Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Safe Water Program - Program Evaluation Associate Job in Kenya

Position: Program Evaluation Associate

Start Date: August/September 2010 (with some flexibility)

Location: Kisumu, Kenya; however, candidates should be prepared to spend significant time in
Busia, Kenya, especially at the start of their employment

Apply By: August 20th, 2010

Background

About the Organization

* The Safe Water Program is (SWP) is an entrepreneurial group working to reduce the 1.6 million childhood deaths each year from waterborne diseases by deploying innovative chlorine dispensers at communal water sources in developing countries around the world.
* Founded in 2009, SWP is an implementation team within Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). IPA is an organization that creates and evaluates solutions to social and development problems and scales up successful interventions through implementation and dissemination.
* SWP expects rapid expansion, driven by support from the Government of Kenya and high-capacity NGO partners in other countries.
* SWP is a growing team which values professional development. Exceptional candidates should expect opportunities to take on increasing responsibility and opportunities for advancement over time.

About Chlorine Dispensers

* Every day, more than 4,000 children die from diarrheal disease, of which unsafe drinking water is a leading cause. Chronic diarrhea in early childhood also contributes to lifelong physical and cognitive chronic impairments.
* Chlorination has been proven to reduce diarrhea by 20-40%. Although chlorine solution to treat drinking water at home is readily available in many developing countries, it has been challenging to drive adoption beyond the single digits via traditional distribution models
* IPA developed point-of-collection chlorine dispensers and proved their potential to significantly improve child health and save lives through a rigorous impact evaluation. The chlorine dispenser is a simple device which is installed next to a communal water source, giving every user of the source access to a precisely-measured dose of chlorine for treating drinking water.
* Dispensers increase rates of household water treatment with chlorine from 7% to 60% in Western Kenya and are one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing diarrheal disease.
* Dispensers can provide an effective solution to one of the most challenging global health problems, and help prevent tens of thousands of child deaths every year.

Role Description

The Program Evaluation Associate’s work will play an integral role in shaping the operational and impact model(s) for chlorine dispenser implementation that SWP will scale-up, ensuring that we have the highest impact possible.

This work will shape the approach our team uses to reach hundreds of thousands of people in the next year, and millions more as we continue to scale. The Program Evaluation Associate will support the work of SWP Mangers and report to the SWP Program Director for Kenya.

Working as a key member of the SWP team, the Program Evaluation Associate will have three primary responsibilities:

Design operational and impact evaluations

* Create evaluation protocols and processes which advance SWP’s learning goals
* Develop evaluation tools (e.g. surveys, passive observation protocols) to collect information
* Demonstrate relative strengths and weaknesses of various operational models by designing and tracking a comprehensive set of performance metrics

Analyze, synthesize, and present findings from evaluations to SWP senior management and SWP partners

* Design and manage data entry process and tools
* Analyze quantitative and qualitative data gathered from the evaluations
* Write reports and develop program recommendations based on findings

Support evaluation field work

* Participate in designing field activity work plans
* Coordinate with the field team to deploy evaluation tools

Initial evaluation scope includes 4 different programs using ~150 chlorine dispensers, serving more than 75,000 people. This is anticipated to grow to a program of 1,000 dispensers serving approximately 200,000 people by mid-2011.

Requirements

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

* Minimum of a bachelor’s degree and a very strong academic and extracurricular record
* Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a high-performance professional environment
* Extremely strong written English and communication skills
* Strong self-manager with the ability to develop effective work plans, take ownership over important work and operate collaboratively within a dynamic team
* Exceptional organizational skills, demonstrated ability to execute complex tasks, very detail-oriented thinker
* Strong computer literacy, including a high level of competency with Microsoft Office software; proficiency with Access preferred

Attitude

* Eager to be part of a fast-paced, rapidly growing start-up project and hard-working team: SWP is still in its second year and all team members are expected to pitch in to drive program growth
* Motivated by the project’s potential for high impact on public health and water quality

To Apply

Applications can be submitted via email to ipak.water.jobs@poverty-action.org with the subject line “Program Evaluation Associate Application.”

Please attach the following documents:

* A covering letter explaining the applicant’s interest in the position and fit for the role
* The applicant’s updated CV including university GPA and standardized test scores
* A copy of an official or unofficial university transcript, if available
* Optionally, a work sample; this would ideally be a management/organizational or evaluation tool that has been developed and used by the applicant, but a short writing sample would also be appropriate

The deadline to apply is August 20th. However, short-listed candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis and an offer will be made when the right candidate is found. Interested applicants should therefore apply as soon as possible.

More program information can be found at www.poverty-action.org/safewater.