SEA Regional Director

Improving lives with data and evidence

Location: Makati City, Metro Manila, the Philippines

About IDinsight
We amplify social impact by partnering with
leaders to develop tailored solutions. Our
mission is to use data and evidence to help
leaders combat poverty worldwide.
IDinsight is a mission-driven global advisory,
data analytics, and research organisation
that helps global development leaders
maximise their social impact. We have
expertise in various rigorous approaches
and methodologies, and we tailor this wide
range of data and evidence tools, including
randomized evaluations and data science, to
help decision-makers design effective
programs and rigorously test what works to
support communities.
We work with governments, multilateral
agencies, foundations, and innovative non-
profit organisations in Asia and Africa. Our
work, primarily executed within a client
services, project-based model, spans various
sectors, including agriculture, education,
health, governance, sanitation,
financial inclusion, etc.
To achieve a positive social impact, we:
Support clients’ use of data and
evidence for routine and major
decision-making.
Inform funding decisions toward high-
impact initiatives and away from less
effective approaches
Create and share tools, knowledge, and
ideas that expand the use of data and
evidence for social good.
Our diverse, growing team of roughly 320
outstanding colleagues operate in nearly
two dozen countries worldwide. While
IDinsight is a global organisation, each
entity - including the SEA regional office -
has significant levels of autonomy within a
decentralised structure. Learn more about
our mission and values at
www.IDinsight.org.
 IDinsight Southeast Asia (SEA):
IDinsight Southeast Asia (SEA) is at an
important juncture in its evolution. We have
built a substantial and impactful body of
work across sectors and countries in the
region. We have an experienced and well-
qualified team of more than 20 individuals
spanning seven nationalities and based in
Manila, Jakarta, and Hanoi. We are poised
for growth well into the future. We are a
values-based organisation, and each one of
us is passionate about using data to foster a
more just, prosperous, and sustainable
world. We believe in staying at the cutting
edge and continuously adding and
innovating new evidence tools to amplify
our partners’ impact.
Building on this strong foundation, we are
positioned to mobilise our unique approach
and expertise toward social impact with
greater depth and scale. To convert the
range of exciting opportunities before us
into actual impact, we stand ready to
welcome the development sector’s best
leaders and invest them with autonomy and
resources to ambitiously pursue social
impact. In particular, we are searching for an
exceptional and entrepreneurial leader to
lead and represent IDinsight Southeast Asia
in its next phase of growth.
 About the Role
The Southeast Asia Regional Director (SEA RD) role will be supported by the CEO as well as
IDinsight SEA’s Directors and Chief of Staff and will assume critical responsibility for driving
large pieces of IDinsight’s work and strategy in SEA. Further, the SEA RD will be supported by
high-quality research teams, an excellent operations team that ensures a well- functioning
organisation, and a communications team. A portion of the SEA RD’s time will be safeguarded for
research, thought leadership, professional development, and optional leadership coaching.
Finally, the SEA RD will be provided with bi-annual performance reviews (including feedback
from peers and direct reports) to help them continuously grow and learn as professionals.

The SEA RD will be provided significant autonomy to leverage IDinsight as a platform to drive
social impact (in consonance with our mission and strategy), while also being held accountable to
clear goals that they will set for themselves in consultation with the CEO and other leaders in
the region.

This position is based in Metro Manila (specifically, Makati City), in the Philippines and will
require travel to meet colleagues and external partners in Indonesia, Vietnam, and other
countries in the region. The SEA RD will also have opportunities to travel outside the region for
strategic meetings amongst IDinsight senior leadership. While our Manila-based team is applying
a hybrid approach to remote/in-person work, significant in-office presence is desired for this
role.

The SEA RD role is unique and may be partially tailored to each candidate. At a high level, the
role will include the following responsibilities:

Lead IDinsight SEA towards social impact by growing an impactful portfolio of projects: The
SEA RD’s primary responsibility is to drive and increase IDinsight SEA’s social impact using
their experience, expertise, and networks. Toward this goal, the SEA RD will help
conceptualise, secure, fundraise, and execute high-impact partnerships that use data and
evidence to drive change. They will set the region’s partnership development priorities and
will determine what opportunities are pursued and which ones are not. In addition, the SEA
RD is expected to consistently direct the team to the north star of social impact and drive all
aspects of the organisation towards this goal.
Envision and execute IDinsight’s SEA strategy: The SEA RD will be responsible for working
closely with SEA and global leadership teams to refine and update IDinsight SEA’s existing
strategy and to lead its execution. As the SEA RD leads the regional team through a period of
strategic growth, they will be expected to not only apply their established and refined
strategy, but also to apply dynamic, flexible decision-making to opportunistically test new
hypotheses, experiment with new partnership or organizational models, and improve the
strategy.

Represent IDinsight SEA externally: The SEA RD will represent the organisation within SEA
and globally. They will be expected to shape evidence-informed action in the development
space within one or multiple sectors, regions, or specialisations. This includes writing in
leading news outlets and journals, speaking at conferences, and appearing for media
interviews. More importantly, the SEA RD will build and maintain relationships and networks
within the impact community and be a trusted advisor to senior leaders, in individual
relationships and consultative councils within governments, foundations, and/or nonprofits.

Lead, engage, mentor and guide a team of talented and mission-driven colleagues: The SEA
RD will create the conditions for a rewarding professional experience for colleagues at
varying points in their careers. This includes establishing a shared vision and effective
organisational priority-setting that fosters broad ownership; recruiting and mentoring both
senior and junior colleagues and supporting their career development; and consistently
modelling inclusive leadership. Importantly, this will include enthusiastically engaging with all
members of the young, passionate team across the region and maintaining the open, friendly
and flat culture that is central to the SEA team. The ideal candidate will exemplify IDinsight
values, be seen as a trusted mentor, and work well with others across all levels of the
organisation.
Lead partner-facing research project teams: The SEA RD will also directly lead a small
number of projects, particularly at the start of their tenure. Project leadership involves
liaising with senior clients regularly, ensuring the highest standards of research quality and
ethics, overseeing and mentoring teams (usually 1-2 Managers, with 3-6 members in total),
problem solving, ensuring a safe and empowering atmosphere, and keeping within project
budgets while maximising social impact.

Contribute to IDinsight’s global activities and influence: The SEA RD will be a member of the
global IDinsight executive team and will be expected to provide input to strategy
development and implementation across the larger organisation. Because global executive
and support functions are designed to maximise impact in countries we work, input from
regional leadership is highly influential in IDinsight’s global direction.

Support organisational development:

The SEA RD will oversee the regional
operations team to support IDinsight to
remain an impact-first, values-based,
and nimble organisation. This includes
inputting on activities such as
recruitment, onboarding, staffing
decisions, and performance
reviews.

Exemplify IDinsight’s mission

and values: Ensuring a strong
alignment between
incoming SEA RD and
IDinsight’s values will
be an important priority.
The SEA RD is the face of
IDinsight both externally
and internally and will be
expected to always and
unambiguously exemplify
our mission and values.

We are looking for leaders who demonstrate:
Extensive experience (15+
years) in global
development primarily in
Southeast Asia, preferably
in the Philippines and
Indonesia, and preferably
with a recent focus on the
data and evidence space.
Engaging leadership style
and enthusiasm for
interacting and connecting
with a young team.
Qualifications
IDinsight aims to provide cutting-edge,
contextually-tailored data and evidence services
in every region in which we operate. As such, a
deep understanding of the region and the space is
critical. The new SEARD should have:
Strong network and reputation in the region
and sector, particularly the Philippines and
Indonesia, with a track record of developing
high-impact projects and strong funder
relationships;
Fluency in the role of data and evidence tools
– such as impact evaluations, representative
surveys, monitoring systems, and/or the
application of data science – to create insights
and impact;
Strong alignment with IDinsight’s approach to
generating and using evidence for decision-
making;
Some experience working in the data and
evidence space, but more importantly, a
broader understanding of the development
sector in the region.
Preferred: Proven ability to develop, refine,
and communicate a strategic vision
Relationship-building is a critical aspect of
management anywhere - especially in
Southeast Asia. The new SEARD should have:
A clear, empathetic communication style and
excellent listening skills
Enthusiasm for mentoring and coaching a
young, passionate team
A good sense of humor!
Preferred: a proven track record of managing
a growing, dispersed team
Ability to thrive in an
entrepreneurial setting
and be able to adapt to a
dynamic environment,
growth, and change.
Ability to drive operational
and fiscal discipline and
transparency.
IDinsight SEA is much like a startup that is shifting
to maturity and accelerated growth in the
Philippines, with the added excitement of two
early stage small teams testing the waters in
Indonesia and Vietnam. As such, the new SEARD
should have:
The ability to take a flexible, dynamic
approach to decision-making, with an interest
in setting up and strengthening systems.
The ability to drive with the big picture in
mind but also get into the details of operations
and execution as necessary.
Willingness to learn and dive deeply into
IDinsight’s business model and explore
innovations in the model e.g. new funding
structures, strategies for smoothing the
pipeline
Ability to identify and mitigate key operational
risks
Willingness to learn internal systems, including
those for communications, finance, and
productivity
Preferred: Experience working in a startup
environment, particularly in the transition to
maturity
Preferred: Experience starting new teams and
partnerships in new geographies
Preferred: Proven ability to integrate into a
new organization in a high-level role
As the regional team grows, it will need to
remain committed to operational and financial
transparency. As such, the new SEARD should
have experience managing tight operations
and budgets, especially with growing teams.
Experience identifying, IDinsight SEA is in an exciting growth stage, and
cultivating, and securing aims to expand its portfolio both geographically
significant new and sectorally. As such, the new SEARD should
partnerships and/or have:
funding. Deep understanding of funders and other
actors in the development space, particularly
those with in an interest in data and evidence
A strong track-record of partnership-building
in the region and a strong understanding of
local political economies
A proven ability to secure funding for social
impact and/or research projects

Additional requirements Willingness to travel as needed (approximately

10-20% of their time) and to work remotely
with colleagues in other locations and time
zones;
An advanced degree (Master’s or Doctoral),
preferably in public policy, economics, public
administration, business, or public health.
Fluency in English essential, and working
proficiency in one or more additional
languages used in the region is a plus, with a
strong preference for Filipino or Indonesian.
 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 current role. Our commitment is also aligned with the impact of our work.

We seek a workforce that includes 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, 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 an equal-opportunity employer and strives to create a diverse and supportive

workplace.
 HOW TO APPLY

Shortlist (www.shortlist.net) is our exclusive recruitment partner

for this role. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis
until the position is closed, though early applications are
strongly encouraged. If you believe you meet the attributes and
skills above, please send a brief email with your updated CV or
LinkedIn profile to:

Ashbira Singh Dina El Zahed

Principal Consultant Principal Consultant
ashbira@shortlist.net dina@shortlist.net