Open Roles at Millar Cameron

The Head of Research Projects provides strategic leadership for Jacaranda Health’s research portfolio, ensuring the organisation generates high-quality evidence that informs product development, programme design, organisational strategy, and policy engagement. The role oversees the design, execution, and dissemination of a diverse portfolio of research and evaluation projects, while setting the vision, priorities, and standards for research across the organisation. Leading a multidisciplinary team, the Head of Research Projects is responsible for ensuring studies are methodologically rigorous, operationally feasible, and aligned with Jacaranda’s mission and growth objectives.

A key aspect of the role is translating complex quantitative and qualitative findings into clear, actionable insights that drive decision-making across teams. The successful candidate will be able to critically assess whether research activities are addressing the organisation’s most important questions, identify emerging areas for inquiry, and ensure findings are communicated effectively to internal and external stakeholders. The role also requires strong product research expertise, including experience supporting product lifecycles through approaches such as user research, experimentation, and A/B testing. Working closely with Product, Technology, Programme, and Data teams, the Head of Research Projects will act as a strategic partner in shaping evidence-driven product and programme development.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and lead Jacaranda’s research strategy, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and RD&E goals.
• Identify research priorities that strengthen programmes, support product innovation, and position Jacaranda as a thought leader.
• Ensure research is rigorous, relevant, scalable, and supports organisational decision-making.

Research and Technical Leadership

• Provide technical oversight across qualitative and quantitative research, including study design, product and UX research, analysis, and dissemination.
• Ensure research outputs meet the highest standards of quality, ethics, and scientific rigor.
• Translate evidence into actionable insights that inform products, programmes, and strategy.

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing research team.
• Foster a collaborative, learning-oriented culture and build research capacity across the organisation.
• Ensure strong cross-functional collaboration with Product, Technology, Programmes, and Data & Analytics teams.

Knowledge Generation and Influence

• Oversee the production and dissemination of high-quality research outputs, including reports, publications, and policy briefs.
• Represent Jacaranda with donors, governments, academic partners, and global health stakeholders.
• Ensure research findings are effectively communicated and applied to drive impact.

Partnerships and Operations

• Manage relationships with donors, research partners, and government stakeholders.
• Oversee departmental budgets, resources, and project delivery across multiple concurrent studies.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to a high standard.

Qualifications & Experience

The ideal candidate will possess, but is not limited to:

• Master’s degree in public health, Epidemiology, Statistics, Social Sciences, or related field.
• Expertise in understanding and leading departmental strategy.
• Experience leading relationships with donors, government, and academic partners.
• Proficiency in one or more data analysis software (Stata, R, SPSS, SAS, NVivo, Atlas, or similar).
• Technical expertise in research methods, design, and ethical standards.
• Deep understanding of Product (UX/UI) research and Product lifecycles.
• Experience leading research project budgeting and resource management.
• Keen commitment to data and research ethics

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The Head of Data & Analytics

• will lead the organisation’s data, analytics, and monitoring & evaluation functions, shaping how data is collected, managed, analysed, and used to drive impact across the organisation. Reporting to the Director of Research, Design & Evaluation, the role is responsible for developing the long-term data and analytics strategy, overseeing analytics infrastructure and M&E frameworks, and building a high-performing team that supports evidence-based decision-making. Working closely with Product, Technology, Research, and Programme teams, the successful candidate will play a critical role in informing product development, programme effectiveness, organisational learning, and the scale-up of Jacaranda’s technology-enabled health solutions.
• The role works closely with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including the Research, Technology, Quality Assurance, and broader leadership teams within Jacaranda Health. Externally, the role engages with donors and funding partners, analytical and implementing partners, research collaborators, and data collection firms helping to ensure that data and evidence effectively inform strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Jacaranda's Data & Analytics Strategy

• Develop and deliver a 3–5 year data and analytics strategy aligned to organisational goals.
• Build a roadmap that strengthens evidence generation, decision-making, and programme effectiveness.
• Partner with teams across Product, Technology, Research, and Programmes to embed data-driven decision-making.
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor internally and externally.

Drive Insight Generation and Impact Measurement

• Develop analytical approaches to assess programme performance, health outcomes, and organisational theory of change.
• Apply advanced statistical methods to generate actionable insights and improve programmes.
• Ensure data is used to better understand and serve end users.
• Support research design, implementation research, and complex evaluations, including randomized controlled trials.

Strengthen Data Systems and Governance

• Oversee data collection, management, quality assurance, and governance processes.
• Ensure data infrastructure, systems, and practices are efficient, scalable, and aligned with ethical and regulatory standards.
• Provide oversight of organisational data architecture and analytics capabilities.

Champion Data Communication and Utilisation

• Develop strategies that improve data literacy and the use of evidence across the organisation.
• Translate complex analyses into clear, actionable insights for staff, donors, government stakeholders, and partners.
• Oversee dashboards, visualisations, reporting, and knowledge-sharing activities that support learning and decision-making.

Support Product Development and Innovation

• Use data and evidence to inform product design, implementation, and scale.
• Contribute analytical expertise to emerging areas including machine learning and AI-enabled health solutions.

Lead and Develop a High-Performing Team

• Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary Data & Analytics and M&E team.
• Build team capability, set priorities, and ensure delivery of high-quality outputs.
• Foster a culture of excellence, learning, and continuous improvement.

Resource Scope

• Leads the Data & Analytics Unit, managing three direct reports and providing indirect oversight to five analysts and senior analysts across Data & Analytics and M&E.
• Oversees departmental budgets related to data systems, analytics tools, infrastructure, and external research and data partners.
• Provides governance and technical oversight of organisational data assets across multiple programmes and geographies.

Risk & Decision-Making

• Accountable for the quality, integrity, security, and ethical use of organisational data.
• Decisions directly influence programme strategy, donor reporting, government engagement, and organisational reputation.
• Exercises significant autonomy in setting data priorities, analytical approaches, and approving data products, escalating only major strategic or organisational risks.

Qualifications & Experience

The ideal candidate will possess, but is not limited to:

• Master’s degree in data science, Statistics, Informatics, Information Systems or similar
• Minimum level of experience required to perform effectively in the role
• At least 7 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.
• 3 years should be in a managerial position, leading and mentoring data teams