***We are not accepting applications at this time. If you would like to be notified if applications reopen, please email Search Consultant Dr. Naomi Cramer Overton with the Subject line: Amazi at naomi@missionleadership.org***
Amazi Water is a $6.4 million, explicitly Christian nonprofit organization with 191 employees and a vision to see that every community in Burundi has sustainable access to safe water by 2030. Amazi’s mission is, “As a Christ-centered water organization working with communities and partners, to ensure that every community in Burundi has sustainable access to clean water by 2030.” Amazi leverages its work to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, directly and through partnerships with other Christian organizations. The organization desires to continue what some call “best in class” program impact and operations.
The organization is hiring a new Chief Executive Officer—a remote role with travel to Burundi. However, living or frequently being in the Dallas Fort Worth area will assist with Board coordination. The CEO’s primary job is to diversify funding from one primary benefactor (and co-founder) to various individuals and partner organizations. Already, Amazi is the primary water partner favored by the Burundian government. It is also the primary implementing water partner for over a dozen organizations including the UN World Food Programme, World Vision, UNICEF, CRS, UNDP, Doctors Without Borders, Assemblies of God, and others. They leverage their work to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, directly and through partnerships with other Christian organizations.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
From 2013 to 2015 co-founder Robert Vanman provided funding for an NGO looking to build 100 hand pump water wells in Burundi. In 2016, Vanman and John Peake continued this work through a new NGO, co-founding Amazi Water. In 2017, they expanded the vision to provide safe water to every Burundian community, and purchased land in the city of Bujumbura to build secure headquarters. (They moved into a new headquarters in 2022.) In 2018 they began the shift to primarily building large distributed, solar-powered water projects that serve thousands of people. As of this writing, they have completed 1,100 such projects.
Since 2021, the annual budget has ranged between $6M and $7.3M. Ninety percent of funding has come from co-founder and Board Chair Vanman, 7% from individual donors, and 3% from partner NGOs. The approved budget for 2025 is $6.4M. The ministry has three offices in Burundi, three home-working employees in the United States, and 35 contracted workers employed by Burundian companies. Amazi’s Board of Directors consists of four U.S. and two Burundian-born leaders. This includes Vanman. Please see the most recent annual report here.
Importantly, key leaders within Amazi assessed the organization’s lifecycle stage and describe the organization as in the foundational moments of an organization’s journey. In this phase, the need is for strong and decisive leadership to navigate challenges. A leader who provides clear direction, fosters a results-driven, action-oriented culture, and makes centralized decisions until the company reaches stability. While planning and forecasting are essential for mature companies, imposing rigid systems prematurely on infant companies can be detrimental. Once an infant organization achieves consistent sales, demand, and positive cash flow, it can move into its next lifecycle stage. Achieving success during this phase requires combining tenacity, clear vision, and informed decision-making. Specifically, guidance of committed founders and strategic input from experienced external professionals is vital. While navigating this lifecycle stage, it's imperative to strike a balance: to avoid premature structuring while solidly positioning the organization for its next growth phase.
WHAT IS NEEDED NOW: Building Revenue Strategies and Sources While Continuing Programmatic Impact
The ideal CEO candidate is probably serving in a senior leadership role of another Christian NGO. The CEO needs a results-oriented management style, balanced with building trusted and deep team relationships. The following strengths are essential to the CEO’s success:
Leading
Motivating
Public Representation and Speaking and
Fundraising.
It is not as necessary that this individual be steeped in execution. The words that best describe the ideal candidate are:
Strong
Motivated
Analytical
Passionate and
Trustworthy.
The CEO’s success will be measured by revenue growth, excellent marketing and communications, significant increases in major donor prospects, givers and organizational partnerships, and a plan and structure for hosting effective vision trips. In addition, the Board seeks:
Continued stability and satisfaction within the leadership team and
A clear handle on numbers and metrics.
In the first 90 days, the CEO is expected to make an initial trip to Burundi to establish relationships with leadership and some key government officials, complete new hires in Marketing and Development, and gain an initial command of Amazi’s operational numbers and metrics. Within a year, the CEO is expected to harness $3M in new funding (work on these relationships is underway), produce a new US fundraising event, and grow NGO partnerships.
Top finalists for this role will be interviewed by several board members, and the board chair will make the final decision. The organization hopes to reach a decision on its new CEO by September 2025.
LEADERSHIP, STAFF & STRUCTURE
The CEO will report to the Board of Directors, through Board Chair and Amazi co-founder Robert Vanman. The CEO’s direct reports will be the Country Director (in Burundi), the Director of Finance, a Marketing Director, and a Development Director.
HISTORY
After co-founder John Peake concluded his service in 2023, team member Bob Thorp stepped up to stand in the gap as CEO for 18 months. Mr. Thorp has focused on improving culture and morale, and strengthening relationships with governmental and ministry partners. Field operations are in their prime, while funding operations are in their infancy. The need now is for creating a fund-development program to diversify sources of revenue and ensure the organization’s sustainability and growth.
The role of the board has changed over the years and will change again following the new CEO’s hire. When John Peake was in the first chair, the board was primarily oversight and goal setting. In the interim period after Peake’s departure, the board shifted into more direct management. With a strong, trusted CEO, the board expects to become less operationally involved over time, and shift towards becoming a true governance board.
The incoming CEO must excel in communication to the board, address low-performing employees, act quickly to solve high-impact problems, and focus on key output metrics such as production rates and completed tap stands. The next-season CEO will thereby allow the board to step back from involvement in operational issues.
In addition to co-founder Vanman, the board includes three U.S. members – two businesspeople who launched or led other Christian NGOs and one medical-focused nonprofit leader. The board’s two Burundian-born directors include a politician now based in Canada and an International Apostolic Church leader.
WHAT STAYS THE SAME
Amazi has a very clear, simple, and important mission: To ensure every community in Burundi gains access to clean water. The hope is that the organization does not expand this mission in any way that diminishes its ability to remain efficient and effective and maximize the number of people served with its limited resources. The organization has stayed true to its mission and values, and continuing in this direction is vital.
OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES
Every role in every organization has both opportunities and challenges. We profile these here, based on interviews with those who work closely with this role, to guide candidates who may consider if these are the kinds of opportunities and challenges that suit them best.
OPPORTUNITIES
Amazi’s leadership describes the organization as “healthy and excited about the future.” The CEO will have the opportunity to build on the strengths of:
“World class” operations - Those who have worked with several NGOs’ WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programs call Amazi Water’s operations “world class.” The organization operates like a business, a metric-driven company with high levels of skill, focus and competence.
Significant investments in equipment, tools, facilities, people, and relationships. These allow Amazi to operate efficiently and without any burdensome dependency on contractors.
A special and unique relationship with the Government of Burundi. This gives Amazi favor and allows them to work unencumbered.
CHALLENGES
In the coming years, the organization needs to:
Find a long-term leader who can substantially grow revenues while ensuring the Burundian operational team is fully deployed and enthusiastically engaged.
Effectively transition from an NGO predominantly funded by the Board of Directors into one funded from varied, but aligned sources.
Improve its ability to leverage water projects to advance evangelistic efforts, either directly or through aligned Christian partners.
Overhaul marketing to project an image of Amazi Water that accurately reflects our incredible opportunity to make long-lasting impact.
Develop scientifically valid impact studies that document the radical life changes that occur in the communities where Amazi constructs clean water systems.
Over the last five years, revenue has increased as Amazi has made fundraising a more important goal for the organization. Prior to this, raising funds was not considered critical.
POSITION PROFILE
Job Title: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Reports to: Board of Directors, primarily through the Board Chair
Location: Remote, traveling within the US and quarterly to Burundi.
PURPOSE
The CEO role provides an opportunity to help grow a Christian charity that is changing a country and making what is potentially the highest real-world impact per dollar of any mainstream charity. Overall responsibility for ensuring that Amazi Water delivers on its mission to ensure that every community in Burundi has sustainable access to clean water by 2030. Specifically, he or she will be the public image of Amazi Water and ensure that Amazi Water’s fiscal operations, fundraising, marketing, human resources, technology, partnership development, and operational strategies are effectively implemented across the organization.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership
Collaborate with the chairman and the board to refine and implement the strategic plan, while ensuring that the budget, staff, and priorities are aligned with the mission.
Formulate and direct the fundraising/development strategy and lead our public relations.
Provide inspirational Christian leadership and direction to the Senior Leadership Team, and establish effective decision-making processes that will enable the organization to achieve its short-term and long-term goals and objectives.
Ensure that key leadership positions are filled by the right leaders who are qualified, committed, capable and motivated to achieve excellence. In the words of Jim Collins, make sure we have the right people in the right seats on the bus.
Diligently monitor and share the organization’s various operational and efficiency metrics.
Cultivate a strong and transparent working relationship with the chairman and the board, and ensure open communication about the measurement of financial, programmatic, and impact performance against the stated milestones and goals.
Help set the tone for a culture at Amazi Water that is driven to serve with excellence.
Fund Development / Fundraising
In conjunction with the board, establish a revenue development strategy that will grow revenue to about $15M a year, to ensure that Amazi Water can achieve its strategic mission and goals.
Oversee and implement the development strategy and provide the public face for the organization at key events.
Ensure that the organization’s marketing and branding efforts are compelling, excellent and effectively support the development strategy, donor communication, and fundraising needs of Amazi Water.
Personally participate in the development of key relationships with major donors and partnerships.
Ensure impact studies are developed, and our Monitoring and Evaluation efforts result in effective documents so that the impact of our work can be demonstrated to partners and donors.
Leading the Leadership Team
Direct the US leadership team and the Burundi Country Director of the organization using the Traction (EOS model).
Determine the optimal leadership roles and determine appropriate compensation.
Hire, fire, promote, and motivate the leadership team and ensure everyone is fully aligned with the mission, goals, and culture of Amazi Water.
Partnership Development
Expand and oversee the development of partnerships with organizations, foundations, churches, and corporations that can provide sponsorship and support for our work.
Personally participate in building our relationships with our partners.
Financial Management
Determine department budgets and ensure the budget aligns with our goals and priorities.
Ensure the organization’s financial statements are accurate and timely.
Ensure compliance with all laws and regulations.
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential Attributes
Strong Christian faith and character, able to agree to Amazi Water’s Statement of Faith
Highly driven
High emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills
Essential Experience
Proven experience as an executive within a larger organization or leading similar or larger size nonprofits.
Experience and success in motivating, recruiting, developing, retaining, and mentoring high performance, mission-driven and results-oriented teams.
Excellent written, oral, and public speaking skills; a persuasive and passionate communicator.
Demonstrated experience guiding the success of remote teams, including senior leadership and fund-development teams.
Highly Desired Attributes and Experience
Fluency in French and
Water sector experience.
Education
Bachelor’s degree required
Advanced degree in business, international relief and development, or missions desired.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
Salary: Competitive, starting at $175,000, depending on experience.
Benefits: Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, health insurance 80/20, dental insurance, and emergency evacuation insurance if traveling frequently to Burundi.
Vacation: 25 days PTO (vacation, sick leave, or personal time off)
Reports to: Board of Directors, meeting regularly with Board Chair.
Travel: Up to 40% to meet with prospective and current donors and organizational partners, events, meetings, presentations and conferences. Includes at least two (2) weeks per quarter in Burundi.
To learn more about Amazi Water, please visit their website at www.amaziwater.org.
***We are not accepting applications at this time. If you would like to be notified if applications reopen, please email Search Consultant Dr. Naomi Cramer Overton with the Subject line: Amazi at naomi@missionleadership.org***