Program Manager, Dispensers for Safe Water

Job Description

Evidence Action is looking for a Program Manager for Dispensers for Safe Water in Uganda. The position is located in Kampala. We are seeking a motivated , passionate, and skilled operational and people manager who will build a high-performing rural service delivery program and strong team to eventually serve 9 million Ugandans with access to safe water.

About Evidence Action

Evidence Action scales proven interventions that improve the lives of millions. We implement cost-effective interventions whose efficacy is backed by substantial rigorous evidence. Evidence Action identifies innovative, appropriate financing mechanisms and builds best practice operational models. We voraciously self-evaluate, learn, and improve our models for scaling with a commitment to transparency on progress, impact, and value for money.

Our current flagship programs include:

• Dispensers for Safe Water is an entrepreneurial program scaling the chlorine dispenser system – a proven innovation that dramatically expands access to water treatment at an extremely low cost.
• Deworm the World Initiative actively supports the scale-up of school-based deworming programs worldwide to improve children’s health, education, and long-term development.

About the Dispensers for Safe Water Program

Each year, over 1.8 million children under the age of five die from diarrhea, a leading cause of which is unsafe drinking water. Dispensers for Safe Water (DSW) is an entrepreneurial team tasked with scaling chlorine dispensers – a proven innovation that dramatically expands access to water treatment at an extremely low cost. The dispensers program is growing rapidly: we currently serve over 2 million in Kenya and Uganda. Our goal is to provide 25 million people in multiple countries with on-going access to safe water to reduce the disease burden by 2018.

About the Position

We are looking for a motivated individual who is passionate about using operational and people management experience to build a high-performing rural service delivery program and strong team to eventually serve 9 million Ugandans with access to safe water.

As the head of Dispenser for Safe Water’s second largest country program, the Uganda Program Manager is a key member of our leadership team. Dispensers for Safe Water Uganda will continue to grow rapidly over the next years, breaking new ground in scale and operations while serving as a model and resource for new country programs. The new Program Manager will be a strong leader and manager who can guide and build our team in Uganda, translatingDispensers for Safe Water’s innovative financing (e.g. carbon crediting) and partnership opportunities into a nationwide program with world-class operations.

Our mission in Uganda is no less than to provide safe water to the millions of Ugandans who cannot currently access it. Dispensers for Safe Water’s Uganda team has made tremendous progress by piloting operational models, building partnerships, and reaching over 200,000 people. The new Program Manager will build on the team’s experience and innovation, leveraging technology and streamlined field operations to reach 9 million people by 2018. Day to day, the Program Manager will work with the Uganda field teams to build a platform for top-tier implementation and roll-out thousands of chlorine dispensers across Uganda.

Goals and Responsibilities

Build a high-performing program serving millions of Ugandans

• Translate the goals of 3 million people served by end of 2015 and 9 million Ugandans served by 2018 into a concrete strategic vision and plan;
• Create and strengthen program delivery systems to ensure high-quality implementation and service delivery (e.g. a GPS-enabled circuit rider model for the chlorine supply chain);
• Responsibility for Uganda P&L of USH 2.5 billion (~$1M USD) annually (and growing), and the oversight and leadership on financial and administrative functions that entails;
• Lead performance management and professional development across the Uganda program;
• Lead the Uganda team and oversee team growth and development essential for successful nationwide chlorine dispenser service delivery
• Develop program operations strategy and lead activities between field operations, research/evaluation, information systems and support functions;
• Provide supervision, guidance and support to the program management team, developing team members into future leaders of our initiative;
• Generate, manage and share knowledge for continuous program improvement;
• Forge and strengthen partnerships with government and other organizations which leverage Dispensers for Safe Water’s ability to deliver high-impact programs;
• Contribute to setting program-wide research and development priorities.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

• Track record of inspiring and empowering teams with the right level of structure and direction (at least 3 years of senior management experience);
• Experience leading scale-focused work with a major operations component – building systems, bringing together organizational functions, and developing teams with the ability to reach millions of people;
• High level of comfort with information technology and databases;
• Experience working in the water sector desirable;
• Work experience in managing a cross-cultural team, ideally in Uganda/East Africa;
• Demonstrated knowledge of working on policy and partnerships desirable;
• A critical, analytical, and process-oriented thinker with a willingness to form and adjust opinions based on evidence;
• Inspired by our mission of cost-effectively bringing safe water to millions of Ugandans
• Track record of being a good steward of program funding and responsibly managing resources; alignment with our philosophy of building cost-effective program
• A strong commitment to evidence-based practice and policy in the development field;
• An entrepreneurial spirit – the ability to lead in a fast-moving start-up environment;
• A sense of humor
• Willingness to spend ~50% of the time in the field in rural Uganda and Kenya

To apply: Please email your CV and cover letter to jobs.ug@evidenceaction.org with the subject line “Uganda Program Manager Application.”