Director of Impact

Engineers Without Borders USA•Denver, CO

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Impact provides strategic leadership for how Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) defines, measures, learns from, and communicates the collective impact of its programs. Reporting to the COO, the Director leads the organization’s Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) strategy and stewards its Theory of Change. The role works across Programs, Development, Marketing & Communications, and with local partners in the U.S. and internationally, to strengthen evidence-based program design, measure meaningful outcomes, and develop concept notes that can advance to institutional funding. The Director will help EWB-USA move beyond measuring deliverables to understanding what changes, why it changes, and how the organization and its partners can increase and sustain impact. The position leads impact strategy and the Theory of Change; develops and implements organization-wide PMEL systems; supports program design and investment-ready concept development; and builds learning, evidence, and external credibility. Work priorities are expected to shift over time, with more systems-building and program design in the first two years and more evaluation, grant reporting, and external work as funded programs mature. Within the first 18–24 months, the Director is expected to establish an organization-wide PMEL strategy, refresh the Theory of Change to reflect the 2027–2030 strategy, create a core indicator and results framework, and establish regular evidence-based learning and adaptation mechanisms. In priority countries—Uganda, Ecuador, and the U.S.—the Director will work with partners to define evidence priorities, establish baseline data, co-develop partner-owned results frameworks, develop evidence-informed concept notes, and initiate selected evaluations or learning studies. In Kenya, Peru, and Guatemala, the Director will support consistent use of core indicators; in other countries, measurement will be light-touch and proportionate. The role will also develop credible impact stories and evidence, support publications and conference participation, and help ensure evidence is used accurately in external communications. The position is hybrid or fully remote, with a preference for Colorado residents. EWB-USA’s head office is in Denver, Colorado. Remote work locations are possible, with preference for states where EWB-USA already has employees: Colorado, Delaware, Montana, Texas, Oregon, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio. Candidates located in California, Washington, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Minnesota will not be considered. Occasional travel to Denver and occasional domestic and international travel are required.

Requirements

At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in monitoring, evaluation, learning, impact, program design, international development, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience developing and implementing PMEL/MEL strategies and results frameworks.
Experience working with theories of change, logical or results frameworks, indicators, and mixed-method evaluation approaches.
Demonstrated ability to translate evidence and complex programmatic ideas into clear strategies and program concepts.
Experience developing concept notes, program designs, or technical components of institutional funding proposals.
Experience working collaboratively with local organizations, implementing partners, or community-based organizations.
Strong facilitation skills and demonstrated ability to build capacity rather than simply provide technical direction.
Strong analytical, writing, communication, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to work across cultures, disciplines, and organizational functions.
Ability to balance methodological rigor with practical realities, available resources, and the needs of program teams and partners.
Ability to foster teamwork and develop and mentor others.
Leadership skills, strategic thinking skills, and the ability to drive strategic direction.
Ability to sit or stand at a computer for extended periods; talk or hear in meetings; and enter and review text or data on a computer.
Occasional domestic and international travel, including occasional travel to Denver, is required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in international development, public health, engineering, evaluation, social science, public policy, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
Experience with WASH, infrastructure, climate resilience, community development, systems strengthening, or locally led development.
Experience with institutional donors and foundation-funded programs.
Experience designing or managing evaluations and research partnerships.
Familiarity with qualitative and quantitative data analysis and visualization.
Experience strengthening the MEL capacity of partner organizations.
Record of publishing, presenting at conferences, or representing an organization in sector networks.
Spanish or other relevant language skills.
Colorado residency is preferred; remote candidates in states where EWB-USA already has employees are preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead EWB-USA’s organization-wide approach to defining and understanding impact, translating the Theory of Change into practical results frameworks, outcomes, indicators, learning questions, and measurement approaches.
Lead periodic review and refinement of the Theory of Change and maintain an organization-wide impact framework across programs, countries, partners, and programmatic approaches.
Help leadership use evidence and learning to inform programmatic priorities and strategic decisions, including measurement of sustainability, resilience, partner capacity, community and volunteer outcomes, and systems strengthening.
Own the development and implementation of EWB-USA’s PMEL strategy and systems, aligned with its Theory of Change and strategic priorities.
Establish core organizational indicators while supporting program-specific and donor-specific measurement needs, including adaptation to the U.S. context with the USCP team.
Strengthen systems for data collection, quality assurance, analysis, reporting, and evidence use.
Partner with program teams and local partners to develop rigorous, useful, and proportionate monitoring and evaluation plans.
Build staff and partner capacity to collect, interpret, and use evidence for decision-making; work with the Volunteer Engagement Team to define and measure volunteer outcomes and support volunteer measurement tools such as the volunteer survey.
Lead portfolio-level analysis to identify trends, results, gaps, and improvement opportunities; identify targeted evaluations, research partnerships, case studies, and other ways to strengthen the evidence base.
Support evaluation design and management, including engagement with external evaluators and academic or research partners where appropriate.
Carry program logic into grant-level MEL plans and tracking and reporting systems when grants are secured; lead results content for donor reports and manage grant-required evaluations with Development and program teams.
Work with local partners and Programs staff to identify community and systems-level needs, opportunities, and emerging program concepts.
Facilitate collaborative program design that centers partner knowledge, priorities, and leadership; translate promising ideas into evidence-informed concept notes with clear program logic, results frameworks, and learning approaches.
Ensure proposed programs build on EWB-USA programming lessons and sector evidence; work with Development on a pipeline of investment-ready concepts aligned with organizational strategy and partner priorities.
Contribute technical narratives, program logic, results frameworks, M&E plans, and evidence of past performance to proposal development; assess funding opportunities against program strategy and partnership principles.
Develop and manage an organizational learning agenda; facilitate cross-program and cross-country learning with staff, partners, volunteers, and technical experts.
Translate monitoring and evaluation findings into practical recommendations for program improvement; develop impact briefs, case studies, learning products, and evidence summaries with Programs and Marketing & Communications.
Build evidence positioning EWB-USA as a credible voice on locally led community engineering, community health, and WASH; co-author or support white papers, research briefs, and sector publications.
Identify opportunities to present EWB-USA’s learning at sector conferences and convenings, co-presenting with partners wherever possible; work with Marketing & Communications to use evidence consistently and accurately in external messaging.
Serve as a strategic advisor to the Leadership Team and Programs leadership on impact, evidence, program quality, and learning; champion curiosity, reflection, evidence use, and continuous improvement.
Collaborate across Programs, Development, Marketing & Communications, Finance, and other teams; support organizational planning and impact reporting.
In priority countries, define evidence goals with partners, establish baselines for priority outcomes, co-develop results frameworks with anchor partners, develop partner-driven concept notes, and establish grant-level MEL systems once funding is secured.
Apply core indicators consistently in Kenya, Peru, and Guatemala, and use light-touch core indicators elsewhere.