JOB TITLE:
Technical Product Manager
REPORTING TO: CTO
DEPARTMENT: Digital Health
CLASSIFICATION LEVEL: Manager
LOCATION: Lusaka, Zambia
ABOUT HEALTHY LEARNERS
Healthy Learners is an award-winning non-profit organisation working to improve the health and learning of children across Zambia—and soon, beyond. In partnership with the Government of Zambia, we bring healthcare directly into schools so that children stay healthy, stay in class, and reach their full potential. Our model is government-owned and government-led, fully embedded in national priorities, systems, and structures.
Today, we have 1,062 health rooms, trained 8,370 School Health Teachers, and operate in 𝟰𝟱 districts across all ten provinces, reaching more than 1.4 million learners through Zambia’s first integrated School Health Program. Our approach combines school-based service delivery with technical assistance to government at every level—strengthening planning, supervision, data use, and local capacity to deliver.
As we complete our national scale-up, we’re focused on deepening programme quality, strengthening delivery systems, and laying the foundation for long-term government leadership. We’re looking for a dynamic operational leader to help drive this next chapter—someone ready to manage complexity at scale and help a proven model achieve lasting impact.
Healthy Learners is the proud recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Innovation, the Duke F.M. Kirby Prize, and the Lipman Family Prize from the University of Pennsylvania. These awards reflect not just our success to date, but the strength of the opportunity ahead. If this mission resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you.
ABOUT YOU
You exemplify the qualities of being Humble, Hungry, and Smart in your leadership:
- Humble (Continuous Learning & Inclusion): You actively seek, encourage, and facilitate feedback sharing, fostering an environment of continuous learning. You adapt and grow continuously, cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging.
- Hungry (Efficiency, Excellence, and Innovation): Your relentless drive for efficiency and excellence is evident in your approach to both everyday tasks and complex challenges. When obstacles arise, you don't merely seek answers; you develop solutions and establish structures to address future obstacles proactively. Your hunger for innovation permeates the organisation, where you eagerly explore new and best practices, ensuring our people's operations remain modern and highly effective.
- Smart (Emotional Intelligence & Psychological Safety): Your exceptional emotional intelligence is your superpower, allowing you to create psychological safety within the organization. Through your ability to build trust, encourage risk-taking, and nurture courageous conversations, you promote an environment where individuals can thrive and collaborate effectively.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Healthy Learners Zambia seeks a highly motivated and experienced Technical Product Manager to oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of our digital health implementation strategy. The TPM will serve as the key technical lead, ensuring smooth deployment of clinical decision support tools, data systems integration, innovative delivery mechanisms like drone logistics, AI-powered dashboards, and system transition to government ownership. The ideal candidate will combine technical expertise, project management skills, and stakeholder engagement experience to deliver impactful, sustainable health solutions. This role has minimum to limited interaction with children as per our child safeguarding policy the position holder is expected to adhere to the guidelines in the policy.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Product Planning & Execution
- Define product vision and roadmap aligned with organizational strategy and program needs.
- Conduct user research and usability testing with frontline staff, beneficiaries, and partners; incorporate feedback into product decisions. Desirable skills to translate insights into user interface designs (Figma, etc)
- Translate program requirements and user needs into prioritized product features, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
- Lead cross-functional product development: coordinate engineering, design, M&E, data, and program teams through the full product lifecycle.
- Manage backlog, sprint planning, and release schedules; ensure timely delivery of high-quality increments. Automate functions with AI capabilities where feasible.
2. Technical Leadership
- Lead the technical design, deployment, and scaling of health applications, data systems, and innovative tools (drones, AI dashboards, chatbots); ensure systems adhere to national standards and best practices.
- Develop and monitor product success metrics tied to program outcomes; partner with M&E to validate impact.
3. Stakeholder Management
- Oversee integrations with third-party systems and manage vendor/contractor relationships as needed.
- Create clear product documentation, training materials, and handoffs for program staff and local partners.
- Advocate for scalable, maintainable technical solutions and prudent engineering trade-offs within constrained budgets.
4. Capacity Building & Training
- Support fundraising and proposal development by providing technical inputs and product roadmaps.
- Organize and support training initiatives for key users including health workers, Ministry staff, and other end-users; develop training materials and documentation.
SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Public Health, or related field.
- Minimum of 5 years experience managing complex ICT projects, preferably in healthcare or education sectors in low-resource settings.
- Demonstrated expertise in digital health systems, mobile app deployment, data integration, and AI applications.
- Experience with model projects involving drone logistics, cloud-based solutions, or AI dashboards is highly desirable.
- Strong knowledge of health information systems (DHIS2, eLMIS, general eHealth architecture frameworks), mobile app platforms, AI frameworks and methodologies and API integration. Experience in full cycle product management of the above systems is preferred.
- Familiarity with cloud computing, data security, and interoperability standards.
- Proficiency in project management tools and methodologies (Agile, Prince2, PMI).
- Ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams including developers, data scientists, health professionals, and government officials.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
- Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.
WHAT WE OFFER
- Opportunity for Impact: Play a pivotal role in implementing a program that improves health outcomes for millions of schoolchildren, shaping the future of communities across Africa.
- Competitive Compensation: Receive a competitive salary and benefits package that reflects your expertise and commitment.
- Professional Growth: Access ongoing training, leadership opportunities, and engage in innovative projects that challenge and inspire you.
- Supportive Culture: Join a passionate, dedicated team that values collaboration and mutual support, fostering an environment where all contributions are recognized.
- Networking Opportunities: Collaborate with international organizations and enhance your network and influence in the public health sector.
