Job Opportunity for Deputy Director-Finance at Evidence Action in New Delhi

About Evidence Action

Evidence Action is a global nonprofit organization with an approach distinctive in international development – we exclusively scale interventions that are backed by strong evidence and can be delivered with exceptional cost-effectiveness. Our programs have grown since our founding in 2013 to reach over 280 million people annually. We deliver high impact for every dollar spent, as recognized by GiveWell, The Life You Can Save, and Charity Navigator.

We do development differently. We take a data-driven approach to identifying, scaling, and continuously improving programs which deliver immense impact, ensuring these solutions measurably improve the lives of millions. Our Deworm the World Initiative has helped governments in Africa and Asia deliver over 1.4 billion childhood deworming treatments, improving health, education, and incomes. Dispensers for Safe Water provides sustained safe water access to over 4 million people in rural Africa, preventing childhood illness and deaths.

We drive innovation: Our Accelerator builds the next generation of exceptional programs, taking an approach most similar to a venture capital model. We are ruthless in exiting programs which do not meet our criteria; those that advance deliver outsized impact for millions of people.

We are global. Across eight countries in Africa and Asia, our 400+ people are united by a tremendous passion for our mission and impact. We are strong because of our diversity of experience, geography, and background – with over 90% of our people in the countries where our impact is focused.

We have big ambitions. Our goal is to double our impact by 2024, to fulfill our vision of a world where hundreds of millions of people in the poorest places have better opportunities and their lives are measurably improved. We believe in bold and urgent action – because poverty doesn’t wait, and neither should we.

We need great people. Our success to date is due to the collective work of our amazing staff. To achieve our ambitious goals, we are looking for people who share our passion for evidence, cost-effectiveness, and scale. We seek individuals who take an entrepreneurial approach, enjoy tackling hard problems, and have a bias to action and results. If our vision and approach excite you as much as it does us, we invite you to join us.

About the India Safe Water Expansion Team

Our flagship Dispensers for Safe Water (DSW) provides safe water to over 4 million people across rural Uganda, Malawi, and Kenya, and is on track to expand its reach to over 9 million people by 2024. Recent evidence highlights that water treatment may be among the most cost-effective interventions available to save young children’s lives, reducing all-cause child mortality by about 25%. The dispensers program – based on research for Nobel-winning economists – utilizes an innovative and human-centric design to deliver clean water at the source in rural settings, achieving usage rates which are 5x that of comparable interventions. We are currently incubating a next generation technology, in-line chlorination (ILC) that targets peri-urban communities.

In addition to the above programs, Evidence Action has recently begun leading safe water work in India in collaboration with national and state government agencies. We will be overseeing the operation of a number of promising chlorination technologies across three Indian states. The pilot will focus on establishing greater understanding of operational considerations regarding water chlorination in various Indian contexts that governments can rely upon during their scale-up process. Post pilot recommendations will include an analysis of device performance and applicability across various factors such as tank capacity required, maintenance required, electricity requirements, level of expertise required to operation, and others. Following the pilot, findings and recommendations will be provided to national and state departments of water for incorporation in policy, water treatment guidelines, procurement processes, and implementation.

About the Role

Evidence Action is looking for someone to join our India Safe Water Expansion team as Manager, Operations. Reporting to Senior Manager, Safe Water, the Manager, Operations will be responsible for overseeing pilot and programmatic implementation. The Manager, Operations will be responsible for in the immediacy, overseeing the safe water pilot and in the longer term, programmatic scaling across multiple Indian states. Evidence Action is looking for a diversified program manager who can operate and coordinate at scale and in time sensitive environments. Evidence Action is very open to candidates outside of a traditional development background.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Management

• Lead pilot and statewide scale-up of deployment of water treatment devices across Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan by:
  • Provide recommendations on team and programmatic structure;
  • Develop necessary systems, structures, and processes for state teams;
  • Oversee procurement and contracting processes to ensure work is delivered on time;
  • Support state governments in the tendering process, e.g. communicating recommendations regarding device specifications, engaging with vendors and contracts, etc.;
  • Analyze and synthesize data received from pilot and program sites to develop meaningful, actionable insights to be communicated to EA and JJM leadership;
  • Proactively identify potential bottlenecks and areas of contingency in implementation of pilot, and develop and execute work plans to mitigate those risks;

Leadership

• Oversee the Pilot Lead, who will manage a pilot team of 11 individuals across Delhi, three states, and eighteen locations;
• Serve as the direct supervisor for multiple Delhi-based team members;
• Recruit and onboard our Safe Water program team at national and state level;
• Support state and sub-state programmatic development, expansion prioritization, and identify how plans translate into operations;
• Develop and engage with other teams at Evidence Action to share expertise and communicate work plans to other Evidence Action teams, and ensure work streams progress on time;

Government Relations & Coordination

• Represent Evidence Action and EAII Advisors Private Limited in engagements with national Jal Jeevan Mission representatives, state Jal Jeevan Mission representatives, state departments of water, NGO partners, suppliers, manufacturers, and others;
• Coordinate with our program strategy team to effectively transition planning and tasks from the strategy portfolio to the operations portfolio.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in relevant field with at least 5-7 years of professional experience of progressively increasing responsibility in the program management, operations, or consulting space;
• Experience directly implementing and rapidly scaling large-scale operations;
• 2+ years experience managing a geographically distributed team;
• 2+ years experience with government advocacy and relationship management at national and state level;
• Excellent spoken and written English. Ability to synthesize information clearly and produce good quality written documents keeping to tight deadlines;
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders within India and globally;
• Exceptional ability to work with minimal supervision, while also proactively communicating relevant progress updates and bottlenecks requiring attention or support from leadership;
• Ability and willingness to travel within India up to 50% of the time.

Evidence Action is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to diversity. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply.