This Opportunity:

Palladium is seeking a Director, Digital Platforms & Engineering to lead its Nairobi Digital Hub as it evolves into a platform-led, engineering-driven model. This leadership role blends hands-on technology and platform management with a strong focus on private-sector-style business development and revenue growth. The Director will be responsible for setting the technical vision, architecture, and delivery standards for Palladium’s digital platforms, ensuring they are robust, commercially viable, and meet client and partner needs. The position requires a proactive, client-facing technologist who can translate technology into compelling value propositions and drive partnerships. This is a builder–seller–leader role, emphasizing active leadership and business generation rather than traditional advisory or management duties.

Location:

This role is based out of Palladium’s Nairobi, Kenya office. Please note that applicants must have the right to work in Kenya, as visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Palladium supports a hybrid working model with 3 days in office and 2 days remote.

Reporting Lines:

• The Director reports to the Vice President, Digital Technology and Delivery (US-based)
• This role will supervise the Digital Hub engineering, platform, and product teams, including technical leads, architects, and delivery managers

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 profitability preferred
  
• Strong understanding of: Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP); Modern software architectures (microservices, APIs, event-driven systems); Data platforms and analytics
  
• Demonstrated success in business development or commercial technology roles including selling, deal shaping, or partnerships
  
• Experience working across public sector, development, and/or private sector technology environments
• Track record of delivering complex digital solutions in multi-stakeholder environments

Core Capabilities:

• Technical credibility with senior engineers and architects
  
• Commercial mindset with the ability to sell and close deals
  
• Strong strategic thinking paired with hands-on execution
  
• Excellent communication with both technical and non-technical audiences
  
• Ability to operate in ambiguity and build new models
  
• Strong people leadership and coaching skills
  

Desired Criteria:

• Experience building or scaling digital platforms or products, not just projects
  
• Exposure to managed services or SaaS-style models
  
• Experience working with or alongside startups and technology vendors
  
• Background in global development, DPI, or large-scale public-sector digital programs

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. We encourage you to apply early as the position may close once a suitable candidate is found.