Data and Field Operations Manager
JOB DESCRIPTION
Title: Data and Field Operations Manager
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Employment Type: Full-time
About Impact Water
Impact Water is an international nonprofit working to ensure that everyone has access to safe drinking water. Our model combines reliable service delivery with sustainable financing to provide affordable water treatment services at scale. Since our founding, we have focused on schools, reaching more than 60,000 schools and 24 million students across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. We are now applying the same approach to expand beyond schools and serve communities directly.
Background context on the chlorine dispenser pilot
Impact Water is implementing a pilot to install and operate 1,000 chlorine dispensers and roughly 60 Inline Chlorination systems at community water points in Mani Local Government Area, Katsina State, Nigeria. Installations are scheduled to begin in September 2026. This is the organization's first community-based water treatment program, and it carries significant accountability requirements, both operationally and in terms of impact. If the pilot demonstrates strong results, there is real potential for it to be scaled. Ensuring data quality and program fidelity throughout this pilot is therefore a core organizational priority for 2026 and beyond.
Position Overview
You will join the organization as Data and Field Operations Manager, with an immediate mandate to build and lead the end-to-end data function for the pilot. Your primary responsibility will be to ensure that high-quality data drives operational excellence, from the design of survey instruments and digital data collection systems, to data quality assurance, monitoring programme implementation, analysis, reporting, and translating insights into management decisions.
You will oversee the systems that underpin the pilot, including survey design and iteration, Salesforce and OpenFn administration, data quality processes, and the timely production of operational dashboards and reports. Working closely with the Pilot Lead, you will track key milestones, identify implementation risks, surface bottlenecks, and ensure that issues identified through the data are acted upon quickly. Rather than simply producing reports, you will interrogate the data to understand what it reveals about programme performance and recommend concrete operational improvements.
You will also manage a team of enumerators, ensuring rigorous field data collection, high-quality supervision, and adherence to established protocols.
This role requires a relatively rare profile. We are looking for someone with rigorous research skills (someone who can design surveys, analyze data, and draw credible conclusions) but who is equally excited by the systems that make high-quality data possible. The ideal candidate is interested not only in research and analysis, but also in building and managing the underlying data infrastructure, including Salesforce, OpenFn, and related data systems. We are not looking for someone who wants to be a researcher alone, nor someone who sees database administration as purely an IT function. We are looking for someone who enjoys owning the full data ecosystem, from collection and systems architecture to analysis and operational decision-making.
Key Responsibilities
Research and survey design
Lead the design, testing, and continuous improvement of all operational and evaluation instruments.
Develop high-quality questionnaires, sampling approaches where appropriate, skip logic, and data collection protocols that generate reliable evidence to inform programme management and adoption measurement.
Relationship Management & Cultivation
Own the end-to-end data infrastructure for the pilot, including SurveyCTO, Salesforce, OpenFn, dashboards, and data pipelines.
Design, maintain, and continuously improve the organization’s data systems by automating workflows, strengthening data integrity, simplifying data collection, and implementing enhancements that increase efficiency and reduce operational risk.
Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
Lead the implementation and continuous improvement of the pilot’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework.
Adapt protocols developed with our external research partner, oversee quarterly adoption evaluations, ensure methodological rigor and data quality, and generate credible evidence on programme performance, behaviour change, and operational effectiveness.
Dashboards and operational intelligence
Design and maintain dashboards that provide real-time visibility into programme implementation, including installation progress, kickoff visit compliance, volunteer engagement, technician performance, and field agent productivity.
Ensure programme leadership has timely, actionable information to manage operations effectively.
Data quality assurance
Establish and maintain rigorous quality assurance processes across all field data.
Review incoming SurveyCTO submissions, identify errors, inconsistencies, and outliers at both the record and enumerator level, and work with programme management to implement corrective actions, retraining, and system improvements.
Data quality and field agent performance
Conduct daily review of incoming SurveyCTO submissions. Identify errors, inconsistencies and outliers with agent-level and row-level specificity.
Provide structured written feedback to programme management to support corrective action and retraining.
Accountability reporting
Produce regular operational status reports for the Field Programme Manager and senior leadership, translating data findings into clear, prioritised action items.
Track whether issues raised are being resolved and escalate where action is not taken. Prepare concise, evidence-based summaries for GiveWell in line with funder reporting expectations.
Weekly coordination
participate in weekly meetings with the Chief Operating Officer and the operational team in Katsina to review programme progress, surface data-driven concerns and align on priorities.
Required Qualifications
Exceptional alignment with Impact Water values (make an impact, achieve scale, continuously improve, operational excellence, accountability and integrity) and active demonstration of core competencies including humility, indomitable will and being solution-oriented
Degree or background in statistics, economics, computer science, development or a related quantitative field
Strong research skills, including experience designing surveys, developing high-quality questionnaires, and implementing rigorous field data collection protocols.
A minimum of three to five years of experience in data systems, data management and field operations data in Sub-Saharan Africa
Demonstrated ability to use data as a management too, identifying operational bottlenecks, generating actionable insights, and improving programme performance, not simply reporting results.
Advanced proficiency with SurveyCTO or comparable tools (ODK, KoBoToolbox), including survey coding, logic and skip pattern design
Experience with Salesforce administration and data modelling
Familiarity with data integration tools such as OpenFN
Proficiency in R, Python or another statistical tool; strong skills in Google Sheets for operational dashboards and data visualisation
Experience designing and supervising field data collection in complex operational environments
Demonstrated interest in both research and data systems, with the ability to bridge rigorous evidence generation and practical operational decision-making.
Highly autonomous and intellectually curious, with the ability to learn new systems quickly, identify gaps, and independently solve complex problems.
A proactive, solutions-oriented mindset: identifies problems early and brings concrete recommendations
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to hold peers accountable in a constructive manner
Experience living and working in Nigeria or East Africa is preferred
Background in research or data-driven field organisations preferred
Full English proficiency required.
Experience working with organizations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa preferred
Compensation & Benefits
Competitive salary commensurate with experience
Comprehensive health insurance
Flexible work arrangements with expectation of regular travel
Location & Travel
This position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya or Lagos, Nigeria. Travel to Nigeria may be required during the September 2026 ramp-up period of the GiveWell Pilot and after. Additional travel to other country offices may be required from time to time.
Reporting Structure
This position reports to the Chief Opearting Officer and works closely with the CEO.
Application Process
To apply, please submit an application here.
Impact Water Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, particularly those with lived experience in our countries of operation.
