Impact & Process Improvement Manager - Impact Improvement Team (Multiple Locations, Mid-Level)

Location options for this role are Delhi, Manila, Lusaka, Nairobi, or Dakar. Delhi is preferred. Preference will be given to those with pre-existing work authorization in these countries; however, IDInsight will seek work permits where possible for exceptional candidates.

IDinsight is expanding our Impact Improvement Team. The Impact Improvement Team’s goal is to increase our social impact and improve the experience of our client-facing teammates, in alignment with the first pillar of our 5-year strategy.

We are hiring a manager to lead these improvements, especially: (1) improved project operational efficiencies and (2) better knowledge management. The manager will help IDinsight achieve our strategy and mission in a high-leverage way, by unlocking gains for IDinsighters across the organization to create more impact with less effort on each project.

The manager’s clients will be IDinsighters working on project teams across the organization. The manager will be part of the Impact Improvement Team, a team dedicated to improving the impact of the organization and the professional experience of our teammates, through generating and using better, data, tools, and resources. They will report to the Impact Improvement Team Director. 

About IDinsight

We amplify social impact by partnering with leaders to develop tailored solutions. Our mission is to use data and evidence to help leaders combat poverty worldwide.

IDinsight helps leaders combat poverty worldwide by designing, deploying, and promoting evidence-generating tools. We tailor the best methodologies to partner needs and constraints to fuse evidence with action. We serve governments, NGOs, foundations, and social businesses across Africa and Asia in all major program areas including health, education, agriculture, livelihoods, finance, energy, and governance. As a non-profit, we are laser-focused on enabling maximum social impact to improve millions of lives. Our approach rests on four pillars:

• Rigorous: We develop and use a wide range of cutting-edge data and evidence tools, including experimental evaluations, monitoring systems, data analytics and visualization, process evaluations, machine learning, and more.
• Cost-effective: Every dollar spent is justified by the expected impact. If funds could be better used in another way, we say so.
• Timely: Actionable information is delivered in time for client decision-making deadlines.
• Demand-driven: We deploy solutions tailored to partner contexts and needs with no competing agendas.

IDinsight is committed to non-discrimination in our recruitment, employment practices, and organizational culture, regardless of people’s age, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Our diverse, growing team of roughly 200 outstanding colleagues operates in nearly two dozen countries around the world.  Learn more about our mission and values at www.IDinsight.org.  

About the Improvement Manager Role

The manager will be responsible for all aspects of developing and executing a new function. We are seeking candidates with a passion for process improvement, creating impact through enabling others, and working in a problem-driven, client-focused, and iterative way. Successful candidates should be able to identify high-value opportunities for supporting client-facing teammates, drive organisational change, create intuitive and effective tools and processes, and inclusively engage with a variety of internal partners and clients. Candidates should especially identify with our values of service, impact, and humility. Experience executing client-facing advisory projects in the social sector is a plus.

As a manager, the day-to-day responsibilities may include:

• Strategy development and execution - Take primary responsibility for designing and executing a new function. This includes research and benchmarking, strategy development and iteration, determining team skills and structures, and hiring teammates.
• Organisational change management - Ensure client-facing teams across regions fully engage with and benefit from the resources developed by the new function.
• Project management - Support project planning, developing deliverables, and coordinating with contributors and users. Lead project management including team management, budgeting, and alignment with strategy.
• Internal client liaising - Work closely with our client-facing teammates to ensure this work is maximally useful for them. This would include designing and executing org-wide processes to solicit and rank ideas, organizing user feedback and advisory board, soliciting inputs from technical experts, and working directly with project teams or regional office leadership.
• Resources and tools - Oversee tool and resource creation including tool design, contributing analytical processes, engagement of internal and external experts, and construction of high-quality outputs including guides, checklists, briefs, and many possible other materials.
• Manage and build infrastructure - Manage resource infrastructure including the Global Data Hub (Airtable), The Hub (google sites), and our Knowledge Management drive. Ensure resources are thoughtfully organized and easy to access across the infrastructure.
• Mentoring junior staff - professionally developing one or more junior teammates to help them grow in their role and achieve their long-term career goals.

Qualifications

We’re looking for an entrepreneurial, “get stuff done” teammate with 4-10 years of relevant experience. Desired Qualifications include:

• passion for improving lives through evidence-informed policy.
• Strong values aligned with IDinsight’s stated values.
• 4-10 years of relevant work experience, including managerial experience in a low or middle-income country.
• Outstanding interpersonal and leadership skills to effectively and inclusively engage with a variety of internal and external clients.
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English. Fluency in languages spoken in countries where IDinsight works is a plus, particularly Hindi or French.
• Experience with building organizational systems, change management, and/or continuous improvement initiatives.
• Familiarity with problem-driven, client-focused, and iterative problem-solving approaches, such as lean, agile, PDIA, TQM, TPS, continuous improvement, six sigma, etc.
• Ability to develop a deep and nuanced understanding of how data and associated tools can be tailored to decision-making needs within IDinsight.
• Adaptive to evolving project needs and unpredictable challenges related to building new teams and functions
• Able to quickly learn new systems software (such as Airtable, Google sites, etc.).
• Ability and interest in sharing knowledge, mentoring others, presenting work, and reviewing the work of others.
• Open-minded self-starter who will thrive while tackling new, unusual, and unpredictable challenges.
• Experience managing client-facing social sector advisory teams.
• Intellectual curiosity and a sense of humor.

Professional development

Skill and career development are core to IDinsight's values and long-term impact strategy and have been noted as highlights of teammates’ experiences. IDinsighters receive significant mentorship from IDinsight leadership, and support from talented peers, and are given considerable autonomy when ready. They maintain professional development plans and are given "stretch" opportunities designed to strengthen a variety of skills. Real-time feedback is embedded in our culture and formal structure enables maximum professional growth. Additionally, teammates have access to an annual professional development stipend that they are encouraged to utilize to explore their career interests and develop their skills.

Nuts & bolts

Location

This is a full-time employee position. The role may work out of any IDinsight office (Dakar, Delhi, Nairobi, Manila, Zambia).

Start date

The start date of this position is as soon as possible. We expect a one-year minimum commitment, with regular professional development conversations and potential for a long-term career at IDinsight. 

Compensation

Compensation and benefits are commensurate with the qualifications and experiences IDinsight is hiring for, and competitive within the global development sector. We are especially proud of the people-focused benefits we offer including comprehensive international health insurance, including mental health coverage; paid vacation, sick, and parental leave; relocation benefits; a travel stipend; technology and work from home stipends; a professional development budget; and more.

Please note, as a non-profit, we are unable to provide compensation similar to leading private sector organizations. 

How to apply

Please click the "Apply for this job online" button at the top right. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The application asks various questions in order for us to get to know you, and requires a CV and cover letter. 

Please ensure that your CV includes relevant professional and personal experience as well as details on academic qualifications. CVs can range from one to two pages. Please note, headshot photographs, parental details, birth dates, marital status and other personal information not relevant to the application do not need to be included in your CV. Additionally, we strongly encourage you to use your cover letter to highlight why you want to work for IDinsight specifically, and what has prepared you to succeed in the role you’re applying for. A customized cover letter is an important part of IDinsight’s recruiting process as it allows us to understand your motivations for the position, relevant skills, and clarity of writing.

More information, including details on IDinsight’s hiring process and frequently asked questions, can be found online at IDinsight Careers. Any questions should be directed to careers@IDinsight.org. 

IDinsight’s commitment to reducing power asymmetries

IDinsight is committed to reducing power asymmetries in the social sector. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion reflects our understanding of the need for the sector to abandon unhealthy practices of the past. We wish to be part of a new generation of international NGOs who are honest about this history and transparent about our role in the present. Our commitment is also aligned with the impact of our work. 

We seek a workforce that is inclusive of a variety of perspectives that will help us refine and improve our methods and relationships, and strengthen the services we provide our clients and their communities or constituencies. The following commitments represent our vision for the IDinsight team:

1. IDinsight will have greater representation from the populations with whom we work and clients we serve.
2. IDinsight will have greater representation from the countries in which we work.
3. Across all countries in which we recruit, we will seek greater representation from historically excluded communities.
4. IDinsight will foster an inclusive work culture that empowers a diverse team to do their best work.

IDinsight is an equal opportunity employer and strives to create a diverse and supportive workplace.