Job Summary

The Senior Policy Manager will lead IPA Rwanda’s policy impact strategy, creating and managing high-impact opportunities for policymakers to generate and use evidence in decision-making. The role leads a portfolio of poverty graduation, social protection and education policy projects within IPA Rwanda’s Embedded Evidence Lab, working closely with government partners such as the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Education. The Senior Policy Manager will set the long-term policy, research and impact strategies for the Rwanda policy department, represent IPA in high-level policy discussions, directly supervise the policy team, and collaborate substantially with the research team.

Responsibilities

Organizational strategy and leadership (50%)

• Contribute to the development and implementation of the Policy team’s strategy in Rwanda, including the management of new engagements as they arise and creating new research and policy opportunities for the IPA Rwanda office.
• Develop and lead the strategy and implementation of IPA Labs, such as the Graduation Embedded Lab within the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Education Lab, including AI for government and MEL for government projects.
• Develop and lead the strategy and implementation of IPA scaling efforts to develop, evaluate and scale evidence-based policies.
• Serve as a key representative of IPA to high-level external stakeholders, including government officials, donors, researchers and partner organizations.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships to advance IPA Rwanda’s Embedded Labs and scaling program, as well as policy influence and business opportunities, with support from the Global Policy team.

Departmental oversight and development (30%)

• Directly supervise IPA Rwanda’s Policy team, including staff members embedded in partner government agencies.
• Build the capacity of the Policy team, enhancing their ability to engage in effective research, MEL and policy work, in collaboration with the Global Policy team.
• Develop annual work plans to provide direction and management support to the Policy team’s work.
• Ensure oversight and manage the scope of work, strategy, delivery, and finances of IPA Rwanda’s Embedded Evidence Labs and scaling program.

Business development and organizational growth (20%)

• In consultation with the Country Lead and the Global Policy team, lead efforts to identify and secure new funding opportunities to advance IPA’s policy work in the country.
• Proactively identify fundraising and business development opportunities, develop concept notes, and pursue opportunities in collaboration with global and country office-based staff.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in economics, development, international relations, public administration, public policy, or a closely related field.
• 7 or more years of relevant experience in public policy or applied research in the development sector.
• Demonstrated experience working across multiple countries or in a regional/global role, including adapting international research and policy practices to country-level programmes.
• Demonstrated success managing teams and complex stakeholder relationships, particularly with senior government officials and donors.
• Experience working on quantitative and qualitative research projects.
• Proven experience in strategy design and implementation, particularly in government or multilateral settings.
• Experience in education and/or social protection sectors.
• Experience in leading business development opportunities.
• Strong understanding of and experience implementing rigorous research methods (especially impact evaluations) and their application in policy contexts.
• Excellent interpersonal, relationship management, and communication skills, with a proven ability to convene and collaborate with diverse stakeholders across organizations, cultures, and time zones, including senior government officials, donors, and implementing partners.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and manage teams across multiple workstreams and projects.
• Strong project management, budgeting, and organizational skills; able to prioritize and deliver high-quality work under pressure.
• Deep commitment to IPA’s mission of promoting evidence-informed policymaking.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and proactive problem-solving; flexibility and adaptability to navigate evolving priorities and contexts.
• Ability and willingness to travel to various project sites.
• Experience working on evidence-to-policy translation, embedded technical assistance, or institutional capacity building. (preferred)
• Knowledge of monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) and AI. (preferred)

Location

The duty station is Rwanda, within the IPA Rwanda country office. The role requires the ability and willingness to travel to various project sites.

Reports To

IPA Country Lead, Rwanda, with dotted-line oversight from the Senior Director of Embedded Labs (Global Policy team).

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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 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.