Director, US Healthcare

Surgo Ventures, with headquarters in Washington, DC and a hub in the United Kingdom, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to solving health and social problems with precision. We do this by bringing together all the tools available from behavioral science, data science, and artificial intelligence to unlock solutions that will improve and save lives. We work globally: in the United States, the United Kingdom, and in low- and middle-income countries on issues like COVID-19, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, mental health, education and more. We also work with a wide variety of private and public sector partners. 

Our multidisciplinary team includes  public health experts, data scientists, behavioral scientists, and technologists who are skilled in collecting, analyzing and interpreting data on why people behave the way they do and how complex systems work, and in developing scalable solutions and tools. We are a growing, diverse team with big plans. We are now recruiting for a Director of US Healthcare to expand our footprint in the US. 

The Director is responsible for leading strategy, growth, management, and execution within our US Healthcare portfolio. We have built a foundation in the US with our COVID-19 and maternal health portfolios and are looking to expand our footprint. Our core offerings include generating novel insights, designing and testing innovative solutions, and building data platforms for partners. Our ultimate goal is to ensure greater precision in the design and implementation of strategies programs. This requires strong technical knowledge of the US healthcare ecosystem,  where the sector is heading, and new ideas for achieving impact. A deep passion for and understanding of the health data landscape and needs is imperative for this role. A critical part of this role is designing and overseeing the development of new data tools within Surgo. The Director will also be responsible for expanding our partner and funding base for this portfolio. The Director will play a key role in the direction and growth of the organization and Surgo’s broader portfolio. 

We are looking for an exceptional candidate that has deep experience  in the field (innovative delivery models, health care systems, public health, care delivery, etc.) with a strong track record of building impactful data systems and tools and strong relationships. You should have a strong sense of the gaps and needs in the field, a vision of how innovative insights and data solutions can drive change, and an agenda for moving health forward through data and innovation that you would like to implement by joining Surgo Ventures. 

This role entails strong relationship management with a diverse set of partners, and collaborative work within the Surgo research team. We are looking for someone entrepreneurial in spirit, strong problem solver, and an excellent communicator. This is an exciting opportunity to build out Surgo’s growing portfolio and contribute to the voice and influence strategy and delivery at an innovative, ambitious, and fast-growing organization.

Role Description:

We are looking for an exceptional, creative, and entrepreneurial individual with a very strong background in US healthcare. As Director, your core responsibilities are:

  • Lead Surgo's US healthcare portfolio by providing strategic, managerial, and technical guidance to new and existing initiatives bringing new approaches and ideas

  • Develop and oversee Surgo’s initiative and portfolio strategy and define growth path for new programs in the US 

  • Build impactful health portfolio through identifying new ideas and building relationships, concepts, and areas of engagement in line with our mission 

  • Develop our annual initiative plans, outcome metrics, and budgets and ensure we execute against these

  • Conceptualize and lead development and testing of innovative data tools, and innovative modalities for data collection and analysis 

  • Build innovative and long-lasting partnerships with other public and private sector actors - including health systems, pharmaceuticals, government, donors, and other data providers and modellers

  • Serve as a Surgo expert and represent us in high profile conferences, meetings, and expert panels

  • Conceptualize and guide our communications agenda by working closely with our Director of Communications; lead the development of communications material including briefs, reports, and publications 

  • Mentor and support other colleagues within the organization

  • Support/lead the hiring of additional talent as needed   

This position requires proven experience creatively designing studies and applying statistical methods to challenging research problems. This requires a passion for unraveling and defining challenging ad hoc research problems and integrating methods to answer them through insights. There are many exciting developments in data science in recent years, and the candidate will translate these to global health and development challenges.

Core Experience and Knowledge:

  • 12+ years of experience of working in US healthcare space (health systems, care delivery, data tools, public health, etc)

  • Strong relationships with major players in the US healthcare that you can leverage to build new partnerships  

  • Deep subject matter knowledge including nuanced understanding of major players, funding landscape, healthcare agenda, and scientific literature

  • Track record of building and using data, data platforms, and new approaches to drive social impact 

  • Excellent project management skills including managing work plans, budgets, partners, and grants/contracts

  • Excellent stakeholder management skills including proven track record of building relationships and working in a challenging multi-stakeholder environment

  • Experience designing and scoping new programs, initiatives, and partnerships 

  • Experience in leading and designing implementation research

  • Experience or familiarity with field data collection and research and quantitative analysis  methods (including statistical methods and modelling)

Essential Skills and Attributes:

  • Demonstrated initiative to solve unstructured problems with little oversight, flexibility, high energy, and a positive attitude

  • Ability to lead diverse teams to results

  • Creative problem solver and strategic thinker with a rigorous approach and passion for working on some of the world’s toughest development challenges

  • Self-starter with proven history of building portfolios and executing programs

  • Master storyteller with ability to craft compelling narratives and presentations for variety of audiences 

  • Creativity, broad knowledge, and out-of-the-box thinking

  • Entrepreneurial mindset, self-motivating, and ability to develop independent recommendations 

  • Proven record of publishing in top academic journals

  • US work permit (required)

Preferred Requirements:

  • Master’s/Doctorate degree

  • 5+ years of working in the field on programs in low resource settings, and working closely with governments and implementing partners

  • Experience in quantitative modeling

Location: Washington DC, USA

Compensation: Highly competitive compensation and benefits package

Travel: ~20%; when permissible post COVID-19

Our Hiring Philosophy:

We hire for passion and core competencies.

We look for problem solvers and lateral thinkers.

We love it if you have done different things with your time.

If you think you are great for this position, write to us even if you don’t have all of the above preferred requirements.

Application:

  • Apply by visiting our Careers page here

  • Interested applicants, please submit 1) your resume/CV and 2) brief cover letter to Hannah Kemp, Vice President, Surgo Ventures

  • Short-listed applicants will go through several steps: a phone screening, a take-home project, and a virtual on-sites with the VP, CEO and other members of the team. 

  • Closing date for applications: Rolling basis  

  • Desired start date: ASAP

Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy

Surgo believes a diverse, inclusive staff makes us a stronger team and more impactful organization. We’re committed to a diverse team, and qualified people of all races, ethnicities, cultures, ages, sex, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, languages, social class, marital status, religions, veterans status, and disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.