Research Principal at Kounkuey Design Initiative

• The Principal (or Senior Principal) will lead the research and wider teams of KDI Kenya for the delivery of these two new and exciting projects.
• Our strategic aim in the next three years, building on this existing portfolio, is to further leverage our built environment practice and research into policy impact at scale in Kenya and other countries where we are active, and in the broader discourse on justice in the built environment, slum upgrading, community engaged design, and socio-ecological resilience, as a research institution based in Kenya.
• The Principal (or Senior Principal) - Research will lead this development and we expect them to bring their own academic and intellectual agenda to this process.

Roles and Responsibilities

A summary of the general roles and responsibilities for the position is given below:

• Oversee and direct projects, jobs, and tasks for KDI Kenya’s research related projects and programmes, including research design and delivery;
• Shape the intellectual, academic, and practical aspects of KDI’s research work and agenda.
• Ensure research project adherence to research design, sample selection, data management and general research protocols, ethics and overall project management timelines;
• Oversee project financial management, including creation and monitoring of project budgets;
• Liaise with Project Leaders and Project Directors to support work planning, resourcing, and budgeting across Departments;
• Manage communications and reporting to KDI project and funding partners for projects and programs relevant to the department;
• Lead engagement with KDI’s community partners for research projects and programs in collaboration with the Community team;
• Work with research team and field staff to ensure sound human resource and operational management of projects;
• Serve on KDI Program and Governance Councils as part of the Senior Management Team of the Kenya office;
• Contribute to KDI Kenya’s fundraising and meeting with funders and prospective funders;
• Contribute to media, social media, and org. communications as related to research activities;
• Be available for regional and international travel as required for project and strategic engagements;
• Be an advocate for responsive design, planning, research and community development in Nairobi and further afield.

Specific responsibilities would include:

• Coordinate survey design and delivery;
• Train and manage enumeration teams working on KDI research related work in the neighbourhoods we are active;
• Manage data collection and analysis for KDI projects and supporting ongoing development and implementation of KDI Open Data portal and geodatabase;
• Support GIS, Mapping and Spatial Data Analytics;
• Support spatial planning and spatial data analysis as required;
• Prepare various written outputs e.g. sections of reports, analysis, presentations;
• Lead and contribute to the production of high quality research outputs such as academic papers, publications and conference inputs;
• Participate in stakeholder meetings as required;
• Support project adherence to research and planning protocols including design, data management, protocols, ethics and overall timelines and deadlines;
• Provide technical inputs to community related work as appropriate to professional background and skills;
• Lead the design, facilitation and creation of engaging community workshops, focus group discussions and training;
• Lead data recording and input management for community workshops including taking detailed minutes, report writing, photo documentation, etc.;
• Support the dissemination of results via presentations and reports to academic and nonacademic audiences, nationally and internationally including the co-authorship of academic papers.

Desired Profile

• Experience and affinity with the mission of KDI to work towards justice in the built environment;
• Minimum of 8+ years of relevant experience across some combination of the non-profit, international development, design, planning, and research sectors;
• A doctoral degree (PhD) or equivalent qualification/comparable experience in one of the following fields: urban design, civil engineering, landscape architecture, spatial planning, environmental sciences, water management, urban anthropology, human geography, or a relevant social sciences field;
• A track record that demonstrates qualitative or quantitative research delivery expertise in one or more of the following topics: urban resilience, adaption planning, justice in the built environment, urban nature, infrastructure planning, mobility, inclusive design, evidenced by a strong project experience and ideally a strong publication list;
• Significant project and team management skills and experience required;
• Clear affinity with and preferably experience in inter and transdisciplinary research;
• Evidence of engagement with multiple stakeholders, including international and local academic researchers, NGO partners, and community participants;
• Preferably significant experience delivering research in Kenyan (or African) cities;
• Fluency in Swahili preferred;
• Advanced skills in ArcGIS or QGIS preferred.