Director, Digital Platforms & Engineering (Nairobi Digital Hub)

Primary Responsibilities: Portfolio Leadership and Team Management Lead and scale the Nairobi Digital Hub as a multidisciplinary engineering organization (software, data, DevOps, cloud, QA, security, UX) Provide executive oversight for major digital and platform implementations, balancing innovation, delivery discipline, risk, and financial performance Represent Palladium as a senior digital and engineering leader with clients, funders, governments, and private sector partners Balance innovation with delivery discipline, risk management, and financial performance Ensure projects align with Palladium’s platform strategy and Digital Hub delivery model Recruit, mentor, and retain high caliber engineering and product talent, building sustainable delivery capacity Foster a builder culture emphasizing ownership, accountability, learning, and delivery of excellence Establish clear career pathways for engineers, architects, and technical leaders within Palladium Technical Strategy and Execution Oversight Define and own Palladium’s digital platform strategy, including interoperable architectures, opensource and global public goods ecosystems, data platforms, analytics, and AI enablement Establish and enforce engineering excellence standards across architecture, coding practices, security, scalability, documentation, and DevOps Oversee the design, build, and operation of shared digital platforms, accelerators, and reusable components Champion product and platform-oriented delivery models, moving beyond project-by-project implementations Ensure adoption of modern software engineering practices (Agile, CI/CD, cloud native, API first, modular architectures) Serve as a senior technical authority on platform architecture, integration, and interoperability across sectors Ensure platforms are secure, scalable, and compliant with donors, regulatory, and data protection requirements Develop and maintain reference architectures, blueprints, and reusable assets for global use Growth and Business Development Originate and close digital business opportunities, including platform build and scale and managed services for both public and private sector clients, supporting diversification of revenue beyond traditional donor funded work Lead or significantly contribute to deal shaping, solution design, pricing models, and commercial structures including authoring and reviewing technical and management sections of proposals Translate complex technical concepts into clear business and impact value propositions Build and maintain strategic partnerships with technology firms, startups, investors, and delivery partners to support cocreation, co-investment, and platform adoption Essential Criteria: 15+ years in software engineering, digital platforms, or technology leadership roles Proven experience leading engineering teams and growth of digital platform engineering teams at scale; experience leading a P&L with accountability for revenue growth, cost management, and profitabilit