Director - Digital Health Innovation

Key Responsibilities :

1. Strategic Leadership & Innovation Direction

- Provide overall strategic leadership to the Innovation Learning Site, positioning it as a centre of excellence for last-mile telemedicine and AI innovation.

- Identify, incubate, and scale innovative concepts, pilots, and proofs of concept across telemedicine, AI-CDSS, digital public goods, and health system strengthening.

- Translate emerging technologies (AI/ML, data analytics, clinical decision support, digital platforms) into deployable, scalable, and policy-aligned solutions.

- Align innovation priorities with organizational strategy, government priorities (e.g., ABDM, eSanjeevani), and donor expectations.

2. Program Leadership & Execution

- Lead a portfolio of complex programs involving academic institutions, and technology collaborators.

- Ensure high-quality program design, implementation, monitoring, learning, and adaptation.

- Drive disciplined execution while maintaining agility for experimentation and innovation.

- Oversee program budgets, timelines, deliverables, and reporting with strong accountability.

3. Multidisciplinary Team Leadership

- Lead and mentor a diverse, high-performing team comprising:

i. Public health and program professionals

ii. Technology and product teams

iii. AI/ML engineers and data scientists

iv. Researchers and M&E specialists

v. Clinical experts and field teams

- Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, learning, and ownership.

- Build internal capacity to manage advanced technologies and complex health system engagements.

4. Technology, AI & Product Integration

- Work closely with technology and AI teams to ensure solutions are: Clinically safe and ethical, Operationally feasible at the last mile. Aligned with government workflows and regulations.

- Provide leadership on AI governance, explainability, validation, and responsible deployment in real-world health settings.

- Ensure continuous feedback loops between field implementation and product development.

5. Partner & Ecosystem Engagement

- Identify and engage local philanthropists, HNI to leverage funds/resources for supporting the innovative site.

- Work with partnership and fundraising teams to identify the opportunities for raising funds for the innovation site.

- Serve as a senior representative of with key stakeholders, especially health departments and implementing agencies at the District/State level

- Build and manage partnerships with, Government institutions, Academic and research organizations, Technology partners and startups, Donors and multilaterals

6. Learning, Evidence & Scale

- Ensure robust documentation of learnings, evidence generation, and best practices from pilots and programs.

- Work with the policy advocacy department to support dissemination through policy briefs, publications, learning events, and global forums.

- Contribute to pathways for scale-up and institutionalization within public health systems.

Requirements :

- Postgraduate qualification in Public Health, Medicine, Health Systems, Technology, Management, or related fields.

10+ years of progressive leadership experience, including:

i. Leading large-scale programs or innovation initiatives

ii. Managing multidisciplinary teams

iii. Working in or with public health systems

- At least 3-4 yrs of Experience leading innovation labs, pilot sites, or learning hubs.

- Demonstrated experience in deploying digital health, telemedicine, health technology, or AI-enabled solutions at scale.

- Strong understanding of public health systems, government processes, and implementation realities in LMIC contexts.

- Hands-on exposure to AI/ML, digital platforms, or health data systems (not necessarily technical coding, but strong applied understanding).

- Prior engagement with national digital health initiatives (e.g., ABDM, telemedicine platforms, public digital infrastructure).

- Experience working with donors, multilaterals, or global health organizations.

- Strategic & Systems Thinking - Ability to see the big picture while driving execution.

- Entrepreneurial Mindset - Comfortable with ambiguity, experimentation, and rapid iteration.

- Leadership & People Management - Inspires, mentors, and builds high-performing teams.

- Technology & Innovation Fluency - Able to engage deeply with tech and AI teams and translate between clinical, programmatic, and technical domains.

- Stakeholder Management - Strong credibility with government, partners, and donors.

- Execution Excellence - Strong program management, risk management, and delivery discipline.

- Communication & Influence - Clear, confident communicator at senior levels.