Mandy is the Project Director for BroadReach’s IDeAS program in partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Health funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. IDeAS stands for Integrated Decisions and Analytics Support and her team is responsible for implementing SmartCare– Zambia’s electronic health record system.
- What excites you about being a part of BroadReach?
The opportunities to serve are limitless there is so much scope to grow within the Group of businesses. And the best part is, I may not even need to leave my country! We have a footprint in almost every continent, and anyone connected to the work one does shows up to support that work, regardless of their location and time zone…if COVID-19 has taught us anything it’s that we are a global community!
- Why does BroadReach mean more?
I joined BroadReach in 2018 and it has come to mean more because we are very deliberate about culture. The culture cornerstones are such an inspiration, especially when things are not going well. They remind me of who I should be and how I should act in any given situation. My favorite is serving a mission greater than ourselves. At a micro/operational level that means the mission ‒ whether it’s delivering according to client expectations or making sure the team looks forward to reporting for work every day ‒ is greater than me and deserves nothing but my best efforts.
I am very passionate about staff culture and bringing out the best in my team. When I joined BroadReach it was important that I helped my team in Zambia rally around a common ethos, so that we could come together to achieve great things. I introduced the Moose, the duck, etc. which we shared previously – see link to 2018 blog: Operational Management – it’s a zoo out there.
- Tell us a bit about yourself from a personal perspective?
I have a curious mind and I like using my hands to make things. So far, my list includes cake baking, sewing, jewellery making, crocheting and natural cosmetic formulation. Next on my list is bread baking and organic gardening! I have also been blessed to make four children; they are my most prized project.
- And from a professional perspective?
If I could pick two words to define my professional journey, they would be “commitment” and “growth”. I have worked for four organisations in just over 16 years, averaging four years in each. Given the culture in the international development sector, where people change jobs every couple of years, I would say my staying power is above average. That staying power has allowed me to learn and operate across different roles and experience career growth much faster than what is usual in my context. In total, I have spent over half of my career in senior leadership roles managing projects funded by DFID, USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the CDC.
- What is your vision for BroadReach over the next five years?
When someone thinks digital health, BroadReach and Vantage should be the next thought. In the short term, I would like to contribute to that vision by continuing implementation of SmartCare, Zambia’s electronic health record system, and putting BroadReach’s stamp on it by being the ones who transition a fully functional, world class electronic health record system to the Ministry of Health.
- What would people be surprised to know about you?
When I was young, I dreamt of being a psychologist, mostly because I wanted to psychoanalyze myself.
Meet Mandy and her team below (they love her!). This clip was from a recent profile on the Zambian team we did for Talk Time Tuesday, our internal TV show.