Job Description

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This position is with EAII Advisors, Evidence Action\'s technical partner in India.

Position Overview

Job Title: Manager, Program Management Unit (PMU)

Employment Status: Full Time

Position Location: New Delhi

About EAII Advisors

EAII Advisors, Evidence Action\'s technical partner in India, supports the implementation of the school and Anganwadi-based National Deworming Day program, as well as iron and folic acid supplementation programs, across 11 states by providing technical assistance to applicable state ministries of health, education, and women and child development. Moving forward, EAII Advisors aims to expand its impact by collaborating with more state governments on these existing programs, as well as supporting new public health, water, & nutrition programming.

EAII invites applications for the position of Manager Program Management Unit (PMU) to be based at the Delhi office.

About Evidence Action

Evidence Action aims to be a world leader in scaling evidence-based and cost-effective programs to reduce the burden of poverty for hundreds of millions of people in the poorest places. Last year Deworm the World reached 280 million people with deworming medications, partnering with governments to launch, scale, and sustain mass school-based deworming programs, including in India. Meanwhile, Dispensers for Safe Water provided 4M people across rural Africa with clean water, saving thousands of young lives. The approach relies on an innovative and human-centric design to deliver clean water at the source. These serve as just two examples of the work Evidence Action is undertaking.

In addition to running these scaled programs, Evidence Action leverages its unique Accelerator to develop the next generation of programs. These programs are rigorously tested to ensure exceptional scale, cost-effectiveness, and clear evidence of impact. In 2019 we launched an ambitious new strategy, intending to double our impact over the next five years, with much of that impact coming from new programs identified and scaled through the Accelerator.

Evidence Action has a presence across 9 countries, with major offices and/or technical partners in Nairobi, Kenya; Delhi, India; and Washington, D.C. Evidence Action\'s programs have been recognized by GiveWell, the Skoll Foundation, the Life You Can Save, Giving What We Can, and covered in the Economist, NPR, and the New York Times.

About India Safe Water Now

Evidence Action\'s Safe Water Now program provides safe drinking water to over 10 million people across rural Uganda, Malawi, and Kenya. 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 for Safe Water (DSW) program, based on research by a Nobel-winning economist, 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. Evidence Action recently launched a next generation technology, In-Line Chlorination (ILC) in Uganda and Malawi, targeting rural, peri-urban, and urban communities, which has the potential to be even more cost-effective. Over the past year, we\'ve more than doubled our footprint in East Africa and are actively exploring opportunities for expansion into new countries.

In addition to its longstanding work in East Africa, Evidence Action, through its technical partner in India, EAII Advisors, is launching a major technical assistance program to help the government of India reach 17.5 million people across multiple states with safe water. This complements the Indian government\'s effort to bring water access to every household in the country.

About the Position

Evidence Action is looking for someone to join our India Safe Water Expansion team as Manager, Program Management Unit (PMU). Reporting to the Director Programs, the Manager, PMU will be responsible for influencing national Safe Water strategy, identifying key gaps in JJM capacities, and plugging them. Their long-term focus will require coordination with JJM, Central and State Governments. The Manager, PMU must be capable of proactively identifying and addressing challenges and opportunities before they arise in thematic areas such as government relations and JJM capacity building.

The Manager, PMU will be required to travel to state-based programs for about 30% of the time. Travel is primarily during business days, while occasional weekend engagements may be expected.

Responsibilities

Government Relations & Coordination

• Represent Evidence Action and EAII Advisors Private Limited in engagements with national Jal Jeevan Mission representatives, state Jal Jeevan Mission representatives, state departments of water, NGO partners, suppliers, manufacturers, and others
• Engage with other teams within Evidence Action as necessary to ensure organizational expertise is optimally leveraged to enable success of pilot, e.g. Monitoring, Learning & Evaluation team, Procurement team, Legal team, Finance Team, Human Resources/Recruiting team, etc.
• Coordinate with program strategy team to effectively transition planning and tasks from the strategy portfolio to the operations portfolio

Strategy planning & execution

• Oversee the PMU team, which will integrate closely with Jal Jeevan Mission\'s national office to prepare the government for Safe Water work, including integrating Safe Water plans into relevant national and state policies and building necessary capacities at Evidence Action and in the government
• Refine Evidence Action\'s Safe Water strategy based on feedback from government parties, and provide frequent status updates to the Director of the program
• Lead expansion planning, including identifying the most appropriate states to enter based on impact, political willingness, existing Evidence Action presence, and other factors that will be identified through engagement with stakeholders, research, and learnings from the pilot.
• Establish transition plans to move applicable initiatives from strategy to the current operations lead. Ensure appropriate hand off within the Evidence Action team.

Materials development and knowledge oversight

• Lead drafting policy-relevant materials and advocacy initiatives either requested by JJM, State governments, EA leadership, or external partners and academics.
• Analyze and synthesize information from internal and external sources to inform work planning and products.

External engagement

• Serve as the primary point of contact with external academics, soliciting expert input as appropriate and incorporating into work products and planning.
• Lead the groundwork and initial engagements with state teams (internal employees) and state and district-level governments.

Requirements:

• Bachelor\'s degree OR equivalent work experience (8+ years)
• At least 5 years of professional experience of progressively increasing responsibility;
• Strong project management and organizational skills; proven ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously requiring inputs from various stakeholders;
• Excellent spoken and written English. Ability to synthesize information clearly and produce high-quality written documents keeping to tight deadlines, including executive-level materials tailored to donors and other internal and external stakeholders;
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders within India and globally;
• Exceptional ability to work with minimal supervision, while also proactively communicating relevant progress updates and bottlenecks requiring attention or support from leadership;
• Ability to develop strategic recommendations based on qualitative and quantitative analysis;
• Able to work within a matrixed, complex organizational structure;
• Passion for the mission and values of Evidence Action and for creating value in international development;
• Experience of technical and advisory services to Governments or working with Governments on development sector (preferably Water/WASH sector) at any level will be a bonus.

Disclaimer: The duties and responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list and that additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time.

Benefits:

Compensation: Competitive and commensurate with the individual\'s credentials, experience, and previous pay scale.

All contracting arrangements will be made through EAII Advisors Private Limited. EAII is an equal opportunity employer. Employment at EAII is based solely on an individual\'s merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence. EAII does not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, caste, creed, colour, religion, gender, origin, disability, marital status, or any other basis protected by law.

All candidates applying for the position should upload a resume along with cover letter mentioning current and expected salary.

We may end this search process earlier than the specified close date in case of exceptional candidates. Due to resource constraints, we will only be able to contact shortlisted candidates.

Evidence Action