Associate - Agricultural Insurance at Busara Center

Role summary

The insurance portfolio contributes to building resilience in low-income communities and underserved segments by crafting innovative insurance solutions rooted in deep behavioral insights. In the short term, we are focused on agriculture and health insurance, to proactively tackle the most urgent impacts of climate change.

The Associate position entails providing technical expertise in experimental design. We are searching for a candidate who has experience running behavioral experiments and games in a lab setting, such as the Busara Lab. As Busara Lab is a shared service, the successful candidate will require experience managing and collaborating across functions. This is a critical requirement for the role. Furthermore, possessing qualitative skills is an additional benefit.

About the role:

The Associate supports both the advisory and research arms of Busara by leading the planning, execution, and day to day management of Busara projects.

As primary project manager for all external Busara projects, an Associate quickly gains an expert understanding of a particular problem or research question and uses all tools at their disposal, both within and outside Busara to execute an engagement to the highest possible degree, with careful consideration of timing and budget. An Associate develops creative and rigorous solutions to client and partner needs and manages both internal and external relationships with energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism. 

Associates directly manage other project staff that work on their project and, as well as liaise with other Busara teams and are expected to coordinate and manage staff effectively.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities

CORE PROJECT RESPONSIBILITIES:

Associates will work closely with Busara offices and directly with academic researchers and advisory clients to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

• Associates will work closely with Busara offices and directly with academic researchers and advisory clients to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:
• Engage in multiple large-scale research and advisory projects at a given time.
• Plan, manage, and execute external and internal engagements independently from start to finish with limited supervision.
• Incorporate the latest research in qualitative and quantitative methods, behavioral science, psychology, economics, and development to provide creative solutions to engagements.
• Manage and conduct qualitative and quantitative research and data analysis.
• Design, launch, and analyze effective quantitative and qualitative survey instruments with coordination among project staff (Analysts, Project Leads, Data and Programming, and Operations teams).
• Serve as a point of contact for clients and partners.  Effectively manage the needs of stakeholders through proactive communication and troubleshooting.
• Contribute to project on-boarding and off-boarding for knowledge management.
• Responsible for project timelines, deliverables, reports, and staffing.
• Contribute to the creation of proposals, concept notes, and pitch decks for new business opportunities and knowledge sharing. Present at conferences, networking events, or client meetings.
• Contribute to the design, execution, and dissemination of Busara internal research projects.
• Work closely to lead or support other Associates to fulfill engagement requirements.
• Perform any other duty as may be assigned by the project supervisor

CORE ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

In addition to project responsibilities, Associates also have the following organizational responsibilities to ensure a healthy and functioning organization.

• Work with the Associate team to conduct goal-setting exercises, objectives and key results, and team building events.
• Contribute to skills-building workshops for Associate teams.
• Assist with internal initiatives where necessary.
• Serve as mentors to Analysts and Project Lead team members, when requested.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience: Minimum Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy, or related fields. 
• Strong qualitative, quantitative, research, and data analytic skills.
• Proficient project management skills.
• 2-3 years’ previous work experience in managing projects in a related field.
• Strong academic behavioral science background.
• Extensive experience managing large-scale projects in developing countries.
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations.
• Excellent management and organizational skills.
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player.
• Interest and experience working in a fast-paced working environment.
• Fluency and excellent communication and writing skills with a mastery of English.
• Experience working for in a social impact enterprise/org in the global south
• Ability to execute projects while sustaining a global focus and vision for institutional planning and decision making.

Desired Qualifications:

• A Master’s degree in Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy, or related fields is strongly preferred.
• Experience managing or mentoring staff.
• Technical understanding and practical experience of randomized controlled trials and/or quasi-experimental designs
• Technical understanding and practical experience of qualitative research techniques.
• Experience in applying behavioral science to real-world problems.
• Proficiency in Stata, R, or Python