Jobs at Innovations for Poverty Action

Responsibilities
Learning support & capacity building to clients

• As the primary management-level point of contact for a wide range of clients and partners, lead teams of RFE unit staff and work closely with them to develop tailor-made solutions for the learning needs of those organizations, and support their implementation
• Design and facilitate various kinds of external workshops related to data, evidence and learning
• Advise and support IPA country office teams in the East Africa region on their own technical assistance engagements with partners, and collaborate with them to ensure optimal synergies
• Occasionally lead and/or work on the design, analysis and write up of different types of studies or evaluations
• Oversee multiple Associates and Advisors based in the region, and support their professional development

Take part in the development of the Right Fit Evidence Unit, with particular focus on East Africa

• Lead or support the development of a small portfolio of new potential engagements, mostly assigned, and possibly some self-initiated
• Be the main interface for the Right-Fit Evidence Unit for a set of active or potential funders and occasionally represent the Unit in conferences or other similar events
• Contribute to the development and ongoing adaptation of the strategy of the Unit at the global level and of its various advisory services
• Other responsibilities as assigned

The title (Manager or Senior Manager), and in turn some aspects of those responsibilities (e.g expected level of autonomy, expected level of contribution to the strategy of unit as a whole, size of the portfolio, and expected level of autonomy), will depend on the profile of the successful candidate.

Qualifications
We are seeing three different types of profiles that could fit this position particularly well (and if you don’t fall in any of these categories but feel like you meet the qualifications below, please do apply as well!)

• Management consultants with international development experience who would be excited in a career shift to an entrepreneurial and impact-focused environment leveraging their skillset.
• M&E practitioners who are interested in broadening their scope and impact on the field by advising multiple organizations on state-of-the-art MEL practices.
• Researchers and research management professionals in international development who enjoy working closely with practitioners and are interested in broadening their scope to all the types of data and evidence that can inform policy and practice.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field such as international development, economics, public policy, public health, education policy or social sciences, including significant coursework in quantitative methods. PhDs and MBAs also welcome.
• 4 to 10 years of relevant experience
• Strong client facing and presentation skills, and ability to build relationships of trust with stakeholders at various levels
• Ability to present information in a structured and insightful way, both in writing and orally, to a variety of audiences
• Significant exposure to the design and management of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning systems (or similar area of work that may be called differently in other sectors)
• Experience supervising quantitative and qualitative data collection
• Self-starter, entrepreneurial mindset, versatility and willingness to learn
• Strong time management and multi-tasking skills
• Experience working in developing countries, and preferably in Africa.
• Fluency in English, familiarity with other languages spoken in East Africa is a plus

Preferred Additional Qualifications

• Experience working on research or MEL on programs relating to Early Childhood Development and/or Basic Education
• Experience in management consulting or other professional services
• Experience working with government stakeholders
• Experience of managerial responsibilities
• Familiarity with the concepts surrounding the Theory of Change and the core tools of MEL (both quantitative and qualitative research methods)
• Understanding of causal inference and RCTs
• Exposure to SurveyCTO, Open Data Kit or similar survey software
• Demonstrated ability to coach and train others on MEL methodologies data analysis or statistics

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Responsibilities

As Deputy Country Director, Kenya, responsibilities include but are not limited to, the following:

General Management and Operational Support (15%)

• Provide support to CD in ensuring the overall organizational and legal compliance of IPA Kenya
• Work with the CD to set vision and strategic plan for the country program, and track progress
• Ensure safety and security, legal compliance of research/operational teams
• Provide supervision and support to procurement team; ensure compliance with procurement protocols and procedures
• Oversee the data management team to ensure they have capacity and support to provide top-notch data support to all projects
• Fill in for CD as needed as senior-most representative of the Kenya Country Program
   

Research Oversight and Project Backstopping (70%)

• Oversee and manage research teams led by Associate Research Managers, whose responsibilities include project design, management of data collection, data management and analysis, and writing of research reports; all in close collaboration with the Principal Investigators
• Ensure that IPA research is implemented according to IPA’s quality standards and Principal Investigators’ direction
• Promote inter-project best practices and take the lead in sharing lessons learned in research and data quality with projects through formal and informal training/meetings with staff
• Build systems and structures to build staff capacity and ensure overall data quality
• Lead with transitions, on-boarding/off-boarding of new Associate Research Managers, and maintaining institutional memory of project activities
• Directly manage research project(s), as needed, including providing technical/field support, liaising with researchers, overseeing grant management, data collection and reporting

New project development and partner outreach (10%)

• In collaboration with potential partners and Principal Investigators, identify and develop potential projects with meaningful research and policy implications in line with IPA’s mission
• Conduct partner outreach, including meetings with interested organizations/researchers and review of new project ideas
• Participate in research project design and lead budgeting/proposal materials development for new and ongoing projects to ensure evaluations meet IPA standards
• Review proposal materials, including budgets, in collaboration with Country Director
• Participate in capacity building of staff on project development tasks and responsibilities

Policy impact and external relations (5%)

• Represent IPA in national and local government agencies and partner organizations
• Develop and maintain relationships with current and potential IPA partner organizations, implementing partners, the government and academia for the country office to maximize its impact
• Engage government partners and other stakeholders to identify research questions of interest and cultivate potential research projects in those areas
• Oversee/participate in capacity building of local development partners in evidence-based policy making and rigorous impact evaluations
• Oversee targeted dissemination, encourage scale up of successful interventions

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in project management, development economics, international affairs, international public policy, or field related to international economic development
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience, including 3 years in a management position; preferably experience in research and policy engagement, ideally in Kenya.
• Strong technical research skills
• Demonstrated ability to lead large teams and multiple projects
• Experience in randomized controlled trials preferred
• Experience developing research projects, experience with budgeting and project planning
• Passion for connecting rigorous research to policy makers and practitioners and communicating what works in development
• Commitment to leading a diverse team in a multicultural environment and building staff capacity
• Ability to communicate effectively across cultures with multiple stakeholders including international and local academic researchers, government officials, NGO partners, enumeration teams, and study participants
• Experience in people and financial management, including managing funds from multiple donors preferred
• Experience in grants and contracts management, preferably in a research setting, preferred
• Excellent management and organizational skills and ability to work independently with proven ability to multi-task
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player
• Fluency in both written and spoken English is required

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Responsibilities

• Data management and cleaning
  • Perform extensive and exhausting data cleaning on STATA/R platform for incoming data.
  • Clean data coming in from field, including flagging out inconsistencies and/or errors arising as part of routine data checks.
  • Preparing datasets from surveys for analysis
• Data analysis
  • Conduct descriptive and econometric analysis of data
  • Prepare inputs (tables, graphs) for inclusion in reports, academic articles and policy briefs
• Papers and reports
  • Drafting policy notes and academic papers
  • Prepare presentations for high-level stakeholders/audiences
• Perform related duties as assigned by supervisor
• Maintain compliance with all company policies and procedures

Qualifications

• Post-graduate degree (completed Master's degree) in economics, international development, public policy, statistics or other related field
• Strong micro-economics analytics expertise
• Strong interest in private sector development and gender
• Strong experience in designing questionnaires and other survey instruments
• Relevant experience in impact evaluations
• Strong skills in econometrics and programming (STATA, Python, R, Matlab)
• Strong analytical, communication and writing skills
• Strong ability to combine operational and analytical skills
• Previous experience in Africa preferred
• Well organized, detail-oriented, and able to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously with minimal supervision.