Director of Engagement @ Statistics Without Borders

Mission: Why does the role exist?

The Director of Engagement owns the end-to-end delivery of Statistics Without Borders’ volunteer projects — ensuring they are ethical, high-quality, and meaningfully impactful for clients and volunteers alike. This role leads and supports the five teams responsible for client engagement and project delivery, stewarding the systems, workflows, and decision-making that connect volunteers to real-world impact.

Success in this role requires both strategic leadership and a willingness to engage directly in the details — reviewing processes, diagnosing breakdowns, unblocking teams, and stepping into operational work when needed to ensure projects succeed. The Engagement Director is also a member of the SWB Executive Committee and will contribute meaningfully to strategic SWB work that extends beyond Engagement.

Outcomes: What 4-6 things will the role need to achieve over the next 2 years that will define its legacy?

• Lead our five Engagement teams to consistently deliver high-quality, ethical, and timely projects that reflect SWB’s values and commitments, including direct involvement in diagnosing delivery issues and improving processes when needed.
• Ensure Engagement leaders and their teams are supported, empowered, and clear on expectations; build a bench of future leaders through coaching, mentorship, and sponsorship to ensure continuity.
• In partnership with other teams, build and maintain a reliable project pipeline that provides Engagement, the Executive Committee, and other directorates visibility into project status, challenges, risks, and wins.
• Operate Engagement as one of four co-equal directorates, with clear boundaries and strong collaboration mechanisms, helping balance the organization’s strategic focus.
• Set the directorate to model balanced workloads and mutual accountability, replacing a “hero” culture with one of sustainable contribution and shared ownership.
• Lead the Engagement team to navigate change with confidence and cohesion, guided by transparent communication, clear rationale, and timely problem-solving.

Competencies: What role-specific skills and experiences are needed to be successful?

Strongly desired:

• Comfort operating at multiple altitudes — setting direction while also engaging directly with workflows, documentation, escalations, and process improvement when the situation calls for it.
• Experience leading volunteer teams with clarity, balancing day-to-day delivery and long-term direction, especially remotely or across time zones.
• Skilled at change management, guiding teams through transitions with empathy and accountability.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and develop emerging leaders, create growth opportunities, and ensure long-term sustainability of leadership capacity.
• Experience in setting a team vision, defining boundaries, routing issues effectively, and focusing energy on the right problems to solve.
• Experience working cross-functionally, strengthening trust and shared ownership.
• Exceptional ability to manage meetings, track and close action items, and ensure consistent communication, including following through on issues from discussion to resolution.
• Comfort building light but reliable systems (e.g. quarterly business review) to provide visibility into how teams are operating and the relative health of various teams.

Desired:

• Demonstrated understanding of SWB project workflows and client engagement processes.
• Experience developing and leading a rhythm of business for an organization.
• Extensive experience as a coach or mentor.
• Familiarity with statistical or related technical consulting.