Chief Program Officer

About

Living Goods is hiring a Chief Program Officer to provide strategic leadership and operational oversight across its global program portfolio. The role leads Performance, Evidence and Insights, Innovation, Program Strategy and Country Incubation functions, and connects program delivery with technology, data and digital health tools. It requires a bachelor's degree, 15+ years of progressive leadership experience, multi-country health delivery experience, and willingness to travel 30%+ of the time. Duty station: Nairobi, Kenya Salary: A competitive salary and benefits package commensurate with experience including health insurance and bonus opportunity.

How to apply

Apply online through the official Living Goods career page. Submit the required resume and cover letter; the application form also requests a LinkedIn Profile URL and desired salary.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and shared capabilities that countries can draw on to strengthen impact, efficiency, and scale.
• Set global program strategy and priorities across existing and new initiatives, aligned with Living Goods' strategy and Theory of Change.
• Enable strategic portfolio prioritization and trade-offs, offering frameworks and insights to inform leadership decision-making.
• Shape geographic expansion and portfolio evolution, including criteria for scale, focus, consolidation, or exit.
• Set strategic direction for the innovation pipeline and its pathways to country adoption and scale.
• Build and steward strategic partnerships, including new government partnerships that countries can leverage where they add value.
• Shape fundraising priorities and decisions based on program strategy and performance insights.
• Design and steward global program frameworks, standards, and models based on evidence to guide consistent, high-quality delivery at country level.
• Own and evolve the performance operating system — including tools, practices, and ROI focus — used across countries.
• Enable cross-country performance review, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Drive and monitor the innovation stage gates to optimize innovation pipeline delivery and lifecycle.
• Serve as the programmatic voice in shaping how digital health tools are designed and deployed — partnering closely with the CTO to ensure technology investments are grounded in frontline delivery realities and community health worker needs, rather than owning the technology itself.
• Work with the technology team to ensure shared digital and data tools are fit-for-purpose, translating program requirements into actionable inputs for the technology roadmap.
• Ensure that digital tools genuinely support community health worker performance and that adoption is embedded in program quality standards.
• Improve ways of working, systems, and processes between global and country teams to reduce friction and duplication.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent in public health, international development, business administration, or a related discipline preferred; bachelor's degree required.
• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in global health, international development, or a related field, with significant time working in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Proven track record leading large-scale, multi-country program delivery — ideally in primary healthcare or last-mile service delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to work at the intersection of program and technology, translating digital health investments into measurable impact.
• Experience managing and developing senior teams across geographies and cultures.
• Track record of successful donor engagement, fundraising, and grant management.
• Private sector experience is a serious advantage.
• Bilingual French and English is a serious advantage.
• Willing to travel 30%+ of the time.
• Role based in Nairobi.