Associate Policy Manager
Position Summary
IPA Côte d’Ivoire is seeking an Associate Policy Manager to collaborate closely with the Ministry of National Education (MENA) in Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen its capacity to use evidence to improve its programs and policies. IPA is working with MENA to set up an “Ed Lab” to enable government partners at both the national and district levels to use data and rigorous research to design, test, and scale evidence-based programs and policies to improve learning for students.
The Associate Policy Manager will be embedded within MENA to directly coordinate the Ed Lab’s activities in close connection with MENA counterparts. The Associate Policy Manager will focus specifically on evidence-to-policy flows and on designing the Ed Lab to influence national-level policy processes; work with education sector counterparts to build buy-in for a culture of evidence generation and use; and integrate existing education sector policy and practice-driven evidence projects into the Ed Lab design and implementation. The Associate Policy Manager will have a strong policy background, and ideally experience working with partners to use evidence to inform policy and programming. We particularly encourage Ivorian nationals to apply. The Associate Policy Manager will report to the IPA Côte d’Ivoire RFE & Policy Manager with dotted line oversight from the Global Policy team.
Responsibilities
Workplan management and reporting (10%)
● Collaborate with the ministry team to develop a shared workplan, ensuring alignment with project goals and effective implementation.
● Support with other project management tasks, including progress tracking and donor reporting.
Stakeholder management (30%)
● Cultivate relationships with key local top-level decision-makers in the education sector and ensure the project has their sustained buy-in and input
● Coordinate project activities alongside technical staff from the ministry in a learning-by-doing approach, fostering active engagement throughout the process
● Promote engagement among actors in the education ecosystem to raise awareness of the lab and encourage collaborative efforts for collective impact
Generating relevant evidence (20%)
● Update the policy-driven research agenda for the lab, and facilitate the development of research projects to respond to the agenda
● Facilitate engagement with local and international academics to provide input into the lab4s policy-driven research agenda
● Develop opportunities to leverage administrative data for research, connecting local and international researchers to pursue these openings
Sharing evidence to inform program design and delivery (30%)
● Share existing evidence to inform MENA program design and delivery
● Produce policy briefs on key policy questions
● Work together with the ministry, the project team, global policy and communications teams to lead and/or participate in strategic events for policy purposes, including but not limited to summits, conferences, workshops, technical working groups, and round tables.
● In collaboration with researchers and in support of the country director, represent IPA locally in policy conversations and at events
Exploring program institutionalization (10%)
● Engage with the ministry leadership to explore opportunities to institutionalize the lab for sustainability.
Qualifications
Required
● Bachelor’s Degree and /or Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in international public policy, education, social science, or related fields and 2-5 years of relevant work experience. Exceptions may be made for excellent candidates who do not meet this criterion
● Hands-on experience supporting Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning systems. Experience working in the education sector of a developing country, ideally in close interaction with government stakeholders
● Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to clearly present information in a structured, non-technical, and insightful way
● Excellent project management and organizational skills, attention to detail, entrepreneurial mindset, versatility, and strong multi-tasking skills
● Superior analytical, quantitative, and conceptual thinking skills
● Willingness to be a team player and identify connections between work streams
● Cultural and political sensitivity and demonstrated ability to work successfully with diverse constituencies
● Passion for making data-driven decision-making a reality in the development sector
Preferred
● Demonstrated ability to coach and train others in statistics, data analysis or MEL methodologies
● Background in development programs relating to education
● Experience working with government
● Familiarity with the concepts surrounding the Theory of Change and the core tools of MEL (both quantitative and qualitative research methods)
Reports to
Policy & RFE Manager
Deadline to Apply
December 31st, 2024
Location
Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Application Instructions
About IPA
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine these solutions and their applications, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of the world’s poor. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence of which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to a tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 900 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.
Safeguarding at IPA
At Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), we are committed to creating a safe and respectful environment for all individuals, particularly children and vulnerable adults. As IPA adheres to strict safeguarding principles, selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards. By joining IPA, you become part of a team dedicated to ethical conduct, social responsibility, and meaningful impact in the fight against global poverty. Together, we work to create a better world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive with dignity and respect.
IPA's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
As an organization, IPA is dedicated to improving the lives of the world's most vulnerable populations through evidence and policy. We also recognize how important it is for our staff to reflect the diversity of the places where we work and the communities we work with. As such, IPA is committed to hiring from a diverse pool of candidates, from a range of backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, and perspectives. We know that this makes our work stronger and more responsive to the challenges faced by those we work with and for and we encourage people from historically underrepresented groups to apply. Click here to learn more about IPA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Innovations for Poverty Action is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected class. IPA will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business. If you believe you require such assistance to complete this form or to participate in an interview, please contact us at jobs@poverty-action.org or via phone at 1-202-386-6200. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed by the specified position. The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs@poverty-action.org. Please note that only qualified applicants will be contacted by the hiring manager