Information Systems Manager - Innovations for Poverty Action in Nairobi

Job Title: Information Systems Manager, Nairobi or Kisumu, Kenya

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), Kenya
Jonathan Court, Ngong Road,
Next to Coptic hospital, Opposite China center, black gate after Kindaruma Lane,
Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: +254 721 950 856

Reporting To: Kenya Program Director
Location: Nairobi or Kisumu, Kenya with travel domestically & regionally
Deadline to Apply: 31 May 2013 – Applications considered on a rolling basis
Start Date: 1 July 2013 (with some flexibility)

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit research organization. Based in New Haven, CT, with offices in Washington, D.C. and worldwide, IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches to solving development problems, to communicate "what works" in development and to scale up successful projects in a variety of fields, including health, education, microfinance, governance and agriculture.

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.

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 – 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.

Position Summary

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.

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

Desired 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

How 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 an email to and cc , followingthe instructions below:

In the subject line: Copy exactly the following position line: 100918IPAKenya, Information Systems Manager DSW
Attachments: Please attach your CV, cover letter, and a description/portfolio of past work projects (including links and samples where relevant).
In the email body: Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name

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.

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 .


How to Apply:

http://poverty-action.org/getinvolved/jobs/Africa/IPAKenya100918

Deadline:31/05/2013