Nepal Innovation Lab Manager

Nepal Innovation Lab Manager

Location: Lalitpur

With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Employee Contract Type:
Local – Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term)

Job Description:

With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Key Responsibilities

The Nepal Innovation Lab Lead is responsible for facilitating innovative programming and approaches to improve the well-being of the most vulnerable children and their families and communities in Nepal and beyond, through the use of technology and collaborative partnership with internal and external stakeholders, including but not limited to private and corporate donors, start-up/IT companies, social innovators and entrepreneurs; and World Vision International (WVI) Nepal’s programs, acquisition, MEAL, field implementation, IT and broader innovation communities of practices of World Vision International. This will also entail developing new relationship within World Vision partnership to scale innovation beyond WVI Nepal.

Major Responsibilities

Pro-actively taking leadership to facilitate, promote, and convene the creation of innovative products and services, for new or existing development and humanitarian projects or advocacy initiatives of WVI Nepal, adding values to create more impactful, sustainable and innovation-at-scale initiatives to improve the well-being of the most vulnerable children and communities in Nepal. Take leadership in communicating about innovation externally in Nepal and in WV region and WV wider partnership.
In doing so, the following activities may include but not limited to:

• Proactively build new pipelines for innovative Products and services across WVI Nepal’s projects, in partnership with cross-function team in WVI Nepal and other external partners
• Facilitate design thinking approaches with relevant WVI Nepal’s team to ideate and prototype for pre- positioning or to respond to grant opportunities and or funding from/or strategic engagement opportunities with private/ corporate partners.
•  In close coordination with the Programs Development and Quality Director and the Field Operations Director, co-lead efforts to promote innovation-at-scale across WVI Nepal’s projects in order to create impactful and sustainable results for the well-being of the most vulnerable children and communities in Nepal
• Manage pilot innovation projects within WV Nepal for which funding has been secured.
• Take leadership in the innovation community within the World Vision partnership at regional and global level increasing the visibility of the WV Innovation Lab in Nepal.
• Lead efforts to communicate to internal and external partners on the innovative approaches in WVI Nepal’s programme. Lead the process of generating evidences (video case-study, infographics, explainers, podcasts) from pilot projects to scale the successful innovation within and beyond WVI Nepal
• Ensure that the Innovation Lab is financially sustained after FY24 by mobilizing financial resources, in particular external resources.
• Work closely together with the GAM team in leading certain proposal development processes and/or contributing to others with the write up of the sections on innovation in new concepts/proposals development. This includes; specifying or outlining the proposed innovative approaches, framework, timeline, activities or tools, and associated costs, partnership and sustainability strategy
• Lead the ecosystem mapping process to identify and leverage the value propositions offered by non-traditional actors like start-ups, thinktanks, and innovators in Nepal and outside Nepal (via other World Vision offices) – to address issues faced by the most vulnerable children and communities in Nepal
• Develop new concepts and proposals to raise new resources and or strategic partnership with private and corporate partners sharing the shared visions to support the improvement of well-being of children in Nepal – in close coordination with programs development and quality department team.
• Lead discussion and negotiation for new agreements or project contracts with private and corporate partners supporting WVI Nepal’s innovative projects
• Ensure compliance of WVI Nepal’s private- corporate funded innovative initiatives to donors, Government of Nepal and World Vision International’s requirements.
•  Maintain regular communications with private and corporate donors, including providing regular updates on project progress, finding opportunities to engage, and trouble-shooting on projects challenges in partnership with field operations department.
• Represent WVI Nepal in meeting with private corporate partners relating to WVI Nepal’s innovative initiatives
• Develop the Lab team’s annual work plans and budgeting, aligned with WVI Nepal’s country strategy and programs and annual work plan, and monitor the progress of the work plan and budget implementation.
• Manage, coach and support individual team member’s projects portfolios
• Manage relationship and coordination with internal and external partners
•  With the Lab team, work closely with field operations team to ensure they have the tools to deliver innovative programming across WVI Nepal’s projects.
•  Liaise with the WV US, WV Support Offices and Global Center to generate interest in their supporting the Lab’s work.
• Ensure capacity building support for the Lab team
• Led by example the practice of WVI Nepal’s organizational culture, practices and core values

Required Professional Experience

• Proven experience in delivering innovative projects or platforms, managing teams and resources to systematically problem-solve and arrive at new solutions (Innovation Management)
• Strong grounding in strategic design, with proven ability in working at the planning level of complex projects or organizations (strategic design)
• Proven track record of managing activities, resources, equipment and information to ensure excellence in operations in complex project environments (project management)
• Proven experience managing social impact-driven projects, and an understanding of humanitarian aid and development systems, both at a global and Nepal-specific level (social impact management)
• Strong creative capacity across communications and problem-solving, and the ability to challenge the status quo through creative and design processes (creative problem-solving)
• Ability to facilitate connection and collaboration amongst groups of diverse professional and cultural backgrounds (Hosting + inclusivity)
• Minimum 3 years experiences working on social innovation projects with local and or international organizations, in private or non-profit organizations in Nepal/abroad (relevant experiences)
• Clear analytical and communications skills, including relevant experiences with cross- cultural communications (communication)
• Good understanding on development, advocacy and humanitarian relating issues affecting children’s lives in Nepal, and the role of International Non-Government Organization to promote solutions and partnership
• Bachelor Degree in Engineering, Information Technology/Management, or other Sciences or Social Sciences background

Required Education, training, license, registration and certification

• Bachelor Degree in Engineering, Information Technology/Management, or other Sciences or Social Sciences background
• Maturity to handle multiple deadlines and pressures within a fast-paced working environment especially in humanitarian settings (preferred)

Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications

• Maturity to handle multiple deadlines and pressures within a fast-paced working environment especially in humanitarian settings (preferred)
• Project Management Certificate (or other relevant training)

Travel and/or Work Environment

• 30% travel to field
  Applicant Types Accepted:
  Local Applicants onlyApplicant Types Accepted:
  Local Applicants Only

Tagged as: Lalitpur, NGO INGO, World Vision