Manager, New Program Development

About Evidence Action 

Evidence Action is a non-profit dedicated to identifying neglected global health issues and scaling proven solutions - adding years of healthy life for entire generations. Deworm the World, our foundational program, has delivered over 2B deworming treatments, driving dramatic reductions in worm prevalence and generating over $23 billion in lifetime productivity gains. 

Our model operationalizes top academic research (including from Nobel-winning economists) and uses experts across global health, supply chain, and infrastructure to develop and implement health interventions at national scale. Our team of 700+ has reached over 500M people, working hand-in-hand with national governments to scale our approach across nine countries. Measurement and evaluation are embedded in every stage of our work - from idea validation in our Accelerator; to coverage validation upon rollout (quantifying uptake of interventions). 

The Evidence Action Accelerator, founded in 2019, researches and identifies the next unicorns of development - to date we have found five programs with potential to transform the health outcomes of millions, including: 

• Preventing stillbirths and neonatal deaths through testing and treating maternal syphilis - which today causes more deaths than pediatric HIV, and is treatable for just $0.50 a dose
• Reducing under-five child mortality by ~25% through scaling safe water access to hundreds of millions, which can add a year of healthy life for just $40
• Fighting leading causes of childhood disability through delivering iron and folic acid supplements to prevent anemia, applying our innovative school-based delivery model 

With these untapped opportunities now identified, we are at an inflection point in our capacity to create sector-wide impact - and improve health outcomes for hundreds of millions of people globally.

About the Accelerator

Evidence Action’s Accelerator is our engine for growth. The Accelerator is a unique model in global development, designed to select and massively scale only those programs which meet exceptional standards for cost-effectiveness  and scalability. Focusing on health, nutrition, and WASH, we evaluate scores of interventions and employ a venture capital-type ‘funnel’ model to exit those which do not meet our criteria. The result is a select set of programs for which we develop delivery models and scale to deliver outsized value for millions of people across Africa and Asia.

Core to the Accelerator process is our New Program Development (NPD) team. NPD’s primary responsibility is to conduct early-stage research of potential new programs, including literature reviews and cost-effectiveness modeling. NPD’s work adapts as programs progress through the Accelerator pipeline: we shift from evaluating evidence, to designing and piloting new programs, and eventually to launching at-scale. Additionally, NPD serves as a “center of excellence” for the Accelerator, working across teams to facilitate and standardize a rigorous approach to building new programs.

You will thoroughly evaluate the evidence supporting a series of interventions that Evidence Action may launch at scale. You will make evidence-based recommendations for which interventions we should continue developing, and which we should deprioritize according to our criteria. Pending your research and recommendations, you will perform in-country scoping to assess the ‘real world’ feasibility of your intervention, then move to design and implement a pilot before launching at-scale. 

You will report to the Associate Director of New Program Development.

Responsibilities:

1) Desk research to evaluate potential new programs

• Conduct desk-based research to assess the potential of new programs by estimating the total addressable market, cost-effectiveness, evidence-base, strategic fit, and funding opportunities of promising interventions.
• Develop written research deliverables to guide decision-making, which may include evidence reviews, slide decks, data visualizations, or scenario analyses. 
• Work with cost-effectiveness and monitoring staff to design and continuously refine cost-effectiveness models, monitoring frameworks, theories of change, and program evaluations.

2) Evidence-based program scoping and design

• Use bodies of rigorous evidence to design different components of an intervention.
• Design and conduct in-country scoping trips to assess indicators of feasibility such as policy landscape, government support, and last mile delivery.
• Design and manage field activities, including scoping, pilots, and data collection.

3) Manage program piloting, scale-up, and evaluation

• Lead the development of pilot design and program testing in collaboration with our monitoring team and external research partners.
• Lead and coordinate operational and logistical efforts for program implementation.

4) Relationship management

• Laterally manage Evidence Action personnel throughout the Accelerator process, including cost-effectiveness, monitoring, pillar, regional, and country teams.
• Conduct stakeholder outreach to solicit feedback on new programs.
  

• 5+ years’ work experience with a background in public health, research, or management consulting.

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field such as public health, international development, public policy, economics, statistics, or business.
• You can analyze research and have had experience reviewing academic literature, performing cost-effectiveness analyses, and summarizing large quantities of data for decision-making in program design and implementation.
• You have experience developing high-quality deliverables for external audiences such as policy reviews, policy documents, training materials, and toolkits.
• You have experience working collaboratively across time zones in a matrixed, multicultural professional environment.
• You’ve demonstrated experience working directly with government and non-governmental partners.
• You are able to represent Evidence Action in high-stakes meetings with external partners and major donors.

We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of a U.S. employment visa at this time. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. for roles based in the U.S.

Evidence Action is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to diversity. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply.

The expected role range for this US position is listed below. We consider multiple factors when determining the base salary for a role, including but not limited to: role scope, program budgets, internal equity, and a candidate’s qualifications and/or prior experience.

Note: Pay and benefits will be commensurate with the role specifications, local statutory requirements, and the cost of labor in the markets where we operate.

The expected pay range for this full-time role is $66,100 - $74,000 per year.

For US based roles, Evidence Action provides comprehensive benefits including international health care, HSA/FSA options, life insurance, disability coverage, retirement plans with a matching component, generous and flexible leave options, as well as other employee perks on a reimbursement basis. For more information visit our careers page or ask our recruiting team!