Chief Impact Officer 

About Pure Earth: 

Pure Earth is a growing international nonprofit addressing one of the most urgent yet solvable global health crises: toxic pollution and its profound impacts on human health. We specialize in preventing exposure to lead and other toxins in low- and middle-income countries, embedding solutions into government systems that outlast any single project or grant. 

 

With substantial multi-year funding through the Audacious Project, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Coefficient Giving, and other partners, secured through 2033, Pure Earth is leading one of the largest concentrated efforts ever undertaken to end childhood lead poisoning. We are scaling proven interventions across dozens of countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, working in partnership with governments, multilateral organizations, leading philanthropies, and frontline organizations to identify exposure sources, mitigate contamination, and improve policies and regulation. 

 

Pure Earth holds top ratings from Charity Navigator and Candid, and our work has been featured on the TED mainstage and across major news and global health outlets. At Pure Earth, you'll join an agile, mission-driven team that translates science and innovation into measurable impact, with the resources, partnerships, and ambition to deliver change at scale. 

Position Overview: 

The Chief Impact Officer (CIO) is a member of Pure Earth’s executive leadership team and shares accountability with the President and the broader C-Suite for ensuring Pure Earth delivers on its desired impact and advances its mission. The CIO sets the organization's impact strategy, owns its evidence base, defines and designs its programs, and oversees its policy and research agendas. The role's distinctive value lies in integration: connecting programs, research, MEL, technical excellence, and policy into a coherent strategy that turns insights from the field into stronger programs, generates evidence that strengthens implementation, and drives policy and regulatory wins that lock in lasting change.  

Pure Earth's current portfolio is concentrated on reducing lead pollution and poisoning, with other toxins such as mercury as smaller programs. The CIO will work with the President and Board to shape Pure Earth's long-term portfolio direction, including investments beyond the current focus as evidence on toxic pollutants evolves. Successfully guiding this evolution will require a systems thinker and collaborative leader who brings a deep understanding of research, data-driven decision-making, and organizational learning.  

Reporting to the President, the CIO is a member of Pure Earth's C-Suite alongside the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief External Relations Officer. The CIO directly supervises the Vice President of Programs, the Vice President for Technical Support, and the Director of the Innovation Lab (where research is housed), and helps those leaders shape the agenda of embedded units including the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) function. The CIO does not directly manage program implementation, the provision of technical support, or research; that work is led by the VPs and Director, respectively. The CIO sets direction, strategies, and standards against which their departments deliver.  

In close partnership with the Chief Operating Officer, the CIO shapes resource allocation decisions that determine how ambition translates into delivery, aligning programmatic priorities with available funding, navigating cost-impact tradeoffs, and reshaping the portfolio as circumstances and needs change. Working closely with the Chief External Relations Officer, who oversees Communications and Development, the CIO positions Pure Earth as a global authority on lead exposure science, mitigation, and policy and as an authoritative voice on toxic pollution more broadly, engaging governments, multilateral institutions, academic partners, and major donors and developing intellectual content that supports Pure Earth's external influence and fundraising. The CIO is the principal thought partner to the President on mission strategy and high-stakes decisions about where Pure Earth invests for impact.  

Reporting and Team Structure: 

Reports to: President 

Direct reports: Vice President of Programs, the Vice President for Technical Support, and the Director of the Innovation Lab 

Key internal partners: Chief Operating Officer, Chief External Relations Officer, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) function, Programs Department, Technical Support Department, Innovation Lab, Communications, and Development 

Work Location: 

New York City and surrounding area preferred, remote considered 

Employment Type: 

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, identifying priority 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 have established Pure Earth's voice on toxic pollution more broadly and set a clear direction for the organization's next-horizon work on 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, with significant time in 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 record of 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, with a track record of 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.   

  • Published track record in 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.   

  • Flexibility to work across time zones to support a globally distributed team.   

  • Work authorization for the United States is required. Pure Earth will not sponsor visas for this role.  

Salary: 

Full-Time, Exempt, Level L7. Salary band for L7 positions is $135,000 to $300,000. Expected starting range for this specific role is $200,000 to $230,000. Actual starting salary will be determined based on experience and internal equity. 

How to Apply: 

Online application 

To apply, please submit your application through Pure Earth’s online career portal. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

It is the policy of Pure Earth to provide equal opportunity for all qualified persons and not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, gender or gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status. 

This job description may be revised and updated as required to meet organizational objectives.