Director of Impact

EWB-USA Director of Impact

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 EWB-USA’s Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) strategy and serves as steward of the Theory of Change. The Director works across Programs, Development, and Marketing & Communications, and with local partners in the U.S. and internationally, to strengthen evidence-based program design, measure what matters, and develop concept notes that can be advanced into institutional funding.

This position is designed for a strategic thinker who can move comfortably between data and relationships, field realities and organizational strategy, and evidence and storytelling. The successful candidate will help EWB-USA evolve from primarily measuring what we deliver to understanding what changes, why it changes, and how EWB-USA and its partners can increase and sustain that impact.

Key Responsibilities

Percentages are approximate and will shift over time: more systems-building and program design in years 1 & 2, and more evaluation, grant reporting and external work as funded programs mature.

1. Impact Strategy & Theory of Change | 25%

Lead EWB-USA’s organization-wide approach to defining and understanding impact.

• Translate the Theory of Change into practical results frameworks, outcomes, indicators, learning questions, and approaches to measurement.

• Lead periodic review and refinement of the Theory of Change based on program evidence, partner learning, emerging practice, and organizational strategy.

• Develop and maintain an organization-wide impact framework that allows EWB-USA to understand results across programs, countries, partners, and programmatic approaches.

• Help leadership use evidence and learning to inform programmatic priorities and strategic decisions.

• Ensure EWB-USA measures not only infrastructure outputs, but the broader outcomes its programs seek to influence, including sustainability, resilience, partner capacity, community outcomes, volunteer outcomes and systems strengthening.

2. Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning | 30%

Own the development and implementation of EWB-USA’s PMEL strategy and systems. The Director will build systems that are useful to partners and program teams first, while also meeting donor and organizational requirements.

• Develop and lead a practical, organization-wide PMEL strategy aligned with EWB-USA’s Theory of Change and strategic priorities.

• Establish a core set of organizational indicators while supporting program-specific and donor-specific measurement needs.

• Adapt PMEL approaches to the U.S. context, working with the USCP team, recognizing that partners, funders, and reporting requirements may differ.

• Strengthen systems for data collection, quality assurance, analysis, reporting, and use.

• Partner with program teams and local partners to develop monitoring and evaluation plans that are rigorous, useful, and proportionate to program scale and resources.

• Build staff and partner capacity to collect, interpret, and use evidence for decision-making.

• Partner with the Volunteer Engagement Team to define and measure volunteer outcomes, and provide technical support to volunteer measurement tools such as the volunteer survey.

• Lead periodic portfolio-level analysis to identify trends, results, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.

• Identify opportunities for targeted evaluations, research partnerships, case studies, and other approaches that strengthen EWB-USA’s evidence base.

• Support evaluation design and management, including engagement with external evaluators and academic or research partners where appropriate.

• When grants are secured, carry program logic through into grant-level MEL plans and the systems to track and report on them, building on the organization-wide framework rather than creating separate systems.

• Lead the results content of donor reports and manage grant-required evaluations, working with Development and program teams.

3. Program Design & Concept Development | 25%

• Work with EWB-USA's local partners and Programs staff to identify community and systems-level needs, opportunities, and emerging program concepts.

• Facilitate collaborative program design processes that center partner knowledge, priorities, and leadership.

• Translate promising ideas into evidence-informed concept notes, with clear program logic, results frameworks, and learning approaches, suitable for institutional donors, foundations, and corporate partners.

• Ensure proposed programs build on lessons from existing EWB-USA programming and relevant sector evidence.

• Work closely with Development to maintain a pipeline of investment-ready program concepts aligned with organizational strategy and partner priorities.

• Support proposal development by contributing technical narratives, program logic, results frameworks, M&E plans, and evidence of past performance.

• Help ensure that funding opportunities are assessed against EWB-USA's program strategy and partnership principles, rather than allowing available funding alone to drive program design.

4. Learning, Evidence & External Credibility | 15%

Build a stronger culture of learning and evidence use across EWB-USA.

• Develop and manage an organizational learning agenda focused on the most important questions emerging from EWB-USA's Theory of Change and program strategy.

• 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 in collaboration with Programs and Marketing & Communications.

• Build the evidence base that positions EWB-USA as a credible, recognized voice on locally led community engineering, community health, and WASH.

• Co-author or support white papers, research briefs, and sector publications drawing on EWB-USA and partner evidence.

• Identify and pursue opportunities to present EWB-USA's learning at sector conferences and convenings, co-presenting with partners wherever possible.

• Work with Marketing & Communications so evidence is used consistently and accurately in external messaging.

5. Organizational Leadership | 5%

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the Leadership Team and Programs leadership on impact, evidence, program quality, and learning.

• Champion an organizational culture of curiosity, evidence, reflection, and continuous improvement.

• Work collaboratively across Programs, Development, Marketing & Communications, Finance, and other teams.

• Support organizational planning and reporting related to programmatic impact.

Within the first 18-24 months, the Director of Impact will have helped EWB-USA:

Expectations differ by country. In our priority countries (Uganda, Ecuador, and the U.S.), where EWB-USA is building toward programmatic scale, the Director will build deep, partner-owned PMEL systems and a strong evidence base. Elsewhere, the focus is a consistent set of core indicators.

Across the organization:

• Establish and implement a clear organization-wide PMEL strategy, that also meets the needs of institutional donors.

• Refresh the Theory of Change to reflect the 2027-2030 strategy, and put it into practice through a core indicator and results framework.

• Create regular mechanisms for program teams and partners to use evidence for learning and adaptation.

In priority countries: Uganda, Ecuador, and the U.S.

• Define, with partners, what EWB-USA wants to be able to prove in each country within 2-3 years, and build the evidence agenda to get there.

• Establish baseline data for priority outcomes: community health and WASH in Uganda and Ecuador, and water/wastewater in the U.S.

• Co-develop results frameworks with anchor partners (EWB East Africa in Uganda, FIEA in Ecuador), strengthening their ownership of PMEL rather than creating parallel systems.

• Develop a portfolio of evidence-informed, partner-driven concept notes aligned with EWB-USA's programmatic priorities, backed by MEL plans ready to deliver on funded grants.

• Identify and start a small number of high-value evaluations or learning studies that test key assumptions in the Theory of Change.

• Put grant-level MEL systems in place once funding is secured, so EWB-USA and its partners can track progress and report to funders accurately and on time.

In pipeline and other countries:

• In Kenya, Peru, and Guatemala, apply core indicators consistently so project-level data can show patterns that inform future programmatic concepts and partner readiness.

• Elsewhere, keep measurement light-touch and proportionate: core indicators only.

Evidence and external credibility:

• Produce credible impact stories and evidence that show not just what EWB-USA built, but what changed as a result.

• Establish EWB-USA as an evidence-backed voice in the sector, through published white papers or research briefs and a regular presence at key conferences, ideally alongside our partners.

• Work with Marketing & Communications so evidence is used consistently and accurately in external messaging.

Qualifications

Required

• 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/results frameworks, indicators, and mixed-method approaches to evaluation.

• 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.

Preferred

• 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.

Skills/Attributes

• Ability to foster teamwork and develop and mentor others

• Leadership skills

• Ability to drive strategic direction

• Strategic thinking skills and technical expertise

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Continually required to sit or stand at the computer for extended periods.

• Frequently required to talk or hear in group and 1-on-1 meetings.

• Frequently required to enter and review text or data in a computer.

• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds; rarely up to 50 pounds.

• Occasional travel required, domestically and internationally.

LOCATION

This position is hybrid or fully remote with a preference for Colorado residents. EWB-USA's head office is in Denver, CO. Remote work locations are possible. States where we already have employees are preferred (CO, DE, MT, TX, OR, FL, MI, OH). Remote candidates will not be considered if located in California, Washington, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Minnesota. Occasional travel to Denver will be required as necessary.

Compensation & Benefits

Hiring Range: $105,000 - $125,000

EWB-USA offers a competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, potential for unlimited PTO, a matching 401(k) retirement plan, and a flexible and collaborative work environment.



To Apply:

Please submit a cover letter and resume to this posting. To be considered, applications MUST include cover letters indicating why you are interested in the job and the organization.

Engineers Without Borders USA is an equal opportunity employer.