Head of IT

JOB TITLE: Head of Internal Technology & Systems
REPORTING TO: Chief of Staff
DEPARTMENT: IT
CLASSIFICATION LEVEL: Head
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 value feedback, recognizing that strong systems are built through listening and learning. You remain open to adapting tools, processes, and approaches as the organization grows, and you design technology solutions that are inclusive, usable, and supportive of how people actually work. You foster a culture of continuous improvement and shared ownership.
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
The Head of Internal Technology & Systems provides strategic leadership and organisational accountability for Healthy Learners’ internal technology environment. The role is responsible for defining and executing the organisation’s internal technology strategy, ensuring its systems, infrastructure, security, and IT services enable effective operations, organisational scale, and geographic expansion. As Healthy Learners grows the Head will ensure that technology evolves ahead of organisational needs, building a secure, integrated, scalable, and user-centred technology environment while strengthening governance, managing technology risk, and ensuring investments deliver measurable organisational value. The role works closely with the Digital Health team on areas of intersection between program facing and internal systems, provides leadership to the internal IT systems and support team, and partners with the designated Data Protection Officer to operationalise data protection requirements through technology.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Technology Strategy, Roadmap & Organisational Enablement
Own the development and operationalising of the Healthy Learners’ internal technology and systems strategy, aligned with organisational priorities, operational needs, geographic expansion, and long-term scale.
Develop and maintain a multi-year technology roadmap that anticipates future organisational needs.
Advise senior leadership on technology priorities, investments, emerging needs, risks, and strategic trade-offs.
Ensure technology investments and capabilities enable organisational effectiveness and sustainable growth.
Enterprise Systems & Technology Architecture
Own the organisation’s enterprise technology ecosystem, ensuring systems are fit for purpose, scalable, integrated, and appropriately governed.
Support the selection, implementation, integration and optimisation, of core enterprise platforms, including ERP/finance, HR, CRM/donor management, collaboration, and document management systems.
Define and manage the organization's information architecture, ensuring clear frameworks for knowledge management, file taxonomy, and standardizing 'where things live' so staff can easily find the resources they need.
IT Operations, Infrastructure & Service Delivery
Provide strategic oversight of IT operations and infrastructure, ensuring reliable and effective technology services across Healthy Learners.
Establish service standards and performance expectations for IT support, devices, connectivity, user access, system availability, and technology assets.
Ensure technology issues and service disruptions are effectively prioritised, escalated, and resolved.
Monitor the performance and reliability of internal technology services and drive continuous improvement.

Employment type
Full-Time

Work arrangement
No