Application Guide
How to Apply for Chief Impact Officer
at Pure Earth/Blacksmith Institute
🏢 About Pure Earth/Blacksmith Institute
Pure Earth is a global nonprofit tackling toxic pollution—one of the most underfunded yet solvable health crises—by embedding lead-poisoning prevention into government systems across low- and middle-income countries. With major multi-year funding from the Audacious Project, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Coefficient Giving secured through 2033, it offers rare stability and scale for a mission-driven organization. Its top Charity Navigator and Candid ratings and TED-stage visibility reflect a culture that translates science into measurable, lasting impact.
About This Role
As Chief Impact Officer, you sit on the executive team and share accountability with the President and C-suite for the design, delivery, and evaluation of Pure Earth’s global programs. You will lead a large, multi-country portfolio—scaling proven interventions in Latin America, Africa, and Asia—while ensuring rigorous impact measurement and government adoption. This is a rare chance to shape one of the largest concentrated efforts ever to end childhood lead poisoning.
💡 A Day in the Life
Your day might start with a call with country directors in Africa and Asia to review program metrics and troubleshoot government partnership bottlenecks. Later, you’d join the C-suite to align on a new impact framework, then dive into a donor update for Bloomberg Philanthropies. You’d end by mentoring a regional team on adaptive management, ensuring every intervention moves the needle on childhood lead poisoning.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Pure Earth/Blacksmith Institute Is Looking For
- Proven executive leadership in global health, international development, or environmental health, with direct experience managing multi-country, multi-million-dollar programs.
- Deep expertise in impact measurement, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and adaptive learning—able to turn data into strategy and course corrections.
- Strong track record of partnering with governments, multilateral organizations, and philanthropies to embed solutions into public systems.
- Experience scaling evidence-based interventions in low- and middle-income countries, ideally with knowledge of lead poisoning, toxic pollution, or related environmental health issues.
📝 Tips for Applying to Pure Earth/Blacksmith Institute
Lead with scale and systems change: quantify the size, budget, and geographic reach of programs you’ve led, and emphasize how you embedded solutions into government systems rather than running standalone projects.
Name-drop the funders: explicitly reference the Audacious Project, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Coefficient Giving in your materials to show you understand the funding context and the expectation of catalytic, durable impact.
Demonstrate M&E fluency: provide concrete examples of how you used impact data to adapt strategy, and mention specific frameworks or tools you’ve employed.
Show LMIC government partnership experience: describe a specific instance where you worked with a ministry of health or environment to adopt and sustain a program.
Connect to Pure Earth’s mission: explain why ending childhood lead poisoning specifically matters to you, and reference Pure Earth’s approach (e.g., identifying exposure sources, mitigating contamination, improving regulation) to show you’ve done your homework.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
1) Your executive-level experience leading large, multi-country health or environmental programs, with metrics. 2) A concrete example of scaling an intervention and embedding it into government systems in an LMIC. 3) Your approach to impact measurement and adaptive management, including how you’ve used data to drive decisions. 4) Your specific motivation for joining Pure Earth at this moment, referencing its funders and ambitious goal to end childhood lead poisoning.
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Read Pure Earth’s latest annual report and impact pages to understand their current footprint, program models, and key metrics.
- → Research the Audacious Project, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Coefficient Giving—what are their expectations for impact, reporting, and scale?
- → Learn about the global health crisis of lead poisoning: sources, health effects, and existing interventions, especially in LMICs.
- → Review Pure Earth’s partnerships with governments and multilaterals (e.g., UN agencies) to understand their systems-change approach.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing only on program management without demonstrating executive-level strategic leadership and shared accountability.
- Neglecting to mention impact measurement or data-driven adaptation—this role requires rigorous M&E.
- Ignoring the government-embedding aspect; Pure Earth explicitly wants solutions that outlast any single project or grant.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Pure Earth/Blacksmith Institute!