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

Location: Dakar, Senegal; Delhi, India; Lusaka, Zambia; Nairobi, Kenya; or Rabat, Morocco

The manager’s primary goal is to increase IDinsight’s impact, supporting the first pillar of our 5-year strategy. The manager will improve IDinsight’s impact by strengthening internal decision-making and learning across the organisation through generating and using various forms of data. The manager will use the same rigorous data-centric problem-solving tools we use with our clients. However, instead of applying these tools to client problems, the manager will focus on how IDinsight can improve.

The manager’s primary client will be IDinsight’s CEO. The manager will also be responsible for providing value to IDinsighters in many roles across the organisation. The manager will be part of the Impact Improvement Team, a team dedicated to improving the impact of the organisation and professional experience of our teammates, through generating and using better, data, tools, and resources. The manager 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 is a mission-driven global advisory, data analytics, and research organization that helps global development leaders maximize their social impact. We tailor a wide range of data and evidence tools, including randomized evaluations and machine learning, to help decision-makers design effective programs and rigorously test what works to support communities. We work with governments, multilateral agencies, foundations, and innovative non-profit organizations in Asia and Africa. Our work spans a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, education, health, governance, sanitation, financial inclusion, and other areas.

We have expertise in a variety of rigorous approaches and methodologies, which we tailor to each client depending on their needs and constraints. To achieve a positive social impact we:

• Support clients’ use of data and evidence for routine and major decision-making.
• Inform funding decisions – toward high-impact initiatives and away from less effective programs or approaches.
• Create and share tools, knowledge, and ideas that expand the use of data and evidence for social good.

Our diverse, growing team of roughly 250 outstanding colleagues operate in nearly two dozen countries around the world.  Learn more about our mission and values at www.IDinsight.org.  

About the Impact & Strategy Manager role

We are looking for someone who is passionate about IDinsight’s data-driven approach to creating social impact and wants to lead a team to apply that approach internally to help us achieve our impact goals. The manager will possess exceptional analytical, communication, project management and relationship management skills. The manager will thrive in an entrepreneurial, low or middle-income country setting. The manager will oversee all aspects of our internal learning efforts (with support from the Impact Improvement Director). 

Responsibilities

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

• Strategy development and execution - Take primary responsibility for determining how the team can most effectively organize and execute to support the success of IDinsight’s 5-year strategy. This includes strategy development and iteration, research and benchmarking, determining team skills and structures, and hiring teammates where relevant.
• Internal client liaising - Develop trusted advisor relationships with a wide variety of internal teammates including the CEO, regional/functional leadership, our Research and Data team, and our client-facing teams. Align our work to be maximally useful for these data users. 
• Technical skills - Deploy a range of data and econometric tools to create actionable insights for internal teammates. Oversee all technical elements of the team’s work, possibly including methodology development, questionnaire design, indicator selection, data piping and management, data analysis, data visualisation, and evaluation design. Engage internal and external experts in developing and refining our analytical approach. 
• Project management - Support project planning, developing deliverables, and coordinating with contributors and users.  Lead project management, including team management and alignment with strategy. 
• Communication - Produce high-quality communication materials describing our approach, including technical reports, policy briefs, and presentation materials. 
• Mentoring junior staff - Professionally develop one or more high-performing early career professionals 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 building rigorous data into decision-making. 
• Strong values aligned with IDinsight’s stated values.
• 4-10 years 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. 
• Outstanding quantitative and critical thinking skills, with a nuanced understanding of econometric, data, and experiment tools, including but not limited to statistical software (Stata / R wizards welcome, but not mandatory).
• Ability to develop a deep and nuanced understanding of how data and associated tools can be tailored to decision-making needs within IDinsight.
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English. Fluency in languages spoken in countries where IDinsight works is a plus, such as Hindi or French.
• Experience managing client-facing social sector advisory teams. 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.
• Excited about building a long-term function within IDinsight with evolving sub-projects. Ability to consistently drive the main objective forward.
• Intellectual curiosity and a sense of humour.

Professional development

Skill and career development are core to IDinsight's values and long-term impact strategy, and have been noted highlights of teammates’ experiences. IDinsighters receive significant mentorship from IDinsight leadership, 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 position is based in IDinsight’s Dakar, Senegal; Delhi, India; Lusaka, Zambia; Nairobi, Kenya; or Rabat, Morocco office(s). This position is not eligible for remote work, or otherwise, from the United States. 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. 

Start date

The start date of this position is as soon as possible, with preference for candidates that can start immediately. 

Work authorization

IDinsight is able to sponsor employment visas for all nationalities in these locations; however, we will prioritize candidates who do not require IDinsight to sponsor work authorization in the aforementioned countries. All candidates who are not currently located in our country offices listed above will be expected to relocate to their office locations at the onset of their employment. 

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 are rolling and considered as they are submitted. 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 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.