Job Summary

IPA Sierra Leone seeks a Research Manager/ Associate Research Manager to oversee 3-6 rigorous impact evaluations across health, education, social protection, financial inclusion, and agriculture while serving as our primary liaison with government ministries, policymakers, and stakeholders. This role uniquely combines technical research leadership with extensive policy engagement, requiring someone who can actively deliver evidence-based insights and proactively engage in policy dialogue to inform evidence into practice. You will represent IPA in national policy forums, technical working groups, and research events, building trusted relationships with government partners and other key stakeholders. As technical lead, you will ensure methodological rigor throughout the research cycle while directly supervising project teams, managing budgets, and ensuring timely donor deliverables. You will also support business development by identifying opportunities, writing proposals, and cultivating partnerships. We seek a Sierra Leonean national with exceptional technical skills in impact evaluation methodology, particularly randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs, combined with strong policy acumen and relationship management abilities.

Responsibilities

Research Oversight & Project Management

• Manage relationships with investigators across multiple research institutions, funders, and implementing partners to ensure project success
• Supervise research project teams in the delivery of high-quality technical outputs, including complex digital surveys, data flow systems, quality control processes, statistical analysis, and technical reports
• Oversee the full research implementation cycle, including survey planning, data quality assurance, cleaning, analysis, and impact evaluation activities
• Manage project finances, including budget development and monitoring, and ensure smooth integration into IPA financial systems
• Ensure compliance with IPA, donor, and in-country policies and procedures
• Serve as the primary point of contact for data management and analysis support, linking project teams with IPA headquarters; attend meetings with government officials and partners to advance both project-specific and broader IPA programmatic goals
• Champion inter-project learning by identifying and sharing best practices through formal and informal training
• Support dissemination of results through presentations and reports to academic and non-academic audiences as needed

Staff Management

• Directly supervise, coach, and mentor 2–5 Research Associates and Field Managers, supporting their professional development and effective implementation of complex research projects
• Lead onboarding and training for incoming project staff, covering data management and general project management, while maintaining institutional memory of project activities

Project Development

• Support the Country Director, Associate Policy Manager, Regional Director, and Global Business Development team in growing the Sierra Leone portfolio by cultivating relationships with researchers, implementers, and funders, and contributing to opportunity identification and proposal development

Government and Stakeholder Relations

• Represent IPA in national policy forums, technical working groups, and research events, building and maintaining strategic relationships with government, development partners, and civil society organizations
• Lead policy engagement efforts by organizing stakeholder consultations, presenting research findings, providing technical support to policymakers, and facilitating dialogue between researchers and government officials to ensure evidence informs policy
• Support knowledge exchange through dissemination events and ongoing communication with key stakeholders on research findings

Other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Qualifications

Required

• Master's degree in a quantitative social science field such as economics, statistics, or public policy
• Sierra Leone national
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in research, international development, and project management
• Demonstrated technical knowledge of RCTs, research design, and quantitative analysis
  Experience supervising large-scale data collection projects, including survey design, implementation, and data management
• Strong written and oral communication skills with full fluency in English; ability to present information clearly and effectively to both internal and external audiences
• Excellent organizational and management skills; detail-oriented, self-motivated, and able to manage multiple priorities independently and under remote supervision
• Cultural sensitivity and ability to work effectively with diverse constituencies
  Interest in strengthening organizational systems and building team technical capacity

Preferred

• Proficiency in Stata and digital data collection platforms, particularly ODK or SurveyCTO (note: Stata proficiency will be tested for shortlisted applicants)
• Experience working with IPA or affiliated organizations
• Prior experience collaborating with academic researchers in economics or quantitative political science
• Experience supervising and developing staff beyond temporary survey teams
• Prior experience in business development

Click Here to Apply Now

Location

Sierra Leone

Reports to

Country Director

About IPA

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and advances what works to improve the lives of people living in poverty. 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 people living in poverty. 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 1,000 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 the 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.