Strategy & BD Manager

Strategy & BD Manager

Maisha Meds is hiring! We’re looking for a Strategy & BD Manager with project management, research and data analysis, and written communication skills to accelerate business development (BD) efforts that will translate our organizational strategy into groundbreaking public health impact for years to come.

About Maisha Meds

Maisha Meds is an organization dedicated to improving health care in Africa through best-in-class technology.

Founded in 2017, Maisha Meds has created the largest digital network of private pharmacies and clinics across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, and Zambia through our mobile software. Our platform not only helps these providers improve business by making sales, managing inventory, and tracking patients. It also reimburses them for providing high-quality care for malaria, family planning, and HIV prevention at discounted costs.

Maisha Meds logs more than 1.5 million patient visits every month and has provided more than 500,000 quality-assured reimbursements to-date. We harness data from our network of pharmacies and clinics to reveal health and market trends, which allows us to design better solutions that work for the people we serve. We have worked with leading academic institutions such as UC Berkeley, Emory University, and KEMRI to evaluate the effectiveness of our programs. Research shows that our system is able to significantly increase appropriate malaria case management and the uptake of long-acting contraceptives.

Our work is funded by a range of partners including scale-up funding from USAID Development Innovation Ventures and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This will help Maisha Meds greatly expand its mobile software to 7,500 total pharmacies and clinics by late 2026, delivering high quality and affordable care to a million new patients in the process.

About the role

As a Strategy & BD Manager at Maisha Meds, you will play a key role in advancing our business development efforts, ensuring that our organizational strategy can be translated into measurable impact with the support of a growing set of funders and partners.

The ideal candidate will have 3-5 years of experience working in a fast-paced private sector or non-profit environment, ideally in a consulting, finance, or business development role. You will be responsible for business development efforts (i.e., developing fundraising pitches and proposals), quantitative and qualitative analysis (i.e., to inform overall strategy and BD approach), project management (i.e., grant management processes across teams), and stakeholder engagement (i.e., preparation for Board and funder meetings).

This role will be based in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, or Nigeria, with potential for regional travel. We strongly encourage you to apply if you are a passionate self-starter who has a proven track record of delivering high-quality strategic insights and outputs and are excited to bring your talents and tenacity to advancing our organization’s mission and impact.

You will report directly to the Chief Strategy Officer and be part of the Strategy & BD team. The target start date is October 2024, and compensation is commensurate with experience.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities will include:

Business Development / Fundraising (at least 50%)

• Lead development of high-quality proposals and supporting materials that are compelling to prospective and existing funders, including written documents, presentation slides, and detailed budgets

• Support due diligence processes with prospective funders, including organizing and handling sensitive company information

• Recommend new funders or funding approaches, based on desk research on macro trends, as well as discussions on internal team and external funders’ priorities

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

• Deliver research and recommendations on BD opportunities and risks, based on understanding of global health / African health systems, market dynamics, competitive landscape, and operational challenges

• Lead financial analysis and modeling to support business case development and funding decisions

• Drive quantitative and qualitative analysis to support discussions and engagement with Maisha Meds’ leadership team, Board of Directors, and funders

Project / Grant Management

• Coordinate deadlines and internal workflows for timely reporting to funders, Board of Directors, and other external stakeholders

• Be designated as internal project manager for workstreams that involve cross-functional, distributed teams that are implementing the activities from successful funding proposals

• Identify and implement improvements to internal processes, such as tracking BD leads, managing deadlines, templatizing materials, and sharing knowledge across cross-functional teams

Communications and Advocacy Support

• Lead on preparation of materials for senior audiences such as our quarterly Board meetings or funder updates, working with teams across Maisha Meds to ensure relevant and accurate content is included
• Provide surge capacity for VP of Communications and Advocacy on initiatives and events that elevate Maisha Meds’ influence and will directly or indirectly improve business development

Qualifications

• Academic background: Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Finance, Public Health, or a related field.
• Work experience: 3-5 years of experience in a consulting, finance, or business development role, with a focus on strategic analysis, planning, and reporting.
• Location: Based in one of core markets of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, or Nigeria
• Core competencies:
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a demonstrated ability to rapidly translate data into insights and recommendations for strategic planning, decision-making, and reporting.
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex information to a variety of stakeholders, both internal and external.
  • Stellar project management skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.
  • Advanced proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and other analytical tools (Maisha Meds use the equivalent Google suite of programs including Sheets, Slides, Docs, and Looker).
  • Experience in global health and African health systems is a strong plus.
• Motivation and mindset:
  • A self-starter who will roll up your sleeves to work independently and collaboratively in the context of a cross-functional, distributed team.
  • An ability to adapt and thrive in ambiguous situations
  • A growth mindset with enthusiasm for learning and continuous improvement
  • A blend of passion, humility, patience, and a good sense of humor

Why You Should Join Us

• On a roll: We are doubling year-over-year with new funding partnerships that are boosting expansion in multiple countries
• Great team: We are founded, managed, and backed by successful veterans of Stanford School of Medicine, Google, mPharma, and I&M bank. We have technologists, doctors, and economists working side by side to solve difficult problems.
• Great funders: We’re supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID Development Innovation Ventures, CIFF, WHO FIND, and Pfizer to pay for healthcare on behalf of patients, with others to be announced soon.
• Huge market: We are disrupting a massive, growing $50+ billion market for healthcare payments for low-income patients, with a focus on paying for health outcomes to ensure patients get the best quality care.
• Great customers: We create financial incentives that ensure our health care providers deliver excellent care.
• Impact: We have cultivated a fun and exciting start-up culture that empowers its talented staff to make a huge impact.