Post-Doctoral Research Scientists in Impact Evaluation - 3 Positons at African Population And Health Research Center (APHRC)

Duties/Responsibilities

The Post- Doctoral Research Scientists will apply novel basic and advanced rigorous impact evaluation methodologies to design and conduct impact evaluation undertakings within and beyond the APHRC.

Technical leadership and support

• Leading the design and implementation of development-related impact evaluations and research studies;
• Support researchers at the Center in adoption of impact evaluation designs in research studies including complex impact evaluations based on modern practices such as Interrupted Time Series (ITS), Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), cluster-randomized designs,  step-wedge designs among others;
• Develop and deepen innovative approaches to impact evaluation e.g., through training of researchers at the Center in IE methodology, developing and writing papers that utilize IE methodologies in peer-reviewed journals, engaging with IE communities of practice to strengthen the Center’s visibility in IE practice, etc.

 Fundraising for IE sustainability

• Lead the resource mobilization for IE projects to ensure that the Center sustain its IE mandate to the foreseeable future;
• Support proposal writing and other fundraising activities geared towards leveraging funds to broaden the current mandate of the Data, Science & Evaluation Program;
• Actively collaborate with and contribute to the work of other Program Areas at APHRC at the Centre’s to strengthen the impact evaluation mandate.

 Management of Impact Evaluation Projects

• Establish, monitor, and update work plans and budgets for Impact Evaluation projects;
• Oversee mobilization of evaluation teams, including organizing and managing team planning meetings and overseeing all necessary logistical preparations for field data collection;
• Identify, recruit and train the research assistants; support teams technically; assist in orienting consultant team members to procedures for working with APHRC;
• Assure high-quality deliverables and evaluation reports;
• Support development of IEs including background and supporting research for ongoing/upcoming IEs and oversight of survey development;
• Manage IE datasets throughout the evaluation life-cycle from coordination of local data collection partners to data management and cleaning to preliminary analysis;
• Serve as a responsive point of contact for clients, ensure contract compliance, and support contract reporting requirements;
• Support the impact evaluation team to develop, review and finalize evaluation analysis plans, evaluation frameworks, and contribute to drafting of work plans, data collection tools, and field monitoring tools for each IE activity;
• Work with Project Evaluation Team to provide timely updates and reports on evaluation activities as needed;
• Participate and/or support the dissemination of findings;
• Carry out any other functions that may be assigned to you from time to time by Senior Management at the Centre.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience 

• PhD in Economics, Public Health, Epidemiology, Statistics, Health Economics, Population and Reproductive Health, Development Economics/Politics or Public Policy and other related disciplines, with specialization in Impact Evaluation of development projects, preferably public health.
• Advanced skills in econometrics/statistics, quantitative methods, and qualitative methods.
• Ability to conduct large-scale surveys in developing countries and handle large datasets using standard econometric statistical software programs (STATA, SAS, R, Python, etc.).
• At least 3 years of work experience in project evaluation and impact analysis is essential.
• Demonstrated experience in in-depth impact analysis methods, and experimental and quasi-experimental methods applied in impact evaluation (RCT, Instrumental Variable regression, propensity score analysis, and interrupted time series, etc.).
• Experience designing and implementing one or more of the following: implementation research, process evaluations, formative/process/summative research, qualitative and mixed-methods research.
• At least two (2) publications or technical reports (or a doctoral research thesis) that utilized IE methodologies/approaches.
• Excellent written, presentation, and communication skills; ability to present arguments and analysis in a structured and succinct manner.
• Strong quantitative skills and ability to work with large data sets.
• Ability to work independently; self-starter and highly motivated.
• Strong theoretical and applied statistical knowledge in particular for the design of IEs.
• Proficiency in English language is required.
• Working knowledge of East, Southern, Northern, and West African regions is desirable.
• Experience in simulation and optimization modelling, and economic evaluations is a plus.

Deadline: March 31, 2023