Senior Manager, Dispensers for Safe Water

About Evidence Action

Evidence Action aims to be a world leader in scaling evidence-based and cost-effective programs to reduce the burden of poverty for hundreds of millions of people in the poorest places.  Last year Deworm the World reached 280 million people children with deworming medications, partnering with governments to launch, scale, and sustain mass school-based deworming programs. Meanwhile, Dispensers for Safe Water (DSW) provided 4M people across rural Africa with clean water, saving thousands of young lives. The approach relies on an innovative and human-centric design to deliver clean water at the source.   

In addition to running these scaled programs, Evidence Action leverages its unique Accelerator to develop the next generation of programs.  These programs are rigorously tested to ensure exceptional scale, cost-effectiveness, and clear evidence of impact. In 2019 we launched an ambitious new strategy, with the goal of doubling our impact over the next five years, with much of that impact coming from new programs identified and scaled through the Accelerator.

Evidence Action has a presence across 10 countries, with major offices in Nairobi, Kenya; Delhi, India; and Washington, D.C.  Evidence Action’s programs have been recognized by GiveWell, the Skoll Foundation, the Life You Can Save, Giving What We Can, and covered in the Economist, NPR, and the New York Times. 

Job purpose

The Senior Manager, Dispensers for Safe Water has key responsibilities in strategy development and execution, program management, technical thought leadership, and fundraising and partner management, and will serve as a point of contact between Evidence Action’s Dispensers for Safe Water country operations and the Evidence Action global Programs team. This position will report to the Senior Director, Programs.

This position will provide key technical contributions to the program, ensuring the evidence base for DSW interventions is strong, providing technical recommendations for program activities, and representing Evidence Action in the WASH sector. 

The individual in this position will be an excellent communicator who is able to track and confidently advise senior leadership on key program deliverables, financials, and technical issues and work with communications staff to project a compelling image of the program to partners, donors, and the public. They will maintain and support a culture of excellent program management and relationship building between the Global team and DSW country teams to ensure high quality decision-making and demonstrate Evidence Action values.

Duties and responsibilities

Program strategy

•  In collaboration with country and global program leadership, coordinate testing new program initiatives (eg additional interventions within or complementary to Dispensers for Safe Water)
• Coordinate with the DSW Deputy Director to pilot the use of new funding mechanisms, such as user contributions through self-help groups, to generate additional revenue to support the program’s ongoing costs.
• Manage the ongoing partnership strategy development process. Develop a framework for entering into partnerships for program growth (e.g. a franchising business model), outlining the services that Evidence Action will offer; the requirements and expectations of partners; and a set of standard policies, practices, and tools that will serve as the “system guide” for partners to operate dispensers independently in new geographies.
• Formulate compelling, strategic content regarding program innovations, updates, and results, in conjunction with the External Relations team

Program Management

• Contribute to and leverage program management tools (i.e., work plans) to ensure that timelines are adhered to and products are delivered on time
• Coordinate between DSW and global Evidence Action operations, finance, grants, and administration staff to ensure smooth operations
• Maintain a record of project management information including project documentation and minutes of key meetings/calls
• Contribute to, and potentially lead, knowledge management initiatives involving interaction with multiple teams and colleagues across geographies and levels of seniority
• Support financial forecasting and analysis for Dispensers for Safe Water, keeping up-to-date projections of costs and revenues, support the development and management of the annual program budget, and determine and support execution of risk mitigation plans as necessary

Technical Leadership 

• Maintain organizational evidence base on DSW interventions, including liaising with DSW academic advisors, research partners and global institutions, and proactively keeping all relevant internal stakeholders updated
• Contribute to internal or external working groups or initiatives which may focus on key areas of program delivery, to both provide, and benefit from, lessons generated across geographies and organizations
• Provide technical input and evidence-based recommendations for program planning and for decision-making during implementation
• Represent Evidence Action at relevant WASH conferences and meetings as needed, and act as coordinator for broader representation by team members at similar events

Fundraising and Partner Management

• In preparation for the launch of the abovementioned partnership strategy, identify appropriate strategic partners for DSW, and conduct or manage conversations with prospective partners
• In partnership with the Fundraising team, identify appropriate funding opportunities for Dispensers for Safe Water, execute formal and informal outreach to existing and potential new donors, and ensure production of compelling proposals, letters of interest, and pitch decks as relevant
• In partnership with the Fundraising team and DSW program leadership, identify and explore alternative partnership and financing models to increase DSW's reach and sustainability
• Lead on-going donor reporting with in-country program directors, M&E staff, and the Finance department

The Senior Manager may take on other responsibilities related to organizational priorities, in consultation with Evidence Action leadership and as time permits.

Qualifications include:

• Bachelor's degree with 5+ years' experience, including direct experience in project or program management. Advanced degree preferred
• At least 2 years of experience working on WASH programs required
• Strong belief in the importance of evidence-based decision making
• Experience working with academic researchers highly preferred
• Strong oral and written communicator with experience creating written and briefed products for executive-level or fundraising audiences
• Detail-oriented and organized for strong project management; experience managing projects in a matrixed organization highly preferred
• Ability to manage multiple competing deadlines and priorities with minimal supervision
• Willing to dive into a project, be proactive and flexible with the evolving needs of a start-up and projects that often involve multiple inputters and answer to multiple stakeholders
• Quick learner who can easily grasp program information and convey to multiple, diverse technical and non-technical audiences
• Experience working internationally or with internally diverse teams
• High level of computer literacy including MS Office Suite
• Alignment with Evidence Action values
• Eager to be part of a fast-paced, growing program and nimble team with a start-up atmosphere

Evidence Action does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.