Chief Strategy & Scale Officer

Chief Strategy & Scale Officer

Location: Dakar, Senegal; Delhi, India; Lusaka, Zambia; Manila, Philippines; Nairobi, Kenya; or Rabat, Morocco

IDinsight is hiring a Chief Strategy & Scale Officer. This role sits on IDinsight's Global Executive Team, which drives the organization's strategy, operations, and growth to maximize social impact across all regions and functions. The Executive Team is accountable for three things: the social impact of IDinsight's project portfolio, the organization's contributions to improving the global development sector, and the overall strength of the organization, including team health, financial performance, and operational effectiveness.

About IDinsight

We amplify social impact by partnering with leaders to develop tailored solutions. Our mission is to improve lives with data and evidence. We transform how the world fights poverty.

IDinsight is a global nonprofit that equips leaders with the data, evidence and technology to improve lives at scale. We partner with governments, NGOs, multilaterals, and funders to support decisions at every stage of their impact journey – from bold pilots to nationwide scale-ups. Our teams bring rigorous evidence and practical insights so leaders can make informed decisions that truly change lives. With our partners, we are pioneering the next frontier of social impact, where data and technology accelerate progress for millions. We help leaders overcome the three main barriers to impact:

1. Figuring out what works
2. Learning and improving
3. Reaching and operating at scale

We work in multiple countries across Asia and Africa. Our work spans a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, education, health, governance, sanitation, financial inclusion, and other areas.

We have expertise in a variety of rigorous approaches and methodologies, which we tailor to each client depending on their needs and constraints. To achieve a positive social impact we:

• Support our partners with the full ‘data and evidence’ value chain – from primary data collection to data systems, monitoring evaluation and learning tools, and data science
• Inform funding decisions – toward high-impact initiatives and away from less effective programs or approaches
• Create cutting-edge AI-for-good products that make the delivery of social interventions and learning tools more cost-effective and scalable

Our diverse, growing team of roughly 250 outstanding colleagues operate in nearly two dozen countries around the world. Learn more about our mission, values, and principles at www.IDinsight.org.

About the Chief Strategy & Scale Officer role

The development sector sits at a pivotal moment: the use of data and evidence to drive impact at massive scale is now within reach. IDinsight is entering a growth phase that demands dedicated senior leadership to shape the organization's strategic direction, drive large-scale growth, and strengthen its positioning across the sector. The Chief Strategy & Scale Officer leads that work.

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Chief Strategy & Scale Officer is a C-suite leader who owns the strategic arc of the organization - from defining where IDinsight is headed to ensuring it gets there. This is not a coordination role. The Chief Strategy & Scale Officer holds direct accountability for IDinsight's strategic planning, growth execution, and external positioning with the funders and partners who can unlock impact at scale.

The role spans three core pillars:

Strategic Definition, Execution, and Coordination

The Chief Strategy & Scale Officer owns how IDinsight sets, tracks, and delivers on its strategy - ensuring the organization's direction is clear, that progress is measured honestly, and that the Board and leadership are aligned and well-informed. This includes:

• Owning IDinsight's strategy definition, including the strategic planning cycles through which strategy is set, tested, and refreshed, in close collaboration with the Exec team and Board
• Running the annual OKR process and monitoring KPIs, including quarterly strategic reviews that surface where pivots, escalation, or reallocation are needed
• Serving as the primary C-suite lead for Board management and engagement - preparing strategic materials, leading governance processes, and maintaining productive Board relationships
• Engaging the Board, the Executive Team, and regional leadership to align on strategic priorities and hold the organization accountable to them
• Partnering with the Chief Impact Officer to ensure data and evidence are used to drive impact within IDinsight itself, closing the loop between execution and learning
• Leading cross-organizational strategic projects and supporting the AI transformation strategy and its implementation globally

Strategic Growth Initiatives

The Chief Strategy & Scale Officer leads IDinsight's growth from strategy to execution - identifying where the organization can achieve step-change scale and ensuring those opportunities are pursued with discipline and accountability. This includes:

• Developing and owning the scale and cost-effectiveness pillars of IDinsight's strategy, spanning: helping NGOs achieve sustainable scale through government partnerships, supporting governments to make evidence-informed decisions at scale, and embedding AI innovation within government systems
• Scoping and standing up major strategic bets as the organization's growth ambition evolves, including identifying, evaluating, and driving implementation of new large-scale initiatives
• Leading the thinking on the Cost Effectiveness Unit, the SDU, and an aligned PMU strategy across IDinsight's global portfolio
• Supporting investigations into transformative merger and acquisition opportunities, working closely with the CFO, CEO, and Board to ensure strategic alignment

External Strategic Positioning

The Chief Strategy & Scale Officer shapes how IDinsight is seen and understood by the funders, partners, and sector leaders whose engagement unlocks large-scale impact. This includes:

• In close collaboration with External Affairs team, building and stewarding organization-level strategic partnerships, particularly "big bets" (7- to 9-figure engagements), distinct from project-level donor relationships
• In close collaboration with External Affairs team, engaging deeply with data- and evidence-focused funders (especially the EA community) to communicate IDinsight's distinctive position in supporting cost-effective, data-driven interventions at scale
• Taking a leading role in thought leadership - with a defined cadence of substantive output across forums, sector publications, conferences, and podcasts - on the role of data and evidence in driving large-scale impact
• Engaging in key communications across public and private fora to advance IDinsight's strategic goals

The Chief Strategy & Scale Officer will own IDinsight’s strategic execution, including building coalitions, setting pace and prioritization, surfacing hard trade-offs, and ensuring that IDinsight's growth and impact ambitions are matched by clarity and discipline in execution.

First-Year Priorities

By the end of Year 1, and recognizing these will be refined with the CEO, the Chief Strategy & Scale Officer will have:

• Established clear ownership of the strategy definition, planning, and review cycle across the executive and leadership teams
• Defined the scale pillar and begun building out the organization's near-term scale-and-growth priorities, including working with the C-suite on implications for impact, finances, systems, and culture
• Established the key external relationships and thought-leadership presence that position IDinsight with data- and evidence-focused funders
• Reached a decision through due diligence on 1-3 viable M&A opportunities
• Ensured the Board is engaged, well-informed, and productively contributing to IDinsight's rapid growth and strategic positioning

Why this role matters

This is one of the most consequential leadership positions in the organization - and in the broader evidence-for-development sector. The Chief Strategy & Scale Officer will shape how IDinsight grows, how it positions itself at a critical moment for the sector, and how data and evidence are used to improve lives at a scale the sector has not previously reached.

You'll lead, not just advise. This is a C-suite role with direct ownership of IDinsight's strategic direction, growth agenda, and external positioning. You will set the pace and be held accountable for results.

You'll work at a unique intersection. IDinsight sits where rigorous evaluation, applied evidence, and frontier AI meet - partnering with organizations like the Gates Foundation, GiveWell, Google.org, Anthropic, the Hewlett Foundation, and the IKEA Foundation, alongside implementers like Educate Girls, GiveDirectly, and Evidence Action. The Chief Strategy & Scale Officer has direct ownership of many of these strategic relationships and the growth conversations behind them.

You'll build something that doesn't yet exist. The scale pillar of IDinsight's strategy has no current owner. The Board management function is in transition. The organization's thought leadership presence related to “big bets” needs dedicated senior leadership. You will define these from the ground up.

Must-Have Qualifications

• Proven track record of leading an organization through significant scale growth, ideally with direct experience of delivery in LMIC settings
• Demonstrated fundraising capability with EA-adjacent, data-focused, and scaling-focused funders - this is a non-negotiable for the role
• Strong thought leadership presence, including published writing, public speaking, and credibility across the development or evidence sector
• Ability to design, develop, and deploy organizational strategies that reflect macro trends and global development dynamics
• Operational experience in LMIC settings, with the ability to translate global strategy into regional execution
• Experience with Board engagement, governance, and executive-level stakeholder management
• Exceptional judgment and problem-solving in fast-moving environments - this person defaults to action, not process
• High integrity and discretion with sensitive information, Board matters, and organizational dynamics
• Deep alignment with IDinsight's commitment to rigorous, cost-effective, evidence-based impact

Nice to have

• Direct experience with mergers, acquisitions, or organizational integration in the nonprofit or social enterprise sector
• Existing networks within the EA, GiveWell, or Open Philanthropy funding ecosystem
• Background in or exposure to evidence, evaluation, or data science in a development context
• Comfort with AI tools and their application to strategy, operations, or organizational transformation
• Experience building and managing high-performing teams across multiple geographies

Professional development

Skill and career development are core to IDinsight's values and long-term impact strategy, and have been noted highlights of teammates’ experiences. IDinsighters receive significant mentorship from IDinsight leadership, support from talented peers, and are given considerable autonomy when ready. They maintain professional development plans and are given "stretch" opportunities designed to strengthen a variety of skills. Real-time feedback is embedded in our culture and formal structure enables maximum professional growth. Additionally, teammates have access to an annual professional development stipend that they are encouraged to utilize to explore their career interests and develop their skills.

Nuts & bolts

Location

This position must be based in one of IDinsight’s offices: Dakar, Senegal; Delhi, India; Lusaka, Zambia; Manila, Philippines; Nairobi, Kenya; or Rabat, Morocco. This position is not eligible for remote work, or otherwise, from the United States. Preference will be given to those with pre-existing work authorization in these countries; however, IDinsight will seek work permits where possible for exceptional candidates.

Travel

Approximately 10-15% travel will be required, including external representation at forums such as Skoll, UNGA, and donor engagement trips.

Level

This is a C-suite role and is designed for professionals with at least 12-15 years of experience. We are unlikely to consider candidates significantly more junior than this.

Start date

The start date of this position is as soon as possible. We expect a minimum two-year commitment, with regular development conversations and potential for a long-term career at IDinsight.

Work authorization

IDinsight is able to sponsor employment visas for all nationalities in these locations; however, we will prioritize candidates who do not require IDinsight to sponsor work authorization in the aforementioned countries. All candidates who are not currently located in our country offices listed above will be expected to relocate to their office locations at the onset of their employment.

Compensation

Compensation and benefits are commensurate with the qualifications and experiences IDinsight is hiring for, and competitive within the global development sector. We are especially proud of the people-focused benefits we offer including comprehensive international health insurance, including mental health coverage; paid vacation, sick, and parental leave; relocation benefits; a travel stipend; technology and work from home stipends; a professional development budget; and more.

Please note, as a non-profit, we are unable to provide compensation similar to leading private sector organizations.

How to apply

Please click the "Apply for this job online" button at the top. Applications are due on August 14, 2026 at 11:59 pm (EST). We will review on a rolling basis. The application asks various questions in order for us to get to know you, and requires a CV. Candidates are not required to submit a cover letter, but you are required to answer questions that IDinsight uses to assess your fit with the role.

Please ensure that your CV includes relevant professional and personal experience as well as details on academic qualifications. CVs can range from one to two pages. Please note, headshot photographs, parental details, birth dates, marital status and other personal information not relevant to the application do not need to be included in your CV. Additionally, we strongly encourage you to use your cover letter to highlight why you want to work for IDinsight specifically and what has prepared you to succeed in this role.

More information, including details on IDinsight’s hiring process
and frequently asked questions, can be found online at IDinsight Careers. Any questions should be directed to careers@IDinsight.org.

IDinsight’s commitment to reducing power asymmetries

IDinsight is committed to reducing power asymmetries in the social sector. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion reflects our understanding of the need for the sector to abandon unhealthy practices of the past. We wish to be part of a new generation of international NGOs who are honest about this history and transparent about our role in the present. Our commitment is also aligned with the impact of our work.

We seek a workforce that is inclusive of a variety of perspectives that will help us refine and improve our methods and relationships, and strengthen the services we provide our clients and their communities or constituencies. The following commitments represent our vision for the IDinsight team:

1. IDinsight will have greater representation from the populations with whom we work and clients we serve.
2. IDinsight will have greater representation from the countries in which we work.
3. Across all countries in which we recruit, we will seek greater representation from historically excluded communities.
4. IDinsight will foster an inclusive work culture that empowers a diverse team to do their best work.

IDinsight is committed to non-discrimination in our recruitment, employment practices, and organizational culture, regardless of people’s age, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable law.