Program Director | Impact Evaluation (IE) | Arlington, VA

Social Impact (SI) is a global development management consulting firm. We provide monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity building services to advance development effectiveness. We work across all development sectors including democracy and governance, health and education, environment, and economic growth. Since 1997 we have worked in over 100 countries for clients such as US government agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and nonprofits.

Social Impact strives to be a great place to work. We are proud of our diversity and actively seek to expand it as a way of improving our employees’ experience, our collective professional breadth and the quality of the work we do. We seek to promote equity and inclusion through our policies and practices and build a culture of belonging for everyone where differences and authenticity are honored and embraced. We work hard to create opportunities for growth and ensure that our staff are fulfilled and engaged. We believe we are better when we collaborate, learn from one another and have fun while working hard.

Position Description:

Social Impact is seeking a full-time Program Director (PD) and will report to the IE Division Head. The PD will conduct work across four functions: Portfolio oversight; divisional management; technical service delivery; business development; and supervision. The PD will have an expected billability target of 60 percent.

Responsibilities:

Portfolio Management

• Directly oversee a sub-portfolio of projects and will be accountable for the financial performance, technical quality, client satisfaction and contractual compliance of that portfolio.
• Work across the organization in collaboration with other Division Heads, Program Directors to coordinate the best use of management, technical and support resources to ensure project success.
• Provide advice and support on general project management and contracts, customer relationship management, personnel, financial and risk management issues when such issues are escalated by the Project Manager.

Divisional Management

• Work with the IE Division Head, IE Senior Technical Advisor, and IE Senior Program Managers in support of personnel management, including playing a leading role in managing divisional workload.
• Expected responsibilities include assessing workloads, identifying personnel resource needs through forecasting, and advocating for resource leveling or hiring decisions.
• Lead on select divisional initiatives and act to backstop the IE Division Head during periods of leave.

Service Delivery

• Expected to be billable for approximately 60 percent of the PD’s time. Billable services include management and technical oversight on SI projects in a senior role or as a team leader or team member for select contracts.
• Provide support/guidance to Project Managers as needed on projects and take the lead on more complex management tasks as needed.

Business Development/Revenue Generation

• Expected to spend a portion of his/her time supporting revenue generation activities.
• Champion and oversee marketing, proposal development related to new bids and broader business development opportunities.
• Serve as an advisor on key bid/no bid decisions, act as technical lead on select proposals, identify team members to serve as technical leads and/or technical writers, review draft proposals, and working with the pricing team to review and approve final proposal budgets.

Supervision

• Responsible for managing staff, including:
  • Support the creation of an open and engaging environment in the IE division where staff are comfortable in the free exchange of ideas and the provision of mutual support.
  • Build strong relationships with all supervisees to ensure the PD’s ability to provide feedback effectively.
  • Serve as a coach and mentor to assigned staff, providing career advice, facilitating professional development and advocating for staff interests.
  • Advise staff on professional development opportunities, approval of professional development time, conference attendance and/or funds within the firm’s professional development policy.
  • Carry out ongoing and annual performance appraisals for assigned staff, seeking input from other managers and staff who have worked with the staff member.
  • Recommend staff for promotion based on their performance during the end-of-year appraisal process.
  • Align staff interests and expertise with projects and organizational needs.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in international development or other related social sciences.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, including 5 years in a management and oversight position.
• Demonstrated experience managing large and/or complex donor contracts.
• Demonstrated experience conducting impact evaluations (experimental and/or quasi-experimental) and/or quantitative research on donor projects and activities.
• Field experience in managing large-scale survey and data collection activities and surveys.
• Thorough knowledge of government and/or donor contracting practices.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with supervising personnel, co-workers, field office staff, donors, supervisees, business professionals, and the general public.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee and manage multiple complex projects simultaneously and provide advice and guidance in a timely fashion.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise good judgment and communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Experience working with USAID, MCC, and/or other donor agencies and foundations to produce useful and accurate products.
• Extensive demonstrated experience as an evaluation team leader, team member, and/or advisor.
• Demonstrated experience managing personnel, providing mentorship, and/or conducting resource planning.
• Proficiency in a second language a plus.
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, management, and writing skills required.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, growing business environment.
• Ability to travel overseas for short-term assignments.
• A commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive work and learning environment.

Come join our energetic and innovative team! We offer you the opportunity to work as part of a creative and committed team, while playing a role in the continuous growth of our company and contributing toward advancing development effectiveness.

To learn more about Social Impact, please visit our website: http://www.socialimpact.com.

SI is an EEO/AA/ADA Veterans Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls.