Head of Business Planning & Analytics

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE:Head of Business Planning & Analytics

REPORTING TO: Senior Director - People, Culture & Admin

DEPARTMENT: Administration

CLASSIFICATION LEVEL:Head

LOCATION: Lusaka, Zambia

ABOUT HEALTHY LEARNERS

Healthy Learners is an award-winning non-profit organisation working to improve the health and learning of children across Zambia and beyond. In partnership with the Government of Zambia, we bring healthcare directly into schools so that children stay healthy, stay in class, and reach their full potential. Our model is government-owned and government-led, fully embedded in national priorities, systems, and structures.

Today, we have 1,062 health rooms, trained 8,370 School Health Teachers, and operate in 𝟰𝟱 districts across all ten provinces, reaching more than 1.4 million learners through Zambia’s first integrated School Health Program. Our approach combines school-based service delivery with technical assistance to government at every level—strengthening planning, supervision, data use, and local capacity to deliver.

As we complete our national scale-up, we’re focused on deepening programme quality, strengthening delivery systems, and laying the foundation for long-term government leadership. We’re looking for a dynamic operational leader to help drive this next chapter—someone ready to manage complexity at scale and help a proven model achieve lasting impact.

Healthy Learners is the proud recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Innovation, the Duke F.M. Kirby Prize, and the Lipman Family Prize from the University of Pennsylvania. These awards reflect not just our success to date, but the strength of the opportunity ahead. If this mission resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you.

ABOUT YOU

You exemplify the qualities of being Humble, Hungry, and Smart in your leadership:

• Humble (Continuous Learning & Inclusion): You actively seek, encourage, and facilitate feedback sharing, fostering an environment of continuous learning. You adapt and grow continuously, cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging.
• Hungry (Efficiency, Excellence, and Innovation): Your relentless drive for efficiency and excellence is evident in your approach to both everyday tasks and complex challenges. When obstacles arise, you don't merely seek answers; you develop solutions and establish structures to address future obstacles proactively. Your hunger for innovation permeates the organisation, where you eagerly explore new and best practices, ensuring our people's operations remain modern and highly effective.
• Smart (Emotional Intelligence & Psychological Safety): Your exceptional emotional intelligence is your superpower, allowing you to create psychological safety within the organization. Through your ability to build trust, encourage risk-taking, and nurture courageous conversations, you promote an environment where individuals can thrive and collaborate effectively.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Head of  Business Planning & Analytics is a strategic leadership role that will build the analytical, digital, and process-optimisation capability powering Healthy Learners' internal support functions. Reporting directly to the Senior Director, People, Culture & Administration, this role will ensure that Supply Chain, Administration, and other internal support departments work smarter by designing and optimising workflows, delivering sharper data insights, and designing and deploying practical digital and AI-enabled tools.

This is Healthy Learners' internal optimisation resource: a partner to department heads across the organisation who identifies where manual, inconsistent, or judgment heavy processes can be simplified, standardised, or digitised, and who builds the dashboards, logic, and tools that make that possible. The role also continues to anchor Supply Chain's planning and systems agenda, including partnership on demand planning, the Warehouse Management System (WMS) and future ERP build, and support for Supply Chain's ongoing transformation initiatives.

The role partners with the Digital Health team and, where needed, external consultants and vendors, to scope, prioritise, and implement the right solution needed for the necessary tools. Success in this role is demonstrated through measurable improvements in operational efficiency, process standardisation, data quality, and overall business performance. This role will proactively identify opportunities for optimisation, champion digital and AI-enabled solutions, and establish reliable business intelligence that enables leaders to make faster, better informed decisions across the organisation.

In accordance with our Child Protection Policy in safeguarding children, this role will have minimal to no interaction with children.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Cross-Departmental Process Optimization & Digitisation (20%)

• Partner with department heads across Administration, Supply Chain, and other internal support functions to identify manual, inefficient, or inconsistent workflows and redesign them for speed, accuracy, and ease of use.
• Design and build logic driven planning tools that convert manual, judgment-based calculations into simple, repeatable inputs, for example, translating training manual quantities (such as number of participants or schools) into automatic material or resource requirements.
• Maintain a prioritised pipeline of cross-departmental optimisation opportunities, in partnership with the Senior Director, and track the efficiency gains delivered.
• Act as the go-to internal resource for departments seeking to simplify, standardise, or digitise a process, tool, or workflow.

AI & Digital Enablement Partnership (15%)

• Identify opportunities across supported departments where AI, automation, or digital tools could reduce manual work, improve accuracy, or speed up decision-making.
• Partner with the Digital Health team and, where needed, external consultants and vendors to scope, prioritise, and implement AI-enabled and digital solutions, translating department needs into clear business and technical requirements. 
• Pilot new tools and technologies with supported departments, evaluate results, and lead change management and adoption to ensure solutions are actually used.
• Stay current on practical AI and digital tools relevant to Healthy Learners' operations, and proactively bring relevant opportunities to department leads and the Senior Director.

Business Intelligence, Dashboards & Insights (15%)

• Design, build, and maintain dashboards and reporting tools that give department leads and the Senior Director clear, real-time visibility into performance, cost, and efficiency across Supply Chain, Administration, and other internal departments.
• Partner with department leads to define the metrics that matter for their function, and translate raw operational data into clear, actionable business insights.
• Produce recurring and ad hoc analysis to support decision-making by the Senior Director and Deputy CEO.
• Establish data governance standards such as definitions, quality checks, and audit trails so that figures reported to leadership are accurate and trusted.

Supply Chain: Systems, Planning & Operational Efficiency (35%)

• Serve as the Supply Chain business liaison for the Warehouse Management System (WMS) and future ERP build, partnering with Finance, Digital Health and system vendors to define data structures, workflows, and reporting requirements.
• Own supply chain master data standards and lead the digitisation of manual supply chain processes, including requisitioning, goods receipt, stock issuance, and reconciliation.
• Serve as the planning and analytics lead for major Supply Chain transformation projects, translating project goals into measurable milestones and tracking progress, risk, and benefits realisation.
• Support delivery of phased implementation roadmaps for Supply Chain initiatives, and partner with the Head of Supply Chain and Warehouse Manager to embed new operating models into everyday operations as projects go live.

• Partner with the Head of Supply Chain to design and continuously strengthen the organisation-wide demand planning framework and improve forecasting accuracy over time.
• Support consolidation of departmental demand into a master supply plan and lead forecast variance analysis.
• Identify forecasting and planning risks early, and recommend improvements to planning tools and discipline.

Governance, Stakeholder Management & Capability Building (15%)

• Build data, planning, and digital capability across supported departments through training on new tools, systems, and reporting standards.
• Build strong working relationships with department heads (e.g. Head of Supply Chain, Head of Curriculum Development, Programs, and People & Culture leads) to ensure this role is seen as a trusted partner, not an auditor.

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations, Business Analytics, Supply Chain Management, Information Systems, Economics, Industrial Engineering, or a related field; a Master's degree or professional certification (e.g. PMP, Lean Six Sigma, CPSM, APICS/CSCP) is an advantage.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in business process improvement, operations, analytics, or digital transformation, including experience operating at a Head or senior-management level.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with technical teams, IT, or external vendors/consultants to scope and implement digital or AI-enabled solutions; hands-on AI or software development skills are not required.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and hands-on experience building dashboards and reports in BI tools such as Power BI or Tableau.
• Demonstrated experience with process mapping and redesign, and translating manual, judgment-based workflows into structured tools, calculators, or automated logic.
• Strong systems-thinking mindset, with the ability to design end-to-end data architecture, reporting frameworks, and digitised processes from the ground up.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, including experience engaging Deputy CEO or C-suite-level stakeholders across multiple departments.
• People leadership experience, with the ability to build, mentor, and manage a team as the function scales.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Opportunity for Impact: Play a pivotal role in implementing a program that improves health outcomes for millions of schoolchildren, shaping the future of communities across Africa.
• Competitive Compensation: Receive a competitive salary and benefits package that reflects your expertise and commitment.
• Professional Growth: Access ongoing training, leadership opportunities, and engage in innovative projects that challenge and inspire you.
• Supportive Culture: Join a passionate, dedicated team that values collaboration and mutual support, fostering an environment where all contributions are recognized.
• Networking Opportunities: Collaborate with international organizations and enhance your network and influence in the public health sector.