Job Title:Information Systems
Manager
Location: Nairobi or Kisumu, Kenya
with travel domestically & regionally
Reporting To: Kenya Program Director
Deadline: 31 May 2013 –
Applications considered on a rolling basis
About Dispensers for Safe Water
Each year, over 1.8 million children under the age of five die
from diarrhea, a leading cause of which is unsafe drinking water. Dispensers
for Safe Water (DSW) is an entrepreneurial team tasked with scaling the
Chlorine Dispenser System (CDS) – a proven innovation that dramatically expands
access to water treatment at an extremely low cost.
DSW is growing rapidly: we currently serve more than 640,000
people in Kenya, and by May 2013 will be serving 100,000 people in Uganda – our
two primary countries of operations. Our goal is to reach 5 million people in
the next 3 years.
DSW has global reach – we have piloted the CDS through key
partnerships in Haiti, Peru, India, Somalia, and Swaziland and we are currently
in the process of looking to establish operations in 1-2 new countries
About the Position
The Information Systems Manager will be responsible for
developing and managing key information systems which drive DSW operations and
expansion.
The IS Manager will be instrumental in providing cross-program
support to DSW offices in Kenya and Eastern Africa, requiring significant work
with other country programs and travel outside Kenya.
Reporting to the Kenya Program Director and directing a team of
two staff, the IS Manager role requires keen technical ability combined with
the project management skills needed to develop and manage several
mission-critical information systems.
The IS Manager may be based in Kisumu or Nairobi with
significant time (up to 10 days a month) spent in the Kisumu DSW Kenya
headquarters.
The IS Manager will take over the growth and development of the
IS team, which has been in operation for one year at DSW.
In that time, the team has built a strong IS backbone –
consolidated years of survey data into a cloud relational database, created an
online data portal accessible by all team members and developed an Issue
Tracker application with a web and a mobile component used by all field
staff.
The IS manager will continue to innovate and build upon these
systems while supporting other country programs to replicate and adapt them in
new contexts.
About Innovations for Poverty Action
The DSW initiative began and was incubated within IPA - a
rapidly growing, global organization with operations in over 40 countries.
IPA designs innovative, cutting-edge approaches to solving
development problems, rigorously evaluates these programs, and works to scale
up programs with proven impact.
As the program grows, DSW is establishing a new organization,
which will provide a platform for the long-term scale and sustainability of CDS
operations.
Goals and Responsibilities
Goals and Responsibilities
Develop Management Information Systems
The IS Manager will lead the development, implementation and
maintenance of the key information systems which will allow DSW to effectively
serve millions of people – for example:
- Operations
applications e.g. Issue Tracker, Chlorine Delivery Manager
- Electronic
surveying systems (Open Data Kit)
- Real-time
dashboards, reports and program scorecards
- Mapping
and spatial data management tools
This area of responsibility includes:
- Project,
secure and manage resources for system development – including own time,
program staff time, finances, materials, infrastructure, software, etc.
- Supervise
field-testing and deployment of new systems with program and field staff
- Manage
overall development process to ensure top-quality, on-time deliverables
Manage Data Collection and Reporting
The IS Manager will coordinate data management activities
(surveys, cleaning, analytics, reporting) from 5 regional offices in Kenya and
other DSW country programs.
This area of responsibility includes:
- Oversee
electronic survey creation and maintenance in conjunction with the
Research & Evaluation team and Operations team
- Establish
data management procedures and check-ins with regional office coordinators
- Lead
on-going field staff training on electronics surveying
Coordinate Regional Information Systems
The IS Manager will coordinate cross-program IS system
development and implementation in Kenya, Uganda and other countries as DSW
expands.
This area of responsibility includes:
- Tailor
information system tools and applications to country-specific contexts
- Build
standardized platforms to maintain comparability/compatibility across
country programs
- Manage
information systems set-up and roll-out in new expansion areas; provide
intense support at first, then transition to remote support
- Provide
expert advice and training to ensure country teams build strong IS
capacity
Identify New Opportunities and Advise Management
- Work
with program and country management teams to identify opportunities for
creating or improving information systems
- Research
and apply emerging tech solutions and best-practices to DSW operations
- Create
plans for information system development in collaboration with managers
and other key staff members
Qualifications, Experience and Skills
- Bachelor’s
degree in Computer Science, Information Technology/Systems or related
technical course; Master’s degree a plus, especially with project
management or administration component
- A
minimum of 3 years work experience in software/IS development, including
1+ years in a role with management responsibilities
- Excellent
project management skills, especially iterative development e.g. Agile
- Working
knowledge of at least 1 programming language, e.g. Java; experience with
web development (PHP) and database and server administration experience
(Postgres preferred)
- Significant
work experience in entrepreneurial or start-up environments and developing
countries – ideally in Africa; comfortable with cross-cultural
communications
- Proven
leadership capacity with strong interpersonal skills to work effectively
with a team that is geographically dispersed
- Self-starter,
capable of working remotely and independently
- Strong
critical thinking and judgment skills
- Intellectual
flexibility and willingness to form and adjust opinions based on evidence
- Strong
written English and communication skills a must
- Willingness
to travel
Note: Please specifically illustrate the above desired
qualifications in your cover letter by giving examples from your
experience.
In addition, this position requires a candidate to:
- Be
inspired by DSW’s mission of bringing safe water to millions of people
- Have
a strong commitment to evidence-based practice and policy in the development
field
- Be
enthusiastic to develop personally and professionally as part of a growing
global team
- Have
an entrepreneurial spirit – DSW is a dynamic program, with many
opportunities for growth and leadership
To Apply Please follow the application instructions below.
Any applications or CVs submitted outside this process will not
be considered.
Note, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an
interview.
Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
- Send
a CV and a cover letter and a description/portfolio of past work projects
(including links and samples where relevant) to
jobs-kenya@poverty-action.org and cc ipak.water.jobs@poverty-action.org
- In
the subject line: Copy exactly the following position line:
IPAKenya,“Information Systems Manager” REF NO:DSW-2013.04.16
- In
the email body: Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last
(family) name
- Attachments:
Please attach your CV, cover letter, and portfolio
Please do not include any text besides the position line(s) in
the body of the e-mail.
Adding extra text will interfere with the processing of your
application.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted by email for an
interview.
Applicants are encouraged to apply early, as applications will
be reviewed on a rolling basis and a decision may be made before the deadline.
IPA is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action
Employer: All persons shall have the opportunity to be considered for
employment without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin,
ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, age, disability, sex, sexual
orientation, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable
federal, state or local laws.
IPA will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to a
qualified applicant with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an
undue hardship on the operation of our business.
If you believe you require such assistance to complete this form
or to participate in an interview, please contact us at
jobs@poverty-action.org.
Disclaimer:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature
and level of the work to be performed by the Information Systems Manager.
The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all
possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to
amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as
necessary.
Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from
an applicant.
Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed
above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the
organization.
Please direct questions to jobs-info@poverty-action.org.