Opian is an Ethiopian health-technology and innovation company building decision infrastructure for stronger health systems. We combine deep knowledge of how care and supply chains operate, human-centred product design, data engineering and responsible artificial intelligence. Our work helps health workers, managers and public institutions turn fragmented data into timely decisions—so essential medicines, vaccines and services are available where and when people need them.

Our philosophy

We believe useful innovation is not novelty for its own sake. It is the disciplined work of understanding a real problem, challenging assumptions, building and testing a better response, measuring what changes, and strengthening the institutions that must sustain the result. Technology is valuable only when it improves a decision, a workflow or an outcome in the real operating environment.

Start with reality: design around the health workers, workloads, incentives, infrastructure and constraints that actually exist—not an imported ideal workflow.
Build with people, not for them: government counterparts and frontline users are co-designers, decision-makers and eventual owners, not passive recipients.
Strengthen the system, not a standalone application: connect workflows, data, institutions and incentives so information can lead to action across every level.
Push boundaries responsibly: make ambitious but testable bets, protect safety and privacy, and change direction quickly when evidence contradicts the original idea.
Make capability local and durable: transfer knowledge, product ownership and operational responsibility so progress continues without permanent dependence on an external project team.
Be honest about impact: distinguish deployment from adoption and activity from results; make claims specific, measurable and open to verification.

What this means for candidates

Opian is looking for accomplished specialists who are also builders. Candidates should bring exceptional depth in their discipline, intellectual courage, practical judgment and the humility to learn from users and evidence. We value people who can move from ambiguity to a testable approach, from a workshop to an operating routine, and from a promising pilot to an institutionally owned system. The standard is simple: show not only what you know, but what you personally built, changed, tested, learned and left stronger.

Work across public health, supply chain, policy, product, technology and field implementation boundaries.
Turn expertise into usable products, processes, decisions and measurable improvements—not reports alone.
Operate with urgency while preserving quality, public trust, data protection, service continuity and government ownership.

Open Vacancies & Positions Summary

Recruitment under these vacancies is subject to donor approval.

01. Project Director

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Deadline: September 7, 2026

Role purpose

Provide overall strategic, technical and fiduciary leadership for a national digital supply-chain transformation program focused on improving last-mile visibility and availability of vaccines and RMNCH commodities. The Project Director will be accountable for results, government co-leadership, partner alignment, delivery quality, risk management and the progressive transfer of operational responsibilities to Ethiopian institutions.

Key responsibilities

Provide overall leadership and maintain a single, outcome-oriented program strategy across assessment, architecture, product development, pilot implementation, governance, evaluation and transition.
Serve as the principal senior representative to the Ministry of Health, program lead executive offices, EPSS, EPHI, EFDA, regional health bureaus, universities and implementation partners.
Establish decision rights, escalation mechanisms, steering arrangements and performance-management routines that keep government counterparts in substantive leadership roles.
Approve annual and quarterly plans, budgets, staffing, subaward scopes, major technical decisions and corrective actions.
Ensure that product and integration choices align with national digital-health architecture, authoritative registries and existing transactional systems.
Hold workstream leads accountable for measurable improvements in data quality, system use, stock visibility, decision latency and commodity-management performance.
Anticipate political, institutional, technical, financial and operational risks and ensure timely mitigation and transparent communication.
Lead sustainability, institutionalization and handover planning from the first year, including ownership, recurrent costs, hosting, source-code custody and support arrangements.
Ensure compliance with applicable organizational policies, safeguarding, information security, privacy and ethical requirements.

Expected results

A government-endorsed program governance and delivery model with clear decision rights and accountability.
Integrated workplans and budgets delivered on schedule with material risks actively managed.
A credible pilot that demonstrates routine use and operational value, not only system deployment.
An agreed scale-up and transition pathway with progressively reduced dependence on external implementation support.

Minimum qualifications and experience

Master’s degree or higher in public health, health systems, supply-chain management, health informatics, management, engineering or a related field.
At least 12 years of progressively responsible experience, including at least 7 years leading complex health-system or digital-transformation programs.
Demonstrated senior-level experience working with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, regional health bureaus or national health agencies.
Experience directing multidisciplinary teams and managing substantial budgets, partners, subawards and high-stakes deliverables.
Strong understanding of digital health, pharmaceutical or vaccine supply chains, interoperability, government institutionalization and data use.
Excellent written and spoken English; working proficiency in Amharic is strongly preferred.
Demonstrated record of questioning accepted approaches, designing or testing better alternatives, and using evidence to refine or stop ideas without compromising safety, reliability, ethics or government ownership.

Preferred experience

Prior leadership of a national or multi-region health supply-chain or digital-health program in Ethiopia.
Demonstrated transition of a digital platform or operating model to government ownership.
Evidence of resolving cross-agency governance or interoperability constraints.

Evidence that must be visible in the CV

Name, value, duration and geographic scope of at least three comparable assignments.
Specific role, team size, budget responsibility and institutions engaged.
Measured results achieved and how those results were independently or routinely verified.
Examples of government ownership, institutionalization or successful transition.

Required Skills

Communication
Attention to detail
Analytical and problem-solving skills
Health Informatics, Public Health, Data Science, Health Information Systems

02. Deputy Project Director / Chief of Party

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Deadline: September 7, 2026

Role purpose

Translate the program strategy into disciplined day-to-day execution. The Deputy Project Director will run the integrated delivery system, coordinate technical and field teams, manage dependencies, maintain delivery standards and act for the Project Director when delegated.

Key responsibilities

Maintain the integrated master workplan, milestone schedule, dependency map, decision log, risk register and action tracker.
Coordinate product, supply-chain, interoperability, implementation, government-partnership, finance and evaluation teams around a single delivery cadence.
Chair weekly delivery reviews and ensure that unresolved constraints are escalated with clear options and accountable owners.
Oversee recruitment, onboarding, deployment and performance management of program personnel and partner teams.
Ensure that regional and facility implementation experience is incorporated rapidly into product and policy decisions.
Manage operational readiness for assessments, workshops, releases, field deployments, training, supervision and evaluation activities.
Ensure complete and timely technical, operational and financial reporting, supported by verifiable evidence.
Coordinate procurement, subaward administration, logistics, safety and project-specific compliance requirements.
Lead continuity planning and maintain effective operations during leadership absences or periods of rapid scale-up.

Expected results

One integrated delivery plan connecting technical releases, field readiness, governance decisions and evaluation milestones.
Predictable delivery with early identification and resolution of cross-workstream dependencies.
Accurate management information and timely corrective actions.
Well-functioning teams and partners with clear roles, standards and performance expectations.

About You

Master’s degree in management, public health, health systems, operations, information systems or a related field.
At least 10 years of relevant experience, including 5 years managing complex, multi-partner programs.
Demonstrated experience managing integrated plans, budgets, procurement, field operations and performance reporting.
Experience coordinating technical teams and public-sector stakeholders in Ethiopia.
Strong analytical, facilitation, problem-solving and written communication skills.
Fluency in English and Amharic.
Demonstrated record of questioning accepted approaches, designing or testing better alternatives, and using evidence to refine or stop ideas without compromising safety, reliability, ethics or government ownership.

Preferred experience

Formal project or program management certification.
Experience with agile product delivery combined with government implementation cycles.
Experience overseeing health-sector subawards or regional rollout operations.
Evidence that must be visible in the CV
Examples of multi-workstream programs managed, including scope, budget and team size.
Evidence of delivery recovery, risk resolution or coordination across institutions.
Specific systems used for work planning, risk management and performance reporting.
Experience supervising regional implementation and partner organizations.

Required Skills

Decision-making skills
Communication
Attention to detail
Analytical and problem-solving skills

03. Government Partnership and Institutionalization Lead

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Deadline: September 7, 2026

Role purpose

Build and sustain the government co-leadership, governance, accountability and institutional arrangements required for the program to operate within Ethiopia’s health system and continue beyond external implementation support.

Key responsibilities

Develop and maintain a stakeholder and political-economy map covering national agencies, lead executive offices, programs, regional authorities and implementation partners.
Establish and facilitate steering, technical working group and operational review mechanisms with documented mandates and decision rights.
Coordinate with the Ministry of Health, EPI, RMNCH, digital-health and planning functions, EPSS, EPHI, EFDA and regional health bureaus.
Translate technical proposals into institutionally feasible roles, policies, SOPs, accountability mechanisms and approval pathways.
Embed government counterparts in assessment, product prioritization, architecture, implementation, evaluation and transition decisions.
Lead capacity-transfer plans covering product ownership, system administration, data governance, support, supervision and performance management.
Track institutional commitments, policy decisions, unresolved ownership issues and readiness for transfer.
Coordinate sustainability and recurrent-cost planning with relevant institutions and development partners.
Identify duplication, mandate conflicts and partner dependencies and facilitate resolution through agreed governance channels.

Expected results

Functional governance bodies with documented decisions and consistent participation.
Clear institutional ownership of systems, data, integrations, support and performance-review processes.
Approved SOPs, accountability arrangements and transition milestones.
Government counterparts able to perform progressively larger shares of operational functions.

About You

Master’s degree in public health, public administration, health policy, organizational development, management or a related discipline.
At least 10 years of experience in Ethiopia’s health sector, including substantial work with national and regional government institutions.
Demonstrated experience establishing governance mechanisms, institutionalizing reforms or transferring functions into government structures.
Strong understanding of Ethiopia’s health-sector organization, decision processes and inter-agency relationships.
Excellent facilitation, negotiation, political judgment and policy-writing skills.
Fluency in English and Amharic; additional Ethiopian languages are an advantage.
Demonstrated record of questioning accepted approaches, designing or testing better alternatives, and using evidence to refine or stop ideas without compromising safety, reliability, ethics or government ownership.

Preferred experience

Former senior government, public-agency or nationally recognized technical leadership experience.
Experience with digital-health governance, data governance or supply-chain institutional reform.
Experience developing costed sustainability and capacity-transfer plans.
Evidence that must be visible in the CV
Government institutions and decision-making bodies directly supported.
Governance mechanisms, policies, SOPs or reforms personally led or facilitated.
Examples of institutional adoption or transition, including the candidate’s specific contribution.
Senior references able to verify collaboration and results. Including scope, budget and team size.
Evidence of delivery recovery, risk resolution or coordination across institutions.
Specific systems used for work planning, risk management and performance reporting.
Experience supervising regional implementation and partner organizations.

Required Skills

Decision-making skills
Communication
Attention to detail
Analytical and problem-solving skills

Opian NGO Jobs — Page 5

Select a job

Job Alerts