Owns APLYD’s East Africa growth pipeline from initial institutional conversations through signed contracts, with responsibility for revenue origination, opportunity selection, proposals, negotiations, technical scoping, and delivery handoffs. Builds relationships across governments, multilaterals, development finance institutions, and foundations; maintains pipeline accuracy; represents the company regionally; and hires and leads the initial regional growth team.
Position: Growth Lead, Institutional Partnerships (East Africa)
Team: Growth
Level and grade: L7 Director
Position type: Full time; engagement basis set by country of residence
Location: East Africa. Nairobi, Kampala, Kigali, Dar es Salaam or Addis Ababa.
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Travel: 40 to 50 percent across the region, occasionally beyond
Mandate: The East Africa pipeline from first conversation to signed contract
About Us
APLYD helps governments, multilateral institutions, development finance institutions and foundations use AI in public systems. Most public-sector AI stops at the pilot. Our work is getting it into everyday service delivery and keeping it running once we leave.
Athena Infonomics has done this work for years. In 2026 we set it up as its own company. We cover strategy and readiness, field data and last-mile reach, design and build, evaluation and audit, and scale and production.
440+ engagements · 240+ global clients · 85+ specialists · 7 countries · 5 continents
The Role
You open East Africa for APLYD. The role runs from the first conversation with a ministry, a regional body, a multilateral country office or a development finance institution to a signed contract, and it carries a revenue target. It is a growth role rather than a country profit-and-loss role: delivery is staffed from APLYD's global disciplines, with people in the region when the work requires it.
You are the first APLYD hire in the region and you build the team around you, starting with an Associate, Growth (East Africa).
You carry a revenue target, and part of your pay is linked to the revenue you originate. Origination credit starts from the first contract you close, the rate increases once you pass target, and there is no cap. In your first year, qualified opportunities you originated that have reached contracting are also credited, because East African institutional cycles often take longer than a financial year.
Core Job Responsibilities
- Represent APLYD in East Africa. For most institutions in the region you will be the first person from the firm they meet, and what you commit to on our behalf, we deliver.
- Own institutional opportunities from the first conversation to a signed contract: problem definition, scoping, proposal, negotiation, contracting, and a handover that gives the delivery team everything it needs.
- Decide what we pursue and what we decline. Not every funded opportunity is one we should take.
- Set the technical expectation before anyone commits to it. Work with senior stakeholders until the problem statement is precise, and hold a credible position on solution architecture, data and AI feasibility, integration constraints, and who owns and operates the system once it is live.
- Own the proposals: scope, technical approach, timeline, risk, commercial model and budget. At this stage you write the important ones yourself.
- Read the region for us. Ministries and agencies across several countries, regional bodies, multilaterals, bilateral agencies and philanthropies all decide and budget differently, and the answers change across borders.
- Keep the pipeline accurate: what is live, what has stalled and what will not happen. Report to the Chief Executive Officer.
- Hire and lead the Associate, Growth (East Africa), and build the regional team as revenue allows.
Qualifications and Competencies
- Twenty or more years in business development, partnerships or institutional growth across government systems, development organisations or major funders, with most of that time in East Africa.
- You have taken a new institutional relationship to a signed, funded contract more than once.
- Current networks across East African governments, regional institutions, multilaterals, bilateral agencies and the philanthropies active in the region.
- You know how public systems and large development institutions work in the region, and where those answers change across borders.
- Enough technical depth to hold a credible conversation about AI and data systems, digital public infrastructure, feasibility and architecture.
- You have been the senior person in the room when an institution decided whether to work with a firm.
- Based in East Africa, with willingness to travel 40 to 50 percent.
Also useful, though we will not screen on it
- AI, digital transformation, technology-for-development or digital public infrastructure work in Africa.
- Relationships with county or sub-national governments, and with funders running significant East Africa portfolios.
- Time in an organisation working at the intersection of evidence, technology and public service delivery on the continent.
Additional Requirements
- This position requires successful completion of a reference check and employment verification.
- The successful candidate must not be subject to employment restrictions from a former employer, such as a non-compete, that would prevent performance of the responsibilities described.
- Candidates must declare any current or recent engagement with a government, multilateral or development finance institution that could present a conflict of interest.
APLYD’s Work Culture
At APLYD, we function in an outcomes-based work environment with flexible hours and a high level of autonomy. Professional development and thought leadership are key elements of our business model: we support our team members’ professional growth through on-the-job training, and we encourage the cultivation of our colleagues’ personal brands through participation in panels, events, publications, and other thought-leadership opportunities. We embrace a transparent, open work environment with meaningful leadership pathways for those with inventive ideas and initiatives.
APLYD is an Equal Opportunities Employer
APLYD, part of the Athena Infonomics group, is an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.
AI Proficiency and Responsible Use
Proficiency in the responsible and sophisticated use of AI is a mandatory requirement for all roles, across all levels and functions at APLYD and Athena Infonomics.
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