Software Engineer - DRC Human Resources for Health (HRH)

Position: Software Engineer

Program: Improve Human Resources for Health (HRH) through Implementing a Digital Health Worker Information System (iHRIS) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Location: Kinshasa, DRC (full-time, in-country)

Duration: 25 months

Please Note: Global Communities is considering only local candidates. This position is contingent upon award and donor approval. Start date will be determined upon award.

Overview

Global Communities champions community-led solutions to complex challenges at the intersection of global health, humanitarian assistance, sustainable development, and financial inclusion. Together with our subsidiary IntraHealth International, we bring local and global insights together to save lives, expand opportunity, and build resilient health systems. We are the developer and global steward of iHRIS, an open-source Human Resource Information System, used in more than 30 countries to manage over two million health worker records.

Global Communities is seeking a full-time Software Engineer, based in Kinshasa, DRC, to support a new project to improve health workforce planning, management, equity, and payment integrity by establishing a government-owned, sustainable iHRIS. The project will support the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene, and Social Welfare (MoH), the Agence Nationale d’Ingénierie Clinique (ANICNS), and other government stakeholders to design, implement, and institutionalize use of iHRIS in two provinces for improve health workforce decision making, interoperable with the national health worker payment system and other health worker registries, as a model for scaling nationwide.

The Software Engineer will lead the technical implementation of iHRIS, including installation, configuration, customization, interoperability, testing, deployment, maintenance, and continued software development. The role will also provide technical support and build the capacity of central and provincial government users and administrators through training, mentorship, documentation, and knowledge transfer. The Software Engineer will work closely with the project team, government counterparts, technology partners, and Global Communities’ digital health team.

This position will require regular travel to the two target provinces to support system development and capacity strengthening. 

Responsibilities

The Software Engineer will lead the technical implementation of iHRIS, including customization, interoperability, deployment, maintenance, and knowledge transfer. The role will strengthen in-country capacity to administer, maintain, troubleshoot, and customize the system through formal training, hands-on mentorship, and clear technical documentation. Specific responsibilities include the following:

Software Development 

• Lead the design, development, configuration, and maintenance of digital health technologies required for project activities, ensuring that solutions align with approved requirements, technical architecture, security standards, and government priorities.
• Lead the design, development, testing, documentation, and maintenance of secure interoperability between iHRIS, the inclusive payments system, and other health worker registries, in coordination with the responsible system teams.
• Gather, document, prioritize, and validate functional and technical requirements with MoH and provincial stakeholders, end users, software engineers, partners, and program staff; translate approved requirements into user stories, specifications, and acceptance criteria; and communicate decisions and trade-offs across teams.
• Manage the software development lifecycle, including prototyping, configuration, customization, version control, code review, automated and user acceptance testing, release planning, deployment, rollback procedures, bug resolution, and continuous improvement.
• Write secure, maintainable, and efficient code using appropriate web technologies; conduct and participate in source code reviews; and optimize system performance, reliability, and scalability for low-bandwidth operating environments.
• Plan and support data migration, including source-data assessment, mapping, transformation, deduplication, validation, reconciliation, secure transfer, and remediation of data quality issues in collaboration with data owners.
• Establish and maintain development, testing, and production environments; implement monitoring, backup, recovery, and disaster-recovery procedures; document system configurations and dependencies; and support timely patching and upgrades to sustain system availability.
• Implement and document appropriate security and privacy safeguards, including role-based access controls, authentication, audit logging, encryption, vulnerability remediation, and secure handling of personally identifiable health workforce data in accordance with applicable government policies and approved project requirements.
• Maintain and communicate technical work plans, estimates, dependencies, decisions, risks, and mitigation actions; contribute to project reporting; and promptly escalate issues that could affect system quality, security, interoperability, budget, or delivery timelines.

Capacity Strengthening

• Provide user and administrator training and support to government stakeholders at the provincial and central levels.
• Provide responsive technical support to users and administrators; troubleshoot and resolve incidents and recurring problems; document solutions in a shared knowledge base; track requests through closure; and escalate issues when specialized support is required. 
• Assess training needs, develop and maintain role-specific curricula and job aids, facilitate practical training sessions, evaluate participant competency, and provide follow-up coaching to reinforce correct system use and administration.
• Build the capacity of designated government counterparts to administer, configure, maintain, troubleshoot, and support iHRIS through training, mentorship, documented standard operating procedures, and progressively transferred responsibilities.

Client Management 

• Cultivate effective working relationships with government counterparts, end users, implementation partners, and other key stakeholders, serving as a primary technical focal point for requirements, design decisions, implementation updates, risks, and issue resolution.
• Translate stakeholder needs, objectives, and operational workflows into feasible technical options, and work collaboratively to align system development with approved priorities, government policies, available resources, and the long-term sustainability of iHRIS.
• Facilitate regular feedback and review sessions with stakeholders, document decisions and unresolved issues, communicate implications for scope and timelines, and incorporate approved feedback into the product backlog and release plans.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering (or relevant field) with 5 years of relevant experience or Master’s degree with 3 years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical support to digital health programs and providing technical support for health information systems
• Proven ability to build complex web applications using front-end JavaScript frameworks such as Vue.js, React, or Angular.
• Proven experience developing server-side applications and RESTful APIs with JavaScript (Node.js). 
• At least 3 years of experience with SQL databases.
• At least 3 years of experience deploying, monitoring, securing, backing up, upgrading, and maintaining software on local Linux servers and on cloud platforms in low-bandwidth environments
• At least 3 years of experience collaborating with ministries of health or comparable public-sector institutions to analyze workflows, gather and validate requirements, support change management, and adapt software to operational needs.
• Demonstrated experience implementing data protection safeguards for systems containing sensitive personal information.
• Demonstrated experience applying agile software development practices, including backlog management, sprint planning, estimation, code review, testing, continuous integration, version control, and release management. 
• Demonstrated project management and time management skills; must be highly organized and detail-oriented
• Demonstrated experience producing documentation and other resources such as training materials and user guides
• Written and spoken proficiency in French and English 

Preferred qualifications

• Familiarity with the HL7 FHIR standard.
• 5+ years of full-stack JavaScript development with Node.js and Vue.js.
• Experience using issue tracking, source control, code review, documentation, and team collaboration tools such as Jira, Trello, GitHub, GitLab, or Slack. 
• Demonstrated familiarity with the DRC health sector and experience working effectively with national and provincial government stakeholders and local technology partners. 

Global Communities’ Commitment

Global Communities positively welcomes and seeks applications from all sections of society. We are committed to a work environment that respects the dignity and worth of everyone and offers equal opportunity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

Global Communities holds strict safeguarding principles and has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment. In the process of recruitment, selection, and appointment, Global Communities will conduct robust reference and background screening checks, including international vetting as a signatory of the Global Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, to ensure children and vulnerable adults are safeguarded and abuse is prevented. The incumbent is required to carry out their duties in accordance with Global Communities’ Safeguarding policy and Standards of Conduct.