Manager, Community Engagement (EAII Advisors)

This position is with EAII Advisors, Evidence Action’s technical partner in India.

About EAII 

EAII Advisors, Evidence Action’s technical partner in India, supports state governments in delivering evidence-based public health programs, including safe drinking water initiatives and school and Anganwadi-based National Deworming Day and iron and folic acid supplementation. Operating across 10 states, EAII Advisors provides technical assistance to ministries of health, education, water, and women and child development, reducing health burdens in impoverished communities and improving the long-term wellbeing of children and families. 

For more information, read about our work here: About Evidence Action and EAII

About Evidence Action

At Evidence Action, we deliver data-driven interventions that transform lives at an unprecedented scale. We identify neglected global health issues and deploy proven solutions, forging healthier futures for generations.
Our model operationalizes leading academic research (including from Nobel-winning economists). We measure progress and outcomes at every stage to ensure we’re making a real impact for people living in poverty and suffering from preventable or treatable health issues. Operating across 11 countries, our team of 900+ has reached over 500 million people, working closely with governments to scale these interventions.

• Our Deworm the World program has delivered over 2 billion treatments, significantly reducing worm prevalence and generating more than $23 billion in lifetime productivity gains. 
• Through Safe Water Now, we’ve saved the lives of over 15,000 children. 
• Our Accelerator explores untapped opportunities in global health, testing low-cost interventions with the greatest potential to save and improve lives. 

At Evidence Action, your colleagues are your greatest asset. You'll partner with high-caliber colleagues in an environment blending innovation, autonomy, and teamwork. Our team excels in disruptive thinking and believes in rolling up our sleeves to get things done. If you're looking to work flexibly and with purpose, join a team that delivers measurable change for millions.

The Role 

The Manager, Community Engagement will lead the community engagement workstream for the Safe Water Project in Andhra Pradesh, reporting to the Senior Manager, Operations, with a skip-level reporting line to the State Program Lead, ISW.

The role is responsible for driving community awareness, adoption, and sustained use of safe water interventions across all program districts through strong strategy design, stakeholder coordination, and high-quality field execution. This includes providing strategic leadership across SBCC and IEC initiatives—contributing to message development, strengthening IEC materials based on community insights, and enabling continuous message refinement through structured feedback mechanisms.

The Manager will design and implement state-level community engagement strategies aligned with program goals, working closely with the National Office, state-level vendors, field teams, and government stakeholders. The role holds decision-making authority on state-level approaches and contributes to the evolution of the overall community engagement strategy by ensuring field learnings and community feedback inform program design and sustainability.

Responsibilities

Community Engagement Strategy and Management (50%)

• Lead the state-level community engagement workstream, driving awareness, adoption, and sustained use of safe water practices across program districts.
• Design and implement state-level community mobilization strategies aligned with program objectives, timelines, and targets, supported by clear frameworks, SOPs, and guidelines to ensure consistent, high-quality execution.
• Coordinate with the Communications team and National Office to develop and deploy culturally relevant IEC materials and campaigns for diverse audiences.
• Engage community leaders, government officials, water service committees, and partner organizations to strengthen reach, alignment, and uptake of program messaging.
• Monitor community engagement outcomes using field data and community feedback; adapt strategies to improve effectiveness and responsiveness to local contexts.
• Document learnings, challenges, and recommendations to inform program design, planning, and continuous improvement.
• Contribute to state-level planning, annual work plans, budgets, and cross-state learning initiatives.

Capacity Building and Training Delivery (20%)

• Provide strategic oversight of water treatment training and sensitization programs, ensuring alignment with government priorities, community engagement objectives, and program standards.
• Guide the Capacity Building Officer in designing and implementing state-level capacity building plans; review and validate training curricula, modules, and materials for quality and relevance.
• Oversee Training of Trainers (ToT), including VM training validation, to ensure effective cascading of skills across field teams and partners.
• Monitor GP and broader capacity building initiatives through assessments, feedback, and outcome reports, and drive timely delivery through effective planning and a state-wide training calendar.

Field Team Coordination and Oversight (10%)

• Lead and coordinate with Zonal Coordinators, District Coordinators, and field teams distributed under the CE workstream in alignment with the Senior State Manager, operations. 
• Conduct regular field visits to intervention locations to assess quality of community engagement and capacity building implementation and provide on-site program and technical support.
• Continually assess potential challenges in community engagement activities, proactively engaging with the community and team at points of friction to mitigate those challenges.
• Review field-level data and reports on community engagement and training activities; provide actionable feedback to improve performance.
• Ensure field teams have the resources, materials, and support needed to execute activities effectively.

Stakeholder Engagement and Government Coordination (10%)

• Represent the organization in engagements with Jal Jeevan Mission officials, state and district government departments, NGO partners, and other key stakeholders on community engagement and capacity building.
• Align community engagement and capacity building activities with government priorities and programs through regular coordination at state and district levels.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with government officials, community leaders, vendors/ISAs, and partner organizations to ensure smooth implementation and service delivery.
• Support preparation of reports, recommendations, and presentations for government stakeholders, and represent the workstreams in internal and external forums.

Team Development and Reporting (10%)

• Manage and develop team members through regular coaching, performance management, career planning, and support for recruitment and broader HR needs.
• Keep project leadership informed through regular reporting on progress, challenges, forecasts, and strategic recommendations for community engagement and capacity building.

Essential 

• Master's degree in Social Work, Rural Development, Mass Communication, Public Health, Education, or related field preferred
• Bachelor's degree with significant relevant experience will also be considered
• Strong communication skills in English and Telugu
• Minimum 6-8 years of experience in community engagement, capacity building training, or community mobilization within the development sector
• Willingness to travel 20–30% of the time across project field locations, both within Andhra Pradesh and outside the state, as required.
• Strong understanding of community mobilization, social and behavior change communication (SBCC) strategies, and community participatory approaches.
• Ability to get social action through Rapid Rural Appraisal through the assigned team
• Analyze community engagement data and translate insights into actionable strategies
• Proficiency in MS Office and Google Suite; familiarity with data management and reporting tools
• Strong experience in vendor, contractor, and supplier management, including oversight of Implementation Support Agency (ISA) partners and ensuring accountability to deliverables
• Demonstrated experience engaging and coordinating with government stakeholders across multiple levels
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams and holding them accountable to targets and timelines

Desirable 

• Track record of working with public health or WASH/Water programs preferred
• Proven experience in designing and implementing community engagement strategies and training programs at scale
• Prior experience managing and implementing projects in Andhra Pradesh is strongly preferred – local context knowledge, stakeholder relationships, and understanding of state - level governance structures are highly valuable for this role
• Experience in guiding the team to develop IEC materials and community engagement toolkits
• Working knowledge of Canva or similar design tools is preferred, to support contextualization and adaptation of IEC materials in Telugu whenever needed.

Disclaimer: The job description provided above is a general outline of the typical responsibilities and requirements for the role. It may be modified or expanded based on the specific needs and structure of the organization.

Position Location

This role is based at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an Indian employment visa at this time. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in India for roles based in India.

EAII provides a comprehensive benefits package for employees. Benefits include:

• Comprehensive health insurance with IPD and OPD provisions
• Life and Accidental insurance
• PF, ESIC and Gratuity as per statutory requirements
• Generous leave
• Mental and physical well-being benefits
• Avenues for engagement and recognition

Compensation: Competitive and commensurate with the individual's credentials, experience, and previous pay scale.

All contracting arrangements will be made through EAII Advisors Private Limited. EAII is an equal opportunity employer. Employment at EAII is based solely on an individual's merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence. EAII does not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, caste, creed, colour, religion, gender, origin, disability, marital status, or any other basis protected by law.