EAII Advisors Deputy Director Strategic Initiatives

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

Position Overview 

Job Title: Deputy Director, Strategic Initiatives

Employment Status: Full Time in-person

Position Location:  New Delhi 

About the Role

This position supports the India Safe Water (ISW) Associate Director and Leadership Team by driving coordination across internal teams, providing management support for programmatic workstreams, and advancing strategic initiatives. As the primary coordinator and facilitator, you will ensure the program meets its objectives efficiently and effectively. 

This is a strategic role that demands a blend of strong soft skills and project management expertise to support the ISW team in internal coordination, work planning, and managing diverse workstreams. You will maintain a comprehensive understanding of all ongoing work across the program, providing guidance to team leaders on a wide range of topics—from technical device challenges to recruitment strategies and future initiatives. 

If you are the type of person who takes the initiative and thrives on rolling up your sleeves and leading a team through complex and evolving challenges, this role is for you. Each day will bring new, varied tasks, requiring flexibility, exceptional project management, communication, and relationship-building skills. You’ll be joining the fastest-growing program in the organization, which has expanded from 2 to over 55 team members in just 18 months and is poised for continued growth.

Roles & Responsibilities of the position

Organizational Coordination (60%)

●        Coordinate activities across ISW teams, ensuring consistent communication and collaboration to enhance overall program effectiveness.

●        Anticipate and address operational challenges by leveraging resources, providing strategic guidance to leaders throughout all project phases—from milestone planning to execution.

●        Support the development and prioritization of program objectives, defining actionable KPIs, and ensuring their alignment with overarching strategic goals

●        Lead small and large group planning meetings and in-progress check-ins to ensure teams and leaders are on track to meet deliverables.

Executive Support (20%)

●       Actively participate in meetings with program leadership, the Country Director, and the CEO to ensure alignment with organizational goals.

●       Facilitate communication, prepare talking points, and streamline decision-making processes, allowing leaders to concentrate on critical program objectives.

●        Serve as a trusted advisor to senior program leadership, providing analysis, insights, and recommendations to enhance decision-making and drive program performance.

Program Management (20%)

●       Directly manage select high-priority projects involving cross-functional stakeholders, including growth planning, programmatic scaling, and process improvements.

Requirements

Essential Qualifications, Experience, and Competencies

Essentials

●        Experience in project or product management, management consulting, or a similar role.

●        Master's degree in Business Administration, Global Health, Public Administration, Public Policy, or a related field.

●        Passion for Mission: Demonstrate a strong commitment to Evidence Action's mission of scaling evidence-based and cost-effective programs to reduce the burden of poverty.

●        Strong Analytical Skills: Conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis to develop strategic insights.

●        Project Management Expertise: Proven ability to manage complex projects with diverse stakeholders.

●        Excellent Communication Skills: Clearly communicate and present information to various stakeholders, both verbally and in writing.

●        Self-management & Prioritization: Effectively manage multiple tasks and prioritize competing demands, meeting timelines in a fast-paced environment.

●        Strategic Thinking & Problem-Solving: Ability to think strategically, solve problems, and develop innovative solutions.

●        Relationship Management: Build trusting professional relationships with diverse stakeholders, anticipating needs and incorporating multiple perspectives.

●        Strong Work Ethic & Initiative: Demonstrated ability to work independently, take initiative, and "get things done". 

Desirable

●        Previous experience as a Chief of Staff in a fast-paced organization.

●        Experience working in the non-profit and/or international development sector

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

EAII provides a comprehensive benefits package for employees worldwide. Benefits include:

• comprehensive health insurance,
• retirement savings options,
• life insurance,
• generous leave,
• avenues for engagement and recognition.

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

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. 

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. Since our founding in 2013, we have reached 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 Program has helped governments in Africa and Asia deliver over 1.8 billion childhood deworming treatments, improving health, education, and incomes. Safe Water Now provides sustained safe water access to over 10 million people in 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. 

About the India 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. 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 double 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 with safe water. This complements the Indian government’s effort to bring water access to every household in the country.

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.