Head of Impact

Role Description

Are you a rigorous impact leader who can build trusted evidence systems at scale? Do you know how to combine world-class evaluation methods with the speed and pragmatism of a high-growth organization? Are you equally comfortable discussing RCTs, sampling, confidence intervals, and causal inference as you are working with product, data, fundraising, and executive teams to turn evidence into better decisions, stronger donor confidence, and more powerful learner outcomes?

Do you want to help build one of the most trusted, scalable impact engines in education and workforce development?

ALU and the broader African Leadership Group (ALG) are entering a new phase of growth. We are looking for a Head of Impact to build the rigorous, scalable, externally credible impact engine that will support ALG’s next chapter. This role will lead the evolution of our Impact function from a reporting and monitoring function into a world-class evidence, learning, validation, and impact intelligence capability.

The right candidate will bring deep expertise in rigorous impact methodology while also being able to operate in ALG’s fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment. This is not a slow academic research role, nor is it a traditional M&E compliance role. It is a senior builder role for someone who can bring rigor without rigidity, structure without bureaucracy, and external credibility without slowing down innovation.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant experience in impact evaluation, applied research, economics, workforce development, education outcomes, labor market analytics, social impact strategy, data science, or a related field.
• Deep expertise in rigorous impact methodology, including RCTs, quasi-experimental methods, causal inference, longitudinal studies, tracer studies, sampling, survey design, mixed-methods research, and evaluation design.
• Strong understanding of education-to-employment, workforce development, economic mobility, youth employment, entrepreneurship, income lift, household outcomes, or labor market transitions.
• Strong data fluency, including comfort working with dashboards, data pipelines, data warehouses, CRM systems, survey platforms, product analytics, and data quality processes.
• Ability to translate complex research and methodology into clear, credible materials for donors, boards, executives, governments, employers, and public audiences.
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to produce methodology notes, donor briefs, board materials, impact reports, white papers, and thought leadership.
• Proven ability to lead teams, build systems, manage ambiguity, and operate effectively in fast-moving, entrepreneurial environments.
• Strong ethical grounding around data privacy, consent, responsible AI, equity, transparency, and the risks of overclaiming impact.

Requirements

• Experience designing, managing, commissioning, or partnering on external evaluations with academic researchers, research organizations, foundations, multilaterals, or independent evaluators.
• Experience working cross-functionally with product, data, engineering, operations, learning, fundraising, communications, and senior leadership teams.
• Excellent judgment on evidence quality, including when to use gold-standard evaluation methods, when to use faster pragmatic approaches, and how to communicate uncertainty or limitations.
• A bias toward action, paired with the discipline to build systems that are credible, auditable, and trusted.

Benefits

• Opportunity to help build one of the most trusted, scalable impact engines in education and workforce development.
• Work in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment.
• Engage in meaningful work that impacts learners across the continent.

Person Specification/Attributes

• Courage: Willingness to speak up, challenge the status quo, and embrace new challenges.
• Humility: Openness to learning, seeking help when needed, and a focus on serving others.
• Adventure: A passion for setting ambitious goals, tackling difficult tasks, and finding joy in the journey.
• Initiative: Proactive problem-solving, a sense of ownership, and a willingness to go above and beyond.
• Resilience: The ability to bounce back from setbacks, persevere through challenges, and emerge stronger.
• Methodologically rigorous but not rigid.
• Highly analytical but deeply practical.
• Transparent about limitations without becoming cynical or slow.
• Able to move between big-picture strategy, technical methodology, data systems, and execution details.
• Comfortable building in motion inside a fast-moving, entrepreneurial organization.
• Motivated by helping ALG set a new global standard for trusted, scalable, data-driven impact.