Managing Director

The organisation

Analytics for a Better World (ABW) is a non-profit initiative founded by the University of Amsterdam and ORTEC in 2022. The mission is to unlock the power of analytics and AI for people who make the world a better place and the organization dares to dream big.  ABW harnesses academic and industry expertise to bridge a crucial gap: while analytics and AI have revolutionized business, their transformative potential for social good remains largely untapped in the non profit sector. 

“By 2035, we will have created a worldwide movement, where every nonprofit can harness the power of analytics and AI to deliver transformative, scalable impact on society’s biggest challenges, accelerating progress towards the SDGs and improving the lives of hundreds of millions.”

ABW harnesses academic and industry expertise to bridge a crucial gap: while analytics and AI have revolutionized business, their transformative potential for social good remains largely untapped in the nonprofit sector. The products and services ABW is currently working on:

• ABW|Research - Developing advanced and impactful analytics models and techniques relevant for societal problems related to the SDGs.
• ABW|Projects - Helping NGOs to carry-out analytics projects and develop scalable, replicable tools (developing strategy and organizational roadmaps, consulting, software development etc.)
• ABW|Academy - Tailored/Customized inhouse courses and/or open enrolment Summer and Winter schools on Analytics for NGO employees.
• ABW|Meetups - Seminar series for researchers, employees at NGOs and others within our community on Analytics.
• ABW|Journal - A new scientific journal for impactful papers on analytics related to SDGs.
• ABW|Repository - An open-source database storing applications developed for NGOs, for re-use at other NGOs.

The position

The Managing Director guides and facilitates the team of professionals and network partners, to achieve the strategic objectives. She or he takes a proactive, hands-on role; leading and co-operating with the teams. The key area's of responsibilty:

• Strategy & Growth
  • Translate ABW’s Apply – Strengthen – Mobilize – Sustain framework into actionable annual goals.
  • Oversee implementation of the 2025–2028 scale-up plan with clear KPIs, priorities, and focus.
  • Lead the evolution from startup energy to professionalized, adaptive systems and governance.
• Fundraising & Strategic Alliances
  • Drive a 3× growth in core and impact funding within three years.
  • Cultivate multi-year partnerships with philanthropic, corporate, and academic partners.
  • Represent ABW externally through thought leadership, global events, and storytelling that connects data with humanity.
• Organizational Development
  • Build and empower a multidisciplinary team, starting with the current keyteam of 8 professionals and the current network of 10-50 professionals that work on the projects.
  • Strengthen internal systems (finance, HR, PMO) to support scalable impact.
  • Analyses what organisational form and positioning supports the ambitions best and transforms the organisation accordingly (for example to an independent NGO).
  • Foster a culture of equity, psychological safety, and shared learning.
• Program & Mission Delivery
  • Ensure all analytics programs deliver measurable outcomes aligned with ABW’s SDG focus.
  • Promote learning cycles: from project insights to global open-source tools.
  • Connect data-driven results to human stories that demonstrate real change.
• Governance & Accountability
  • Provide transparent, strategic, and financial reporting to the Board via a secure digital platform.
  • Anticipate risks, secure compliance, and uphold ABW’s ethical and academic standards.

Candidate profile

The Managing Director is a mission-driven and values-led director. An exceptional team collaborator who creates alignment and fosters a supportive working environment and connects easily across cultures and disciplines. A clear communicator and inspiring storyteller. The MD is adaptive, result-driven and entrepreneurial. Sets clear goals in impact and business development, has a strong commitment and enthusiastic drive to achieve results and celebrates these. At ease in an ambiguous context, able to bring guidance and structures.

The ideal candidate brings the following experience: 

• 10+ years in executive or senior leadership roles within mission-driven, global, or hybrid (nonprofit–academic–corporate) contexts.
• Has demonstrated an ability to independently raise funds with minimal external support and has the network to do so for the ABW proposition.
• Proven success in partnership-building, and organizational growth.
• Experience leading multi-stakeholder initiatives involving philanthropy, academia, and technology.
• Has led collaborations at the intersection of academia, philanthropy, and practice, turning knowledge and funding into impactful analytics-for-good initiatives.
• Understanding of analytics, AI, or data-for-impact work.

The offer

Fulltime position (4-5 days a week). Salary range based on NGO standards.

Interested?

You are invited to apply for this position by following the link below.