Senior Program Officer, Regional Product Introduction - Women's Health Innovations

Role Overview

The Senior Program Officer, Regional Product Introduction, shapes and delivers plans to bring priority women’s health products to more people across selected African markets. Working with internal teams, governments, distributors, grantees, and other partners, the role connects market insight with practical product launch and expansion work, while tracking whether investments are delivering results.

The position sits within the Product Introduction and Market Access initiative, which supports access to products in contraception, sexually transmitted infections, gynecological health, and menstrual health. It is based in Nairobi and reports to the Africa Regional Office Deputy Director of Health Systems, with a dotted-line relationship to the Deputy Director of PrIMA.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and lead regional and country-level launch and commercialization plans for priority Women’s Health Initiative products, including identifying suitable commercial distribution partners.
• Use market, user, and downstream development insights to inform product introduction plans and contribute relevant evidence to earlier-stage planning.
• Coordinate launch activities across Africa Regional Office platforms, Women’s Health Initiative teams, country offices, and priority markets.
• Work with country teams and cross-program platforms to align operations and identify opportunities to coordinate efforts, including in the DRC, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Senegal.
• Monitor implementation against agreed indicators; advise grantees, assess milestone progress, arrange site visits where useful, and provide technical guidance.
• Build and maintain working relationships with grantees, implementation partners, distributors, government stakeholders, and internal teams.
• Assess letters of inquiry and funding proposals, prepare clear written recommendations, and draft or edit grant summaries and progress reports for leadership review.
• Coordinate with program officers across regional offices and the Women’s Health Initiative, contribute to an inclusive team culture, and raise issues promptly with appropriate colleagues.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, or a related field.
• At least 10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, or consumer healthcare sector; women’s health experience is preferred.
• At least five years developing and delivering commercial strategies for women’s health products in emerging markets or low- and middle-income countries.
• Demonstrated success launching products through both public and private sector channels.
• Strong knowledge of women’s health markets in emerging or low- and middle-income settings, together with the ability to build effective stakeholder relationships.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills; fluent English is required. Additional language skills relevant to low- and middle-income markets are an advantage, as is a local language used in Nairobi.
• Confident working across functions and with business partners; brings initiative, sound judgment, adaptability, resourcefulness, and a continuous-improvement mindset.
• Comfortable working through ambiguity, anticipating risks, and taking accountability as a hands-on team member.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications.
• Unrestricted authorization to work in Kenya is required. The role involves extensive in-country travel, potentially up to 40% of working time, as well as occasional travel to Seattle or other Africa Regional Office locations.