Deputy CTO

Have you ever had to make the tough call on what to build, what to buy, and what needs fixing now while keeping the business moving? If you know how to balance great engineering with commercial reality, bring teams together, and turn a messy technology estate into something that can scale, we have a system for you to shape.

About Tiko

Tiko is a high-growth, award-winning African nonprofit on a mission to radically transform healthcare access. Recognized as an Audacious Project awardee and one of the fastest-growing NGOs in the sector, we are committed to strengthening the potential and resilience of adolescent girls across Africa. We address the “Triple Threat” of unintended pregnancy, HIV infection, and sexual and gender-based violence by building local health ecosystems that provide stigma-free, no-cost, quality-assured services.

Our model brings together key local actors: community-based organizations (CBO) with peer mobilisers who act as health companions to girls; public and private health clinics that deliver care; and retail partners that redeem Tiko Miles -our behaviour-change incentive programme that rewards service uptake and feedback.

We invest in partners by strengthening CBO capacity, training frontline workers and providers, supporting clinic quality improvement, and compensating partners based on performance. Our technology platform connects all actors by enabling referrals, verifying service delivery, facilitating payments, and generating real-time data.

Tiko operates in six countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, South Africa, and Nigeria, with additional offices in Portugal, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. For a clear overview of our work, we recommend watching this short video.

Globally, our team consists of +250 enthusiastic, international colleagues. Whether you are working from our biggest office in Nairobi, the fast-growing office in South Africa, or from home, our people are young, and our culture is global and dynamic. Our work environment is fast-paced, informal, and friendly.

For this position we will happily accept applicants from Portugal, Kenya or South Africa.

The Job

Reporting directly to the Chief Technology and Product Officer (CTPO), the Deputy Chief Technology Officer will take end-to-end operational and strategic ownership of roughly half our total tech organisation - leading 50 - 60 engineers, architects, and data professionals across four distinct teams. You will partner closely with your peer, the Deputy Chief Product Officer, to turn our technology vision into a resilient, scalable, and high-throughput reality.

This is not an advisory, fractional, or hands-off consulting role.

We are looking for an operational heavyweight who thrives in the weeds of engineering standards, architecture trade-offs, and ISO 27001 compliance, while building the conditions that make delivery predictable and sustainable. You will lead through directors, raise the bar for technical excellence, and serve as the ultimate arbitrator for build-vs-buy decisions across our platform, data, and infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering & Architecture Strategy

• Own the overarching integrity of Tiko 's technical architecture, setting cross-cutting principles and standards across engineering, data, and cloud infrastructure.

• Arbitrate major build-vs-buy decisions, evaluating long-term operational costs, reliability, and platform growth against immediate business priorities.

• Contribute technical initiatives directly to the joint product and tech roadmap, ensuring foundational platform health and tech-debt management are prioritised alongside feature delivery.

• Stay ahead of emerging technologies and industry shifts to ensure Tiko 's platform remains modern, secure, and fit for purpose across our operating regions.

Leadership & Operational Excellence

• Directly manage, mentor, and develop senior leaders—including two Engineering Directors, a Data Architect, and a Software & Infrastructure Architect.

• Scale and nurture a high-performing 50+ person engineering organisation, fostering a culture grounded in psychological safety, collaborative problem-solving, and continuous learning.

• Establish metrics, SLAs, and KPIs to track platform health, delivery performance, and engineering effectiveness, using data to drive continuous optimisation.

• Own the organisational conditions for predictable, low-toil delivery, empowering your Engineering Directors to execute individual projects with autonomy and accountability.

Governance, Risk & Security

• Champion security, privacy, and regulatory compliance across all engineering practices, keeping our ecosystem strictly aligned with ISO 27001 standards and strict data protection obligations.

• Identify, monitor, and mitigate technical, operational, and vendor risks, maintaining tested continuity and disaster-recovery plans across our platform.

• Serve as the primary engineering and architecture interface for executive leadership, effectively translating technical debt, risk, and architectural choices into business outcomes.

• Lead cross-functional collaboration with product, operations, marketing, and MERL teams to break down silos and ensure seamless execution of company objectives.

About You

You are a grounded, low-ego technical leader who values organisational impact and real-world delivery far above corporate titles. You are energized by the systemic challenge of leading a multi-team engineering organisation through its next stage of scale. You combine deep, battle-tested software and data engineering fundamentals with the emotional intelligence needed to mentor directors, align cross-functional peers, and foster a growth-oriented, inclusive environment for girls and the communities we serve.

Requirements

• Proven Scale Leadership: 8+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience, with a track record of directly or indirectly managing multi-team organisations of 40+ people (managing through directors, not just individual contributors or frontline managers).

• Full-Time Operational Ownership: Demonstrated history of full-time, hands-on operational leadership in scaling product-led tech environments (fractional, part-time, or pure advisory experience will not fit this requirement).

• Architectural Mastery: Deep experience defining enterprise architecture standards, managing complex distributed systems, and leading data infrastructure transformations.

• Security & Compliance: Direct experience driving compliance, security governance, and data privacy frameworks (specifically ISO 27001 and local data protection regulations).

• Communication & Alignment: Exceptional verbal and written European English communication skills, with a proven ability to act as an internal and external technical evangelist.

Bonus Points (The Differentiators):

• Hands-on experience scaling technology platforms across emerging markets or lower-bandwidth environments in Africa.

• Deep background in data engineering, analytics architectures, or financial/incentive payout systems at scale.

• Direct experience partnering with executive leadership in a matrixed, cross-functional global non-profit or social enterprise.

Recruitment Process

Introductory call with recruiter | First Interview with Tech Team | Second Interview with Tech Team | Final interview with the Co-CEO

The Rewards

• We offer a competitive salary based on experience, location and the agreed scope of the position

• Benefits and allowances tailored to your location

• Flexible work arrangements, including remote or hybrid options

• A personal development budget to invest in your professional growth

• Unlimited holiday days to use as you see fit - just coordinate with your team and take the time you need to recharge

• The opportunity to shape a growing, impactful product and leave your mark on how we work

• A culture built on trust - we believe you’ll do your best without the need for unnece