Chief Executive Officer | Remote
IDinsight is a mission-driven global advisory, data analytics, and research organization that helps global development leaders maximize their social impact. 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, multilaterals, 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.
What we do
Through innovation, direct project work, and by working to transform the sector, IDinsight helps combat poverty using data and evidence.
We create and adapt cutting-edge data and evidence tools from tech, industry, and academia to meet the needs of governments, non-profits, and social enterprises. We launch initiatives that advocate for and enable practitioners to use evidence-driven approaches accountable to the people they serve. Our project work includes impact evaluations, Embedded Learning Partnerships with some of the world’s largest most influential policymakers and development organizations, and other services that facilitate data-driven decision-making. Read about our projects here.
Vision: Improve millions of lives by transforming how the social sector innovates, learns, and improves.
Mission: Help leaders use data and evidence to combat poverty.
The Opportunity
Globally, hundreds of millions of people are kept from fulfilling their human capabilities due to limited opportunities and freedoms. Reducing poverty and improving wellbeing by addressing the daunting “unfreedoms” of poor health and learning outcomes, economic and physical insecurity, and political marginalization represent the biggest challenges of our times. Yet resources dedicated to these challenges are not yet achieving the impact they could. Decisions on what problems to address are not informed by data and evidence that reflect people’s lives and pathways to progress.
In the fight against poverty, knowledge is power; those who use data and evidence have an edge. Few organizations, whether public or private, have the in-house capacity to generate the insights that provide this edge. This is where IDinsight comes in. We provide data and evidence services, tailored to our partners’ constraints and contexts, to amplify their impact. Our partners across Asia and Africa — whether government agencies, non-governmental organizations, or organizations providing external funding — use the insights we generate because they trust and respect the quality of our work and the intentions behind it.
We are looking for a CEO to build off of our successes and drive forward our social impact at a pivotal point of organizational growth. This is an outstanding opportunity for a leader with true vision and the ambition to create large-scale social impact using data and evidence. Idinsight’s next CEO must bring compelling leadership experience in growing organizations in the global development field, with demonstrated success applying innovative measurement, analytics, and evidence tools to complex problems.
The Role
Building on IDinsight’s strengths and impressive results to date, the CEO will engage the Board and IDinsight senior leadership to co-own the next phase of IDinsight’s ambitious strategy and growth plan to achieve social impact at scale and influence how the development sector makes decisions. IDinsight’s CEO will be accountable for driving forward the organization’s (1) vision and strategy, (2) social impact, (3) people, culture, and values, (4) external influence, (5) financial health, and (6) Board development.
This endeavor demands a leader who can: inspire the broader global development field and its decision-makers to adopt data and evidence-based approaches. They will attract, empower, and mentor internal leaders; guide IDinsight strategy; demonstrate IDinsight’s values in every action; conceptualize and launch large, high-impact new initiatives; and attract financial resources to fund innovative projects and the organization’s scale-up. IDinsight’s senior leadership, including highly independent regional directors will allow the CEO to focus on the most high-leverage strategic and influential initiatives to achieve our mission.
Lead Vision and Strategy
The CEO will set, execute, and continually refine IDinsight’s strategy
- Set IDinsight’s strategy to achieve its mission and vision; analyze trends within the data and development field and opportunities; communicate organization-wide priorities, shaping the portfolio of work; identify opportunities and lead change when necessary.
- Lead long-term and annual planning processes with senior leadership and the Board.
- Work with senior leadership to establish systems for tracking and reporting on progress against strategic plans; mitigate risks to successful execution.
Create Large Scale Social Impact
The CEO will ensure IDinsight is able to maximize its long-term social impact.
- Launch high-impact new initiatives and services to further data- and evidence- driven decision making in global development.
- Advise on and drive performance for the organization’s social impact, technical robustness, financial health, project execution quality, and status of client relations for all projects in IDinsight’s portfolio.
Empower People, Drive Culture, and Champion Values
The CEO will empower IDinsight’s exceptional people, model and drive exceptional organizational culture, and champion organizational values.
- Empower IDinsight’s people (a team of 300 individuals from 25+ countries) and help them create a direct link between their work with social impact at scale.
- Model and drive organizational culture to create cohesion amongst distributed teams.
- Champion organizational values so as to attract and retain mission-driven team members.
Ensure IDinsight is a professional home where team members of diverse backgrounds experience inclusion and equity, and therefore a deep sense of belonging.
Influence Actors in Global Development
The CEO will expand IDinsight’s influence and reputation to promote evidence-based solutions to development challenges.
- Create and increase IDinsight’s brand recognition as an exemplary organization in terms of impact, innovation, and influence.
- Inspire all of IDinsight’s constituents and position the organization as an influential thought leader.
- Maintain pulse and engage in public discussion (e.g., blogs, social media, conferences, etc.) on newest trends and latest debates in global development and identify appropriate opportunities for IDinsight to contribute to and shape these debates.
- Provide direction for IDinsight’s communications strategy to facilitate internal and external alignment.
- Advocate for evidence-based and innovative approaches to development through conferences, speaking engagements, events, and thought pieces.
- Build and maintain influential relationships with appropriate stakeholders.
- Position IDinsight leadership as trusted advisors (either formally or informally) to “market- makers” (e.g., decision-makers in governments, large foundations, NGOs and think tanks).
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with influential members of the development community.
Maintain Financial Health
The CEO will assume ultimate responsibility for maintaining IDinsight’s exceptional financial health, as well as ensuring the business model maximizes social impact.
- In partnership with the Regional Directors and Philanthropic Engagement team, and through significant personal investment, identify, cultivate, develop, secure, and steward high impact donors; ensure that funds are properly and strategically allocated to support IDinsight’s core project work and strategic initiatives.
- Oversee high-level budget setting to maintain the organization’s exceptional financial health and optimal resource allocation for strategy execution.
Develop and Engage Board of Directors
The CEO will report to, manage, and develop IDinsight’s Board of Directors; facilitate Board engagement.
- Engage the Board of Directors in its important governance role by openly communicating about the organization’s opportunities, strategic choices, and progress toward goals.
- Recruit committed, strategic Board members who can help IDinsight expand its influence and impact.
- Suggest changes to the Board when appropriate, in light of IDinsight’s strategy.
The Ideal CEO
IDinsight’s next CEO:
- Must be driven to work with global low-income and marginalized communities, ideally with significant
- personal and/or professional experience in one of the countries where IDinsight does its work.
- Must be passionate about, and with a track record, using cutting edge analytics that help and influence decision-makers (policymakers, funders, NGOs) to make high-impact programs.
- Will have a career background related to “data for development”: research, measurement, evaluation, and/or learning; consulting; and/or global development.
- Will ideally bring a compelling blend of tangible results and experience:
- Identifying, cultivating and securing significant new philanthropic funding.
- Attracting, managing and mentoring a large and talented team.
- Building a cohesive culture across geographies and offices.
- Supporting and overseeing the work of functional leads who enable client-facing teams and organizational growth as well as operational/fiscal discipline, transparency and critical investments in systems.
Reports to: Board of Directors
Location: Depending on personal circumstances, options could be explored at one of IDinsight’s
offices in Dakar, Senegal*; Delhi, India*; Lusaka, Zambia*; Manila, Philippines*; Nairobi, Kenya*; Rabat, Morocco*; Remote, United States**. The CEO will be expected to travel 25-40% and effectively overlap working hours with relevant time zones in Africa and Asia.
Salary range: $275,000-$325,000.
Term-Length: IDinsight expects its next CEO will be a committed, long-term hire.
*Subject to legal and tax advice.
**Open to relocation to the US for a non-US candidate.
IDinsight is committed to reducing power asymmetries in the social sector. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion reflects our understanding of the need for the sector to abandon unhealthy practices of the past. We wish to be part of a new generation of international NGOs who are honest about this history and transparent about our role in the present. Our commitment is also aligned with the impact of our work.
We seek a workforce that is inclusive of a variety of perspectives that will help us refine and improve our methods and relationships, and strengthen the services we provide our clients and their communities or constituencies. The following commitments represent our vision for the IDinsight team:
IDinsight will have greater representation from the populations with whom we work and clients we serve.
- IDinsight will have greater representation from the countries in which we work.
- Across all countries in which we recruit, we will seek greater representation from historically excluded communities.
- IDinsight will foster an inclusive work culture that empowers a diverse team to do their best work.
- IDinsight is an equal opportunity employer and strives to create a diverse and supportive workplace.
Viewcrest Advisors is the search partner supporting IDinsight, with collaboration from Shortlist. Please share nominations or submit a resume and cover letter to Viewcrest Advisors: IDinsightCEO@viewcrestadvisors.com
Viewcrest Advisors is committed to social justice and access to opportunity; we actively cultivate relationships with leaders who have varied life experiences as well as the skills needed to lead strong, innovative organization.
Viewcrest Advisors, Ltd. is committed to your privacy and to protecting your personal data. To view our privacy policy, please visit our website www.viewcrestadvisors.com .
Values
IDinsight’s team is driven by common values that guide our actions, which we represent on and off the job. These values are a statement of commitment to our teammates, clients, and partners.
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