About Evidence Action
At Evidence Action, we deliver data-driven interventions that transform lives at an unprecedented scale. We identify neglected global health issues and deploy proven solutions, forging healthier futures for generations.
Our model operationalizes leading academic research (including from Nobel-winning economists). We measure progress and outcomes at every stage to ensure we’re making a real impact for people living in poverty and suffering from preventable or treatable health issues. Operating across 11 countries, our team of 900+ has reached over 500 million people, working closely with governments to scale these interventions.
- Our Deworm the World program has delivered over 2 billion treatments, significantly reducing worm prevalence and generating more than $23 billion in lifetime productivity gains.
- Through Safe Water Now, we’ve saved the lives of over 15,000 children.
- Our Accelerator explores untapped opportunities in global health, testing low-cost interventions with the greatest potential to save and improve lives.
At Evidence Action, your colleagues are your greatest asset. You'll partner with high-caliber colleagues in an environment blending innovation, autonomy, and teamwork. Our team excels in disruptive thinking and believes in rolling up our sleeves to get things done. If you're looking to work flexibly and with purpose, join a team that delivers measurable change for millions.
About the Regional Strategy Function
Regional Strategy is the strategic nerve centre of Evidence Action's Africa Region, encompassing strategic planning and execution, Special Projects, AI Strategy, and Communications. The function is currently leading the finalisation, roll-out, and execution of the Africa Region's new strategy, and is responsible for the Region's planning cycles, performance tracking, and cross-country coordination on behalf of the Executive Vice President.
Position Summary
The Manager, Strategy is responsible for executing the day-to-day strategy workstream of the Regional Strategy function: translating the Africa Region's strategic plan and OKRs into concrete work plans, tracking delivery against them, and producing the analysis and materials that keep the EVP, the Chief of Staff, and Senior Regional Leadership focused on what matters most.
Working closely with the Chief of Staff, the Manager, Strategy is the primary executor on strategy roll-out, regional planning cycles, performance dashboards, and cross-cutting special projects — The role carries significant analytical and project-management responsibility but does not carry final decision-making authority.
This role reports to the Chief of Staff, Regional Strategy, and executes the strategy delivery workstream within the Regional Strategy function. It is an individual-contributor position with no direct reports at this time.
Contract Type: 2-Year Fixed Contract
Scope & Role Boundaries
This role executes strategy and coordination work on behalf of the Chief of Staff and the Regional Strategy function — it does not hold authority over Country Directors, Associate Directors, or other regional leaders, and does not own programme delivery, country operations, or technical decisions that sit with those roles. Where the Manager, Strategy leads on frameworks, templates, or analysis (for example, OKR tracking or risk-register consolidation), accountability for country-level and programmatic decisions remains with the relevant Country Director or programme owner. Recommendations and materials produced by this role are reviewed by the Chief of Staff before being escalated to the EVP or Senior Regional Leadership.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategy Execution & Planning Support (35%)
- Support the finalisation, roll-out, and execution of the Africa Region's new strategy — translating strategic priorities into detailed work plans, milestones, and owners across the nine-country Region.
- Coordinate the Region's annual and multi-year planning cycles, including priority-setting workshops, OKR development, and progress reviews, under the direction of the Chief of Staff.
- Track execution of the strategic plan and OKRs across countries and functions, flagging slippage, risks, and bottlenecks to the Chief of Staff for escalation.
- Conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis to support strategic decision-making, including options analysis and trade-off assessments requested by the Chief of Staff or EVP.
- Draft briefing notes, discussion papers, and strategy documents that the Chief of Staff and EVP use in Senior Regional Leadership and Board-level discussions.
2. Special Projects & Programme Support (25%)
- Provide day-to-day project management on assigned cross-cutting special projects (for example, workstreams linked to the Dispensers for Safe Water scale-down or the Deworm the World transition), reporting progress and issues to the Chief of Staff.
- Support new country entry work by conducting feasibility and scoping research, tracking legal and registration milestones, and coordinating administrative set-up tasks, in an advisory and coordinating capacity.
- Support programme teams with data-driven analysis on programme transitions, sustainability roadmaps, and scale-up or exit models, in collaboration with Country Directors and Associate Directors.
- Maintain and refresh regional risk-management templates and escalation protocols, and consolidate country-level risk registers for review by the Chief of Staff.
- Provide flexible capacity stop-gap support to other teams or departments across the region, filling operational gaps as they arise and as directed by the Chief of Staff.
3. Performance Tracking & Reporting (20%)
- Build and maintain the Region's performance dashboards, consolidating data from country and departmental work plans, quarterly reports, and financial reports.
- Ensure timely, high-quality, and complete submission of work plans and quarterly/annual reports from country and departmental leads, following up directly with contributors.
- Produce the quarterly performance pack circulated ahead of the Africa Regional Leadership (ARL) meeting, under the Chief of Staff's direction.
- Track progress against the strategic plan and other organisational indicators, and maintain a single source of truth for regional performance data.
4. Regional Coordination & Governance Support (15%)
- Support the planning and execution of Quarterly ARL Meetings and Bi-Monthly Senior Regional Leadership (SRL) Meetings — drafting agendas, preparing pre-read materials, and coordinating inputs from Country Directors and functional leads, under the Chief of Staff's direction.
- Track action items and decisions from key governance forums, following up with owners to ensure timely closure.
- Support the Chief of Staff in preparing for EVP check-ins and other management forums by pulling together relevant data and briefing materials.
- Support planning and logistics for the annual Leadership Offsite and mid-year check-in.
5. Cross-Functional & Global Collaboration (5%)
- Coordinate with the AI Manager and Communications Manager within Regional Strategy to align strategy materials, messaging, and reporting timelines.
- Support engagement with Evidence Action teams in India and the United States on organisation-wide projects relevant to regional strategy and planning.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief of Staff, consistent with the scope and level of this role.
Key Stakeholders
- Chief of Staff, Regional Strategy (line manager)
- Executive Vice President, Africa Region
- Country Directors and Associate Directors across the nine-country Africa Region
- Senior Regional Leadership (SRL) and Africa Regional Leadership (ARL) teams
- Global counterparts in India and the United States
- People & Culture, Internal Audit, and Finance teams
Requirements
Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Public Administration, Public Policy, International Development, or a related field.
- 5–7 years of relevant experience, preferably in management consulting, strategy, project/programme management, business analysis, or a related analytical role, with experience in the private sector, international development, or social impact. Experience from leading management consulting and professional services firms, including McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC, EY, or KPMG, as well as analytical or strategy roles within leading private-sector organisations, is highly valued.
- 3-5 years experience in management consulting preferred but not a must
- Strong analytical skills, with demonstrated ability to structure problems, work with data, and translate analysis into clear recommendations.
- Solid project-management skills, with experience coordinating multi-stakeholder work plans and tracking delivery against milestones.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, well-organised briefing materials and presentations.
- Ability to work independently, manage multiple concurrent workstreams, and exercise sound judgment on what to escalate versus resolve directly.
- Genuine commitment to Evidence Action's mission and to creating value in international development.
Desirable
- Experience in global health, WASH, or related development sectors.
- Exposure to OKR frameworks, performance dashboards, or regional/organisational planning cycles.
- Experience working across multiple countries or in a matrixed organisational structure.
- Familiarity with the East African and broader African development context.
Key Competencies and What It Looks Like In This Role
- Analytical Rigour; Structures ambiguous problems, works confidently with data, and produces sound, well-supported recommendations.
- Execution Discipline: Converts plans into tracked work plans and follows through on delivery, milestones, and reporting deadlines.
- Clear Communication: Produces concise, decision-ready briefs and materials for senior audiences.
- Collaborative Influence: Builds productive working relationships with Country Directors, Associate Directors, and peer managers without formal authority over them.
- Judgment: Knows when to resolve an issue directly and when to escalate to the Chief of Staff.
- Adaptability: Manages multiple concurrent workstreams and shifting priorities with composure.
Measures of Success
- The Region's strategic plan and OKRs are tracked accurately, with slippage and risks flagged early to the Chief of Staff.
- Work plans, quarterly reports, and performance dashboards are consistently complete, accurate, and delivered on schedule.
- ARL and SRL meeting materials are high-quality, arrive on time, and support clear decision-making.
- Assigned special projects and new country entry workstreams progress on schedule, with issues surfaced early.
- The Chief of Staff can rely on the Manager, Strategy to independently own defined workstreams with minimal oversight.
Position location and Working Conditions
Based in Nairobi, Kenya, with travel of up to 15% within the Africa Region as required to support strategy roll-out, new country entry work, and regional leadership forums.
We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of a Kenyan employment visa at this time. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in Kenya for roles based in Kenya.
Benefits
Evidence Action provides a comprehensive benefits package for employees worldwide. Benefits include:
- Comprehensive health insurance
- Pension/ Retirement savings options
- Paid leave
- Avenues for engagement and recognition.
*Benefits may differ based on country-specific regulations
Evidence Action is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to representation and inclusion. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Public Administration, Public Policy, International Development, or a related field.
- 5-7 years of relevant experience in management consulting, strategy, project or program management, business analysis, or a related analytical role.
- Strong analytical skills, including problem structuring, data analysis, and translating analysis into recommendations.
- Solid project-management skills coordinating multi-stakeholder work plans and tracking milestones.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including producing briefing materials and presentations.
- Ability to work independently, manage multiple concurrent workstreams, and exercise sound judgment.
- Commitment to Evidence Action’s mission and international development.
- 3-5 years of management consulting experience.
- Experience in global health, WASH, or related development sectors.
- Exposure to OKR frameworks, performance dashboards, or regional and organizational planning cycles.
- Experience working across multiple countries or in a matrixed organizational structure.
- Familiarity with the East African and broader African development context.
- Legal authorization to work in Kenya without employer visa sponsorship.
What We Do
Evidence Action is a global non-profit operating in seven countries in Africa and Asia. We were founded in 2013 to address a big gap in the fight against global poverty–many of the most promising interventions are either implemented at a very small scale, or not at all. We set out to address this gap by building programs that would scale evidence-based and cost-effective interventions, leading to significant improvements in quality of life for hundreds of millions. Our model worked. In less than a decade, our two flagship programs, the Deworm the World Initiative and Dispensers for Safe Water, have grown to measurably impact over 280 million people each year by supporting governments to deworm and through our last-mile delivery network providing safe water access. This success is achieved through the dedication and talent of our staff, the hard work of our partners, and the commitment of our supporters. Every part of our work across the lifecycle of our programs is driven by evidence. This starts with the interventions we select to invest in, and continues as we use real-time data to refine and adapt our operations, including responding rapidly and effectively to resolve challenges as they arise. Our pursuit of cost-effectiveness is driven by a recognition that when we optimize every aspect of our programs, we can reach as many people–and do as much good– as possible with each dollar. We measure value for money in terms of the number of lives we can help improve. Scale enables our massive impact. We invest in solutions for which the need is great, and leverage existing networks like schools or community organizations to grow rapidly, minimize costs, and increase efficiencies. We think big and act urgently–because poverty does not wait. By 2024, we seek to double our impact. We are strengthening and expanding our existing programs, and working to identify a new generation of evidence-based and cost-effective interventions that we can scale to reach millions more
