Pure Data Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Full-Time, Exempt 

Scope of Work: 

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

Strategy and Impact   

• Define Pure Earth's current impact strategy, including which geographies, exposure sources, and interventions to prioritize within the lead and mercury portfolio.   

• Partner with the President and Board to steward Pure Earth's long-term programmatic portfolio direction, identifying when and how to expand to other priority pollutants as the evidence and field conditions warrant.   

• Shape the design, refinement, and rollout of Pure Earth's Audacious Project, our flagship effort to end childhood lead poisoning, ensuring strategic coherence and delivery against committed milestones.   

• Set the organization's theory of change and the impact targets it commits to publicly and to funders.   

• Hold the Programs and Technical Support Departments accountable for delivery against impact targets, program and technical quality standards, and grant commitments.   

• Partner with the Chief Operating Officer to determine programmatic budget allocations based on available resources, cost-impact tradeoffs, and general resource allocation across countries and functions.   

• Partner with the Chief External Relations Officer on positioning, fundraising strategy, donor cultivation, communications, and external influence.   

• Provide intellectual content and senior engagement that support the Development function in donor cultivation, retention, and major proposals.   

• Serve as principal thought partner to the President on mission strategy and high-stakes mission decisions.   

Research   

• In collaboration with the Director of the Innovation Lab, set a forward-looking research agenda that anticipates emerging trends and addresses gaps in the field's understanding of lead exposure and mitigation.   

• Ensure rigorous planning and execution, peer-reviewed publication, and dissemination of research that strengthens both Pure Earth's programs and the broader evidence base.   

• May serve as senior author, principal investigator, or technical lead on flagship research and publications consistent with the role's leadership scope and capacity.  

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning   

• In collaboration with the VP of Programs and MEL Director, set the organization's impact measurement philosophy, including how outcomes are defined, tracked, and reported.   

• Oversee the organization's learning agenda, working with the VP of Programs and MEL Director to ensure that insights from research, MEL, and the field translate into stronger programs and strategy.   

• Monitor MEL systems to ensure that they rigorously assess impact and inform decision-making at country, regional, and enterprise levels.   

• Ensure MEL outputs meet the needs of funders and support high-quality donor reporting and external storytelling.   

Policy and Regulatory   

• Define Pure Earth's policy and regulatory strategy, identifying priority opportunities to influence government action and strengthen regulatory frameworks.   

• Translate Pure Earth's evidence base into actionable insights for policymakers, partners, and the global health community.   

• Partner with the Chief External Relations Officer to convert policy strategy into external advocacy, government relations, and coalition work.   

Technical Support and Program Quality Standards   

• In partnership with the VP for Technical Support, set the standards for technical support, including scientific rigor, methodological soundness, feasibility in low-resource settings, and continuous improvement.   

• Define the evidence-based practices, program design standards, and impact metrics to which all Pure Earth programs are accountable.   

• Set quality and accountability frameworks that the Programs Department uses to manage delivery.   

• Approve material program design changes and new country entries based on strategic and impact criteria.   

Team and Talent   

• Directly supervise the Vice President of Programs, the Vice President for Technical Support, and the Director of the Innovation Lab.   

• Shape the agenda of and partner closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning function and other embedded units that support impact across the organization.   

• Build a high-performing, globally distributed team of senior leaders aligned around shared impact goals.   

• Promote a culture of intellectual honesty, learning, and continuous improvement across the impact function. 

Success in the First 12 Months and after 3 years: 

• Establish a unified impact framework that defines what success looks like across all geographies, with clear targets tied to Audacious, Bloomberg, Coefficient Giving, and other major funder milestones.  

• Build out the Innovation Lab with a published research agenda, capable leadership, and clear pathways for findings to strengthen Pure Earth's programs, policy work, and the broader field.  

• Define Pure Earth's policy and regulatory strategy,identifyingpriority countries and regulatory levers, and aligning Programs and External Relations behind this strategy.  

• Set program quality and performance management standards, in coordination with the COO on operational and financial dimensions, that the Programs Department must meet.  

Within three years, you will have positioned Pure Earth as the global authority on lead exposure science, mitigation, and policy, with measurable shifts in donor practice, government action, and the broader field. You will also haveestablishedPure Earth's voice on toxic pollution more broadly and set a clear direction for the organization's next-horizonworkon other priority pollutants. 

Required Qualifications and Experiences: 

Education 

• PhD or Master's degree in public health, environmental science, toxicology, international development or related field preferred. 

Experience 

• Minimum 10 years of highly relevant experience, withsignificant timein senior leadership or principal investigator roles in environmental health, global health, environmental science, international development, or a closely related field. 

• Demonstrated ability to translate research and evidence into programmatic and policy impact at scale. 

• Track recordof leading or building research, MEL, or policy functions in a mission-driven organization. 

• Experience working with senior funders, governments, and multilateral institutions on global health or development priorities. 

• Strong management skills, witha track recordof building and developing high-performing senior teams, and the ability to influence outside direct lines of authority. 

Desired 

• Direct experience with lead exposure or related toxic chemicals work. 

• Field experience in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, or Latin America. 

• Publishedtrack recordin peer-reviewed environmental or global health literature. 

• Experience working in or with academic institutions, multilateral agencies, and major philanthropies. 

Work Environment: 

• Full-time exempt position, ideally based in or near New York City. Strong remote candidates with the ability to travel to NY quarterly or more frequently will be considered.  

• International travel approximately 15%, primarily to Pure Earth's country offices in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.  

• Flex...