Job Opportunity for Senior Associate, Programs 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 Senior Associate, Programs. Reporting to the Manager, Operations, Safe Water. S/he will be responsible for supporting pilot and at-scale programmatic implementation. In addition to supporting the Manager, Operations, who is responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the pilot and, later on, the at-scale program, the Senior Associate will support the Manager, Strategy, Safe Water with longer-term planning. Evidence Action is looking for a diversified project manager who can operate and coordinate across multiple teams and functions in time sensitive environments. Evidence Action is very open to candidates outside of a traditional development background.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Support (60%)

• Support the Manager, Strategy and Manager, Operations on the India Safe Water Team in ensuring the smooth functioning of the day-to-day operations of program implementation:
  • Analyze and synthesize quantitative and qualitative data received from pilot and program sites to develop meaningful, actionable insights to be communicated to EA leadership.
  • Develop standardized materials and processes for onboarding and training new hires.
  • Ensure standardization across state and district teams in terms of systems and processes, e.g. performance management, data collection and management, working closely with pilot lead and EAII Operations Team.
  • Develop internal team materials as needed, e.g. PPTs to give updates to program senior leadership.
  • Provide flexible capacity as needed across various functions to ensure programmatic targets are met, e.g. recruiting, procurement, legal.
  • Proactively track various internal processes to assess progress against program targets, e.g. procurement, hiring, and address directly or escalate appropriately when things fall behind.

Coordination (30%)

• Manage communications and coordination with other Evidence Action teams within India and globally, ensuring correct stakeholders are involved at the appropriate level for various workstreams.
• Coordinate communications with India-based partners, e.g. Tata Trust, WaterAid, Rural WASH Partners Forum. Examples include: draft emails or memos to provide updates to partners, attending and taking notes during meetings to capture follow-up items, drafting agendas for meetings, etc.
• Support communication with established and potential funders, including the development of donor materials, preparation of talking points for meetings, etc.
• Oversee internal knowledge and information management systems and processes.

Government Relations (10%)

• Occasionally represent Evidence Action and EAII Advisors Private Limited in engagements with state Jal Jeevan Mission representatives, state departments of water, NGO partners, suppliers, manufacturers, and others.
• Draft talking points as needed for India Safe Water senior leadership for key government engagements.
• Draft content requested by national and state governments, e.g. research briefs.

Requirements

• 3-5 years of experience and a bachelor’s degree; or equivalent experience.
• Strong task management and organizational skills; proven ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously and prioritize between competing needs.
• Experience working in and adding structure to an ambiguous, fluid environment.
• Experience in effectively communicating and negotiating with, presenting to, and managing a variety of stakeholders in multicultural settings, including researchers, implementing partners, donors, and government officials.
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills; experience using large data sets and quantitative analysis to drive decision making.
• Advanced verbal, writing, and presentation skills in English.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
• Willingness to travel domestically in India up to 20% 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.