Associate Director, Operations
Evidence Action, Kenya
Job Description
About Evidence Action
Evidence Action is a global non-profit 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 fulfil 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.
Job purpose
The Associate Director, Operations position will be responsible for leading and overseeing the regional Africa operations function at Evidence Action. This will include providing vision and direction to the regional operations, procurement and IT teams. It will also involve liaising closely with country leads and country operations and IT capacity to promote effective service delivery as well as leading the identification and mitigation of operational risks throughout the region. Many of the organization’s locations are field offices whose varied challenges and circumstances require creative problem-solving. The ability to promote efficient and compliant systems and processes which account both for varied country level needs and experiences as well as regional and global requirements and perspectives will be essential. With the organization in an exciting period of rapid growth, this role will play an important role in ensuring the organization's policies, processes, and systems are up-to-date, understood, and roles and responsibilities clear.
The incumbent will interface with Evidence Action’s regional leadership team and key global team stakeholders in designing and advocating for strategic approaches to managing operations, procurement, and IT in the region. A keen appreciation for implementing strong systems and processes at scale and cost-effective solutions will be key.
Duties and responsibilities:
General Management amp; Leadership
- Lead development of the region’s operations strategy, with a particular focus on enabling growth and mitigating operational risk in close coordination with country leads.
- Lead the development, review, and maintenance of regional operations, IT, and procurement goals, objectives, and operating procedures ensuring that these include clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
- Provide leadership, direction and functional guidance to the operations team including setting team and individual objectives.
- Ensure quality staff hires in the unit with high performance of direct reports
- Promote a culture of high performance, high quality and continuous improvement that values learning and feedback;
- Responsible for developing/refining and regularly reporting on key performance indicators and metrics to management concerning the regional operations support activities and capacity/gaps.
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