The Technical Director (TD) has senior level technical service delivery responsibilities on projects and is qualified to serve in a one of the following roles at the project level: project director, team leader, Principal Investigator, and/or Senior Technical Adviser when appropriate. He/she also plays a significant role in proposal development and in creating and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders among Social Impact’s clients and partners. The Technical Director is a thought leader in the company bringing state of the art expertise, methodology (quantitative and qualitative) and experience to bear on Social Impact (SI) projects. He/she is a recognized expert in performance evaluations as well as in a particular sector/content area in which SI works such as democracy and governance, economic growth, conflict and crisis, education, etc.

Responsibilities:

1. Direct Service Delivery:

• Serves in one of the following roles on projects: project director, team leader (this may also be a sub-team if the project is large with multiple sizeable components), Principal Investigator, Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) manager, Chief of Party (COP), Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) or other senior technical roles as required by specific projects.
• Performs the tasks required by the specific project role, applies advanced technical knowledge and state of the art methodologies and practices to project work. Ensures the technical quality of project level work.
• In cases where they are not serving in a leadership role on a project, the TD may serve in the capacity of the Senior Technical Advisor (STA) on specific projects, providing technical advice and quality assurance services to the team implementing the contract. In this role, the STA will provide guidance to internal Team Leaders and oversight to external team leaders in terms of technical quality.

The Technical Director is expected to be billable for approximately 80 percent of his/her time.

2. Business Development:

• Serves as the technical lead or as a technical writer on multiple proposals a year. This may include complex proposals a year requiring high levels of technical input. Applies advanced technical knowledge and skills to develop winning technical approaches for SI proposals.
• Identifies technical experts and team leaders to be included on proposals. Interviews and assesses technical capacity of the proposed staff.
• Provides guidance on budget development in terms of time needed to carry out particular technical tasks.
• Contributes to the identification of new opportunities for Social Impact, and monitors upcoming initiatives carried out by various international donors.

3. Thought leadership:

• Is a recognized technical expert in the company in performance evaluations (applying both qualitative and quantitative methods) and in a sector in which SI works, and applies that expertise to SI projects and proposals.
• Develops knowledge assets and new technical approaches to differentiate Social Impact in the marketplace.
• Participates in relevant external communities of practice and represents Social Impact at technical conferences, meetings, and with clients.

4. Other:

• Serves as a coach/mentor to junior technical staff (Technical Specialists, Senior Technical Specialists). While the Technical Director is not the supervisor of these staff (who will be typically supervised by a Program Director), the technical coaching provided by the TD is an important aspect of the junior staff members’ professional development.
• Supports internal initiatives at the departmental and company level as time permits.

Qualifications:

• A minimum of a Masters, plus 10 years of relevant professional experience. Work experience should demonstrate a minimum of 5 years in lead technical roles (e.g., COP, DCOP, PI, Team Leader) relevant to Social Impact’s core service areas.
• Experience overseeing evaluations either domestically or internationally, with a preference to those candidates who have experience undertaking evaluations, performance monitoring, strategic planning or capacity building in developing countries.
• Demonstrated experience authoring evaluation reports, peer reviewed journal articles, and books published by an academic press.