Senior Research Associate
Position Summary
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA Rwanda) seeks a Senior Research Associate to be based in Kigali, Rwanda, to support a research project that aims to understand the financial constraints to exporting in Rwanda. The project is led by Lauren Berquist (The Yale University), Jie Bai (Harvard Kennedy School), Ignacio Marra de Artinano (Universite Libre de Bruxelles) and Christian Lippitsch (International Growth Centre);).
The Senior Research Associate will work closely with the IPA research team, principal investigators (PIs), and implementing partners, gaining hands-on field research and management experience. Key responsibilities will include coordinating and collaborating with external academics, policy, and programmatic partners; designing and piloting survey questionnaires; recruiting, training, and managing junior research staff and field teams; designing and supervising the logistics of field activities; cleaning and analyzing surveys and administrative data; assisting in the writing of project reports and policy memos; and liaising with key stakeholders. The work will develop your analytical and management skills and require your full commitment in a challenging environment.
We are looking for people with excellent communication and executive skills. Project management experience is useful and a solid technical foundation in impact evaluation methodology, statistics, and econometrics, and demonstrated high intellectual abilities and academic performance. We are also looking for people who are capable of working individually and as a part of a team, who can adapt to different environments and contexts, and who have a continuous willingness to learn. As an ideal candidate, you must be able to organize complex work plans and lead teams to produce.
Responsibilities
25%
• Manage day-to-day operations for a large outreach campaign with firms
• Manage research activities, from planning, and implementation, to field and research work consolidation.
• Actively liaise and communicate with internal (supervisor, local, global IPA teams) and external [donors/ funders, local partners, Principal Investigators (PI)] on a regular basis to ensure smooth project delivery.
25%
• Document all activities related to the project, including preparation of progress and results reports to Principal Investigators, research partners, and funding agencies, and sharing them in a timely manner.
25%
• Assist in hiring, training, and managing project staff, including field staff, and interns
.Supervise and manage project field staff (data collectors, enumerators, field supervisors)
• Manage field and administrative data from collection, and processing, to storage, on-the-go troubleshooting, and adapt to changing field conditions to ensure timely and good quality field data collection.
25%
• Ensure adherence to data quality protocols, managing data quality audits and running high-frequency checks guided by IPA protocols and monitoring systems.
• Assist in managing partnerships with project partners, including providing timely updates and responses to partner organizations.
• Performing office and project-related tasks as needed
Qualifications
Required
• Bachelor’s degree in economics, business administration, public policy, social science, statistics or a related field, Master’s degrees are preferred;
• Experience in project management.
• Strong quantitative skills and knowledge of Stata preferred; experience with electronic data collection platforms a plus;
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations;
• Experience working with government officials, especially in Rwanda is also a plus;
• Excellent management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills;
• Flexibility, self-motivation, the ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently as a team player;
• Ability to work a culturally diverse team and maintain high professional standards;
• Strong written and oral communication skills and complete fluency in English and Kinyarwanda is required.
Preferred
• Experience in coordinating and implementing large-scale data collection activities with firms;
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative research methods;
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials.
Reports to
Research Manager
Deadline to Apply
September 10th, 2024
Location
Rwanda IPA Office
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.