Associate Director, Safe Water Now Africa

About the Safe Water team

Evidence Action’s Safe Water Now program provides safe drinking water to over 10 million people across rural Uganda, Malawi, and Kenya. Water treatment reduces all-cause child mortality by about 25%. We  deliver safe water in rural settings through two interventions; our Dispensers for Safe Water (DSW) and newly launched In-Line Chlorination (ILC). Over the past two years, we’ve more than doubled our footprint in East and Southern Africa and are exploring expansion into new countries. We are also developing an innovation agenda through our Accelerator process to create next-generation safe water programs by defining problem statements, identifying solutions and designing creative interventions to test.

We are also launching an ambitious technical assistance program to help the government of India reach 17 million people with safe water, with plans to expand further. This supports India’s commitment to expand access to safe water across rural India, a massive effort which has already led to over 140m households receiving household tap connections.

Here, you will play a pivotal role in supporting Safe Water Africa's fundraising and partnership efforts by engaging with donors, contribute to the strategic expansion of Safe Water programs into new countries, oversee the development of strategic directions, drive cost-effectiveness, and create mechanisms for cross-regional and cross-program learning as part of our global team support. You will be supporting the integration of various safe water interventions and developing a playbook for broader policy advocacy. You will report into our Global Director of Safe water and lead a team of four spread across the globe.

Position Location

There is some flexibility on a US based location, the preference is for this role to be based in Washington DC with frequent travel (25% or more) to Africa, particularly: Kenya, Uganda, Malawi.  

Key Responsibilities:

1. Fundraising and Partnerships
1. Lead donor outreach and engagement with donors for Safe Water Africa fundraising.
2. Coordinate work planning around donor relationships, ensuring clear communication, timely reporting, and effective stakeholder management.
3. Develop fundraising pitches with External Relations support and create high-quality deliverables for external audiences to help support increased funding diversification.
4. Track and manage a wide range of grant-related activities, including funding commitments, project implementation milestones, reporting deadlines, and donor update meetings.
2. Strategy, Innovation and Optimization
1. Develop a sustainability plans by testing alternative options for transition and scale-up.
2. Provide strategy oversight around the expansion of safe water programming into new countries and support the team to identify programmatic barriers. 
3. Oversee efforts focused on optimization of activities, driving towards greater cost effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of services.
4. Develop strategic direction for Safe Water in Africa over the next 5 years that builds on a sustainability plan and incorporates innovative approaches as pathway to scale and expansion.
3. Program Management
1. Create mechanisms for greater cross-region and cross-program learning through standardized SOPs and guidelines.
2. Coordinate global team technical and operational support to regional and country teams on Safe Water in current and future geographies.
3. Support coordination between the Dispensers for Safe Water program and other safe water interventions in the same geographies (including ILC), ensuring synergies and efficiencies. 
4. Develop playbook for ‘Safe Water for all’ that includes standardized technical guidelines and forms basis for broader policy advocacy for water treatment. 
5. Provide budget oversight for Safe Water Africa activities from global level including partnership with country and regional leadership teams to develop plans and ensure efficient allocation of resources to support the delivery of programmatic objectives. 
4. Safe Water Expansion
1. Support  scoping and piloting in new countries leading to scale up of large new interventions. 
2. Manage efforts to build partnerships with a range of stakeholders for safe water expansion.
5. Team Development
1. Empower staff reporting to you, identify areas for growth, and effectively coach their learning. 
2. Maintain and promote a positive and healthy work environment for the staff reporting to you.

• You have 10 - 15 years experience working in diverse, global contexts; Bachelors degree

• You are strategic in thinking and planning and the translation of this into program results; ability to connect the dots on ideas and thinking, turning open ended problems into opportunities for the team and organization.  
• You have a strong capacity for fundraising, including cultivating new relationships and growing existing ones. Ideally, experience in fundraising for large global development programs.
• You can manage projects through their life cycles, and multiple projects simultaneously, taking into account moving priorities across a matrixed environment
• You enjoy building collaborative relationships across teams and navigate complex organizational systems.
• You can iterate in real time, employ data for decision making, and innovate and pivot to find success. 
• You have a passion for the mission of Evidence Action and for creating value in international development.
• You have managed large, multi-country programs in international development in relevant sectors (e.g. WASH, health, nutrition), ideally in a matrixed organization.
• You enjoy learning new content areas and are able to absorb information and put it into practice.
• You have experience leading teams in a growth-oriented role, with 5+ years supervising direct reports. 
• You are willing to travel up to 25% of the time across Evidence Action geographies in Africa.

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 515 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 1.8 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 exiting 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. 

We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of a U.S. employment visa at this time. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. for roles based in the U.S.

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

The expected role range for this US position is listed below. We consider multiple factors when determining the base salary for a role, including but not limited to: role scope, program budgets, internal equity, and a candidate’s qualifications and/or prior experience.

Note: Pay and benefits will be commensurate with the role specifications, local statutory requirements, and the cost of labor in the markets where we operate. 

The pay range for this role: $108,000-$119,500 per year

For US based roles, Evidence Action provides comprehensive benefits including international health care, HSA/FSA options, life insurance, disability coverage, retirement plans with a matching component, generous and flexible leave options, as well as other employee perks on a reimbursement basis. For more information visit our careers page or ask our recruiting team!