IDinsight recruits an Associate Director.

Job description

About IDinsight

IDinsight uses rigorous evidence to help leaders improve lives. We tailor a wide range of data and evidence tools, including randomized evaluations and machine learning, to help decision-makers design effective programs and rigorously test what works to support communities. IDinsight works with governments, multi-laterals, foundations, and innovative non-profit organizations in Asia and Africa. We work across a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, education, health, governance, sanitation, and financial inclusion. Our team is made up of exceptional economists, data scientists, policy experts, and development professionals.

Visit www.IDinsight.org for more information.

About the Associate Director Position

The Associate Director (AD) will work closely with the West Africa Regional Director and will be supported by other Directors in the Region and IDinsight’s CEO. The AD will assume critical responsibility for driving large pieces of IDinsight’s work and strategy in the West Africa Region. The AD will be supported by high-quality research teams, an excellent operations team that ensures a well-functioning organization, and a communications team to help amplify the Director’s voice in policy circles. They will be also provided with bi-annual performance reviews (including feedback from peers and direct reports) to help them continuously grow and learn as professionals.

The AD will be provided significant autonomy to leverage IDinsight as a platform to drive social impact (in consonance with our mission and strategy), while also being held accountable to clear goals that they will set for themselves in consultation with the Head of Africa and other leaders at IDinsight.

Each Director role at IDinsight is unique and tailored to specific individuals’ strengths. However, at a high level, the AD role will include the following:

• Develop and lead high-impact opportunities: Building on their experience, expertise, and networks, the Associate Director will help conceptualize, secure, fundraise, and execute impactful initiatives that use data and evidence to drive change. All initiatives should be in line with IDinsight’s mission and strategy but can take various forms, ranging from direct client-service engagements to amplify our partners’ impact, to contributing to public knowledge products aimed at infusing data and evidence into important social sector debates.
• Lead, mentor and guide project teams: Project leadership involves liaising with senior clients regularly, ensuring the highest standards of research quality and ethics, overseeing and mentoring teams (usually 3-5 Managers, with 10-15 members in total), ensuring a safe and enabling atmosphere for colleagues, and keeping within project budgets. Most importantly, Directors are expected to set and drive their projects toward achieving social impact.
• Be a thought leader, a trusted advisor, and an advocate for data-driven reforms: In addition to leading projects, Directors will be expected to apply their considerable experience, expertise, and skills to shape evidence-informed action within one or multiple sectors, regions, or specializations. This includes writing in leading newspapers and journals, speaking at important conferences, harnessing relationships and networks within the impact community to develop trusted advisory positions with senior leaders, and participating in consultative councils within governments, foundations, and/or non-profits.
• Contribute to IDinsight strategy: The Director will be responsible for working closely with Africa and global leadership teams to craft, refine and execute on realizing IDinsight’s strategy in West Africa.
• Support organizational development: The Director will also be involved in contributing to global and regional operations such as recruitment, onboarding and performance reviews. They will be expected to support IDinsight to remain an impact-first, values-based, and nimble organization even as we grow.
• Exemplify IDinsight’s mission and values: Ensuring a strong alignment between incoming Directors and IDinsight’s values is an important priority for us. Directors are the face of IDinsight both externally and internally and will be expected to always and unambiguously exemplify our mission and values.

This position is based in Dakar, Senegal and will likely include a good amount of domestic and international travel (up to 30% dependent on exact role and subject to adjustments due to COVD-19) in order to fulfill the responsibilities mentioned above. Additionally, due to the COVID-19 crisis, we are currently working remotely until it is possible to safely and responsibly resume working from the office.