious global digital & technology strategy.

This role manages a sizable portfolio of MSI global applications, including operational front-line applications used by MSI teams in the field, back-office applications for instance our group finance solution, and business intelligence / enterprise reporting platforms.  Up to 35 MSI countries rely on these products to manage their day-to-day operations and enable thousands of clients to receive critical healthcare services through diverse channels, including maternity hospitals, clinics, mobile outreach teams, commercial sales operations, and supported by our contact centres.

The application portfolio comprises a blend of custom / bespoke apps developed specifically for MSI, and commercial package enterprise software solutions. It is critical the Associate Director of Application Services can manage both packaged and custom products.

Bespoke applications include our Electronic Health Records system (EHR) used in 160 maternity hospitals and large centres in 14 countries, and our CLIC+ system used in smaller clinics and by outreach teams in 20 countries. Commercial package software includes predominantly Microsoft Dynamics 365, where we have several key uses including for fundraising and as the CRM in our contact centres.  Infor SunSystems 6.1 is our global accounting platform, and Azure/Power BI are critical for business intelligence and reporting.  It’s an exciting time to join the team, as work is starting to modernise and transform our back office, with new budgeting planning & forecasting software and ERP.

Responsibilities of the Application Services team span the full application lifecycle, from initial project scoping and development through to ongoing application management and support, strategic roadmap creation, and continuous enhancement to ensure alignment with MSI's mission-critical operational needs.

Excellent stakeholder engagement is key to this role, requiring exceptional relationship development skills with senior leadership across multiple levels and geographies. Interactions will involve MSI Country Directors, global executive team, and potentially the global board. External engagement is also critical, with responsibilities extending to managing relationships with third-party software suppliers, engaging with technology providers, and ensuring MSI is sharing with and learning from iNGO sector peers.  Strong collaboration across the rest of the GIS department and other global functions is required to successfully land major projects.  Collaboration with the medical team is particularly critical, to help ensure clinical applications align to latest good practices and help to support clinical safety.

The role provides regional leadership to the GIS team presence in Africa, where we have 18 staff providing a range of critical technical services to internal customers globally. The Africa team provides application services (as above), but also has Technology Engineers who support underlying technical infrastructure, which is increasingly cloud based, predominantly in Microsoft Azure.  The Associate Director must therefore also have a solid grounding in technical infrastructure, cloud and integration technologies.  The Africa team also provides Digital Transformation services, including Change Management and Project Management, and the Associate Director is expected to have a strong background in these areas.

The role offers flexibility, with the opportunity to be based in any MSI Africa country programme supported by a hybrid office/remote working model and occasional exciting international travel opportunities to regional hubs in Nairobi, Accra, and Addis. This position represents a unique opportunity to drive digital innovation in a global healthcare setting, supporting MSI to deliver impactful, mission-driven services across multiple countries.

About You

For us, it’s vital that every MSI team member believes in and is committed to our organisational mission, vision and values.

This means that we will only accept applications from candidates who are unequivocally pro-choice.

Our values act as guiding principles, providing us with a clear direction. They set the tone for how we approach our work, interact with others and align ourselves as ‘One MSI’. It’s important that our team members truly resonate with our values and demonstrate them consistently, in all that they do.

We recruit talented, dynamic individuals with diverse backgrounds who share our mission and are focused on delivering measurable results. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone can participate and contribute meaningfully. We value open-mindedness, curiosity, resilience, and a solutions-oriented mindset, alongside a commitment to promoting equality and safeguarding the welfare of both team members and clients.

We seek exceptional communicators who are self-motivated, solutions-driven, and aligned with MSI’s mission and entrepreneurial mindset. You should be dedicated to driving social change in an environment focused on sustainable impact, both locally and globally, and comfortable working with diverse teams in an ambiguous setting.

To perform this role, you’ll need the following skills:

• Proven leadership skills, able to develop and motivate staff to perform to the highest level, including management of distributed teams and different cultures.
• Skills and/or certifications in Microsoft technologies, including Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, Azure, Modern Data Warehouse, Power BI and Microsoft integration technologies such as Azure integration services.
• Background experience in development programming languages, in particular C#, SQL and .Net, to be able to oversee and quality assure the development work of the team and/or 3^rd party suppliers.
• Ability to deploy appropriate methodologies, techniques and approaches to successfully develop and implement digital technology, including deep understanding of effective project management, change management and business analysis.
• Skills in core business processes which will likely include Finance and Operational business processes.
• Fluent in business English, both written and verbal.

To perform this role, you’ll need the following experience:

• Demonstrable experience in business models and digital technology in African countries, ideally within a healthcare space.
• Experience in developing digital and technology strategy to enable organisational strategy within operational and back-office domains.
• Demonstrable experience of managing all aspects of business applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) apps, and bespoke operational applications, acquired through multiple full project and application lifecycles.
• Experience in working effectively at all levels in the organisation, both with business and technical stakeholders and 3rd party vendors, and up to exec and board level.
• Experience with data and business intelligence / enterprise reporting solutions and supporting data models / approaches.
• Experience of creating new teams and developing a high performing team culture to successfully deliver on strategic objectives.
• Strong leadership, management, and customer service skills, and excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Strong financial management skills and experience managing budgets up to USD 500k annually.
• Highly motivated, passionate about innovation and technology, and enthusiastic to work as part of a small, agile, ambitious team.
• Ability to steer, motivate and manage a team.
• Ability to drive ambitious objectives into clear goals and tasks.
• Open and clear communicator, excellent networking skills including across cultures.
• Quick learner; strong business acumen and management skills.
• Be based in any MSI Africa country programme.

Formal education/qualification

• Education: BSC, preferably in Computers Science or tech related fields.

Please click here to view the job framework

Location: Any country in Africa where MSI has a country programme.

Full-time: 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday.

Contract type: Permanent

Salary: For all locations, the salary will be banded within the national context.

Salary band: BG 11

Closing date: 9^th January 2025 (midnight GMT). Interviews may take place before this date for exceptional candidates.

For internal employees applying from an MSI country programme, the role will be positioned within the existing salary structure of the country. Local terms and conditions of the country will apply.