NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

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 515 million people globally with our interventions. 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 1.8 billion childhood deworming treatments, improving health, education, and incomes. Dispensers for Safe Water provides sustained safe water access to over 10 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 exciting programs which do not meet our criteria; those that advance deliver outsized impact for millions of people.

We are global. Across nine countries in Africa and Asia, our 700+ 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. Over the next decade, we’re setting our sights higher: We aim to reach over 600 million people globally 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 Strategic Initiatives team

The Strategic Initiatives team works with Evidence Action’s Chief of Staff to support Evidence Action’s CEO, Kanika Bahl, and the rest of the executive leadership team as they leverage their time to maximum impact. We take on exciting cross-team, cross-program, and cross-geography projects that have strategic impact for the organization. Our team is responsive and we learn a lot as we “flex” to meet the needs of our rapidly growing organization. Ongoing or previous projects tackled by this team have been mapping-out and upgrading our recruitment and selection systems and processes, coordinating global team work to enter new countries, and creating a new process to prioritize program opportunities for fundraising. With exciting organizational growth ahead, we will be addressing organizational structure, process improvement, and project management needs for the broader organization.

Key Responsibilities:
– Special projects: lead the development and execution of critical organizational initiatives. These will vary based on shifting priorities but may include:
– Support the launch of innovative new programs
– Supporting priority programmatic needs as they arise, such as coordinating our Global – Team support to our largest-ever Safe Water program currently beginning scale-up in India
– Strategic recruitment efforts, including sourcing of candidates, interviewing and onboarding
– Optimization of internal knowledge management, information sharing, and communications practices to enable a growing matrixed organization
– Support Global Leadership Team meetings and conferences and Board-level processes and meetings; including scheduling, agenda and content generation (in coordination with senior leadership), and project management of preparation for Global Leadership Team decision-briefs.
– Executive-level presentations: create proposals and other materials for Evidence Action internal leadership meetings, team-wide strategic processes, and donor- and partner-facing engagements, pulling in information from across the organization
– Project manage and track organization-wide and cross-functional initiatives that enable strategic “leaps” in organizational performance and readiness for growth, such as investments in new systems and processes
– Drive progress on initiatives across a variety of internal and external stakeholders in a highly matrixed environment; this will likely include (but not be limited to) entering new countries with our programming

Requirements
– Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Economics, Public Administration, Public Policy or related degree;
– 2-4 years of experience in management consulting, internal-facing consultant-type roles, special projects roles, or chief of staff-type roles.
– Strong project management and organizational skills; proven ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously, which require inputs from multiple, diverse stakeholder groups;
– Experience building strong professional relationships with diverse stakeholders, with the ability to anticipate needs and incorporate multiple perspectives
– Experience in real time problem solving, as part of smaller cross cutting teams and adept at using an analytical and entrepreneurial approach to trade risks with rewards and support innovation;
– Experience in effectively communicating with, presenting to, and managing a variety of stakeholders, even in uncertainty;
– Advanced executive-level writing and presentation development skills, including exceptional skills in Word and PowerPoint or Google Docs;
– Ability to develop strategic recommendations based on qualitative and quantitative analysis;
– Able to work within a matrixed, complex organizational structure;
– Desire to get hands-dirty and take on priority tasks;
– Passion for the mission of Evidence Action and for creating value in international development.
– Willing and able to travel 5-25%