IDEO.org improves the lives of poor and vulnerable communities through design. To effect that change, we work directly with foundations, nonprofits, and social enterprises; create tools and resources that teach human-centered design; and influence the social sector with stories of human-centered design in action. IDEO.org works directly with organizations across a range of focus areas including health, financial services, gender equity, education, and agriculture.

Position Summary

IDEO.org’s mission is to improve the lives of people in poor and vulnerable communities through design. To know if we’re achieving our mission, we must measure and understand our impact. Nearly five years into our journey, we’re relentlessly focused on getting to impact at scale with our work and are seeking a Director of Impact to help us measure our progress in getting there, while concurrently shaping the field’s understanding of how to integrate measurement and evaluation into a design-led approach to problem solving.

We created a Theory of Change and an impact framework to define and measure the impact of our past and current programs. Our next step is to work with our program teams, partners, and external evaluators to measure the effectiveness, outcomes, and impact of our work. The Director of Impact will play a crucial role in developing and implementing the systems and tools that will identify and capture the depth and breadth of impact on the lives of the poor through our three primary programs - Health XO, Financial Health, and Amplify. She or he will be responsible for the collection, management, and analysis of IDEO.org’s impact data (past and present) and will work closely with program teams, implementing partners, funding partners, and third party evaluators. Through this, the Director of Impact can build a platform to pioneer a point of view around the frameworks, tools, and best practices that the funders and implementing organizations throughout the social sector can use to better integrate measurement and evaluation into the design process.

The Director of Impact has deep knowledge and experience in impact measurement and evaluation, specific to the social sector, and possesses experience in utilizing a broad range of both quantitative and qualitative tools and methods for analysis. He or she has an understanding of human-centered design and is excited to work with our teams to creatively develop new ways of collecting impact data and measuring the effectiveness of HCD at creating solutions that can have impact at scale. He or she is very self-directed, an active problem-solver, who is always seeking out the right resources and information to answer complex questions with both rigor and elegance. The Director of Impact also has a keen eye for design and storytelling, and and is inspired by the opportunity to influence the social sector through everything we learn about measuring and managing toward impact through design.

You will:

• Develop tools and processes that execute IDEO.org’s impact framework within each program area, specifically for both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis (experience in using web-analytics software and survey tools is a plus)

• Manage, coordinate, and execute the collection of impact data from IDEO.org program teams, partner organizations, and stakeholders, providing support for timely, accurate, and consistent reporting

• Analyze, synthesize, and produce key insights that can easily inform multiple audiences across IDEO.org—from key leadership (i.e. Leadership Team, Board Members) to our wide network of supporters via storytelling media and platforms

• Collaborate with IDEO.org’s Partnerships, Development, and Communications Teams to identify insights, strengthen evidence to inspire storytelling efforts, and cultivate relationships with key partners

• Engage with program teams to help them envision and embed creative methods for impact measurement into the solutions they’re delivering to our partners at the prototype, pilot, and implementation phases

• Craft measurement frameworks that can be used for impact evaluations of our programs

• Serve as the main point of contact to shape external evaluations and ensure alignment on impact metrics and methods used for gathering data

• Influence the field’s understanding of how to integrate measurement and evaluation into a design-led approach through storytelling and by building practical tools that others can use in their work

• Drive experimentation around data collection and analysis through new methodologies and tools

• Work with our partners to shape how they collect and share data with us

You have:

• A minimum of 10 years of full-time work experience in research, measurement, and evaluation

• A Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Economics, Mathematics, Communications or related field and ideally a masters or PhD in a related field

• Experience working in international development and a deep understanding of the sector

• Possess strong analytical, evaluation design, and methodological skills, and utilizes “right-fit” methods for a broad range of quantitative and qualitative approaches to communicate a rigorous, yet compelling story about IDEO.org’s impact

• Experience in survey methodology and monitoring social or environmental outcomes in a development context

• Worked with large funding organizations such as USAID, DFID and The Gates Foundation and is comfortable speaking their language

• Ability to facilitate the process of turning impact data into meaningful stories for the organization

• Excellent communication and writing skills, with a keen ability to synthesize and present complex data in a simple, compelling, meaningful way (ability to produce beautiful and top-notch data visualization is a plus)

• Demonstrates a zeal for design thinking and utilizes multiple practices and mindsets of human-centered design, such as prototyping solutions and embracing ambiguity

• Brings a positive mindset and attitude to the studio that continuously pushes the organization to accomplish its mission

Please upload work samples, resume and a few paragraphs about yourself. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

This position will be based in our New York City studio or in San Francisco, CA.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.