Research and Learning Manager at Founders Factory Africa (FFA)

Responsibilities

•  Develop/refine FFA’s research and learning agenda and oversee its implementation, in line with the broader impact (EIL) strategy and MEL plan
•  Support the development and implementation of high-quality MEL approaches and tools to enable FFA to track and report on progress and results and make informed decisions about implementation
•  Identify and build relationships with potential research and learning partners (research institutions, networks, etc.)
•  Convene and coordinate a research advisory board with pan-African researchers and key stakeholders to advise and collaborate on FFA’s research agenda
•  Oversee the end-to-end research process for ecosystem studies, venture impact validation studies, and other impact-focused research
  • For external research: source, contract and manage relationships with research partners and key stakeholders; provide input into/quality assure research design, tools and outputs
  • For in-house studies: lead on (or contribute to) study design/tool development; coordinate and guide the internal research team on data collection and analysis; support the team to synthesize and present findings
•  Collate, quality assure and conduct analysis on data from FFA’s routine MEL and IMM processes to generate insights and support reporting
•  Develop shareable/actionable knowledge products (e.g. slide decks, research factsheets, one-pager overviews, case studies, etc) for internal and/or external use.
•  Collaborate closely with communications teams to disseminate knowledge products through events, FFA’s online knowledge platform and other channels.
•  Coordinate internal reflection and learning sessions with FFA teams to capture insights and ensure that learning (e.g., from research and routine activities/data collection) gets shared and taken up within the organisation

Candidate Profile

•  Minimum of five years of relevant experience, including at least 2 years in a similar role
•  Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, international development, or other relevant field
•  Strong command of research and evaluation and/or impact measurement methodologies and approaches, including theories of change, logic models, evaluation frameworks, survey research/ lean data approaches, etc. Familiarity with systems change frameworks and measurement approaches is preferred.
•  Experience deploying a variety of qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation methodologies and tools to help organisations (preferably startups/enterprises) measure/understand their impact
•  Demonstrated ability to use data and evidence and apply learning to drive improvements in performance (exploring interesting questions isn’t enough; you have to be able to identify the areas where research and evaluation will lead to an improvement in FFA’s impact/ways of working)
•  Appetite for collecting and analysing data to produce meaningful reports to diverse stakeholders and audiences
•  Project management experience, including running multiple projects simultaneously
•  Excellent oral and written communication skills to deliver presentations and reports to a range of stakeholders in a clear, inspiring, and confident way
•  Strong relationship management skills; the ability to establish effective working relationships with people at all levels, internally and externally
•  A self-starter who thrives in an autonomous role, with excellent prioritization, self-organization, and execution skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment against deadlines
•  Strong critical and creative thinking skills; a proactive approach to solving problems
•  Experience in data visualisation tools like Power BI, google studio, QlikView, or Tableau is a plus
•  Knowledge of venture building, accelerators, and/or impact investing and experience working with early-stage startups in Africa is a bonus
•  Based in Johannesburg, Nairobi, or Lagos