- Reports to:Senior Director, East Africa
- Location: Lilongwe, Malawi
- Application Deadline:Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis
- Start date:June 2015
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA designs, rigorously evaluates, and refines these solutions and their applications together with decision-makers to ensure that the evidence created is used to improve opportunities for the world’s poor. Since our founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 350 leading academics to conduct over 450 evaluations in 51 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.
Position Summary:
IPA seeks a Country Representative/Research Manager in Malawi to manage and lead IPA’s Malawi country program. The CR/RM will work closely with the Global Programs team and key stakeholders to initiate and manage the development of new research projects and oversee ongoing impact evaluations in a range of sectors, which may include finance and savings, agriculture, health, education, and others. The CR/RM works closely with the country office to ensure effective support is provided to projects, and that projects are working within the relevant policies and procedures. She/he will actively grow IPA’s portfolio in Malawi through strategic partnerships with researchers, donors, policymakers, implementing organizations, and others to develop new projects. Successful staff in the Research Manager position will have the opportunity to transition to Country Representative.
Responsibilities:
Lead Country Program development and manage external relations (20-40%)
- Build IPA’s presence and portfolio of projects in Malawi
- Work with IPA Global, researchers and partners to initiate and manage the development of new research proposals including both the technical design as well as identifying and applying for funding support
- Identify priority research questions and key concerns for policy makers in Malawi
- Build and manage relationships with current and potential IPA partner organizations in the implementation of interventions whose effect we are researching
- Develop new relationships with researchers, government agencies, local organizations, and others to explore opportunities for collaboration
- Represent IPA at national and regional conferences and events
- Liaise with US-based and local Principal Investigators, IPA headquarters and other country programs
- Disseminate results via local and international presentations, reports, and publications
- Lead IPA’s policy impact efforts in Malawi, by ensuring that policy impact plans of Malawi are in strategic alignment with IPA’s overall policy strategy of impact through One Project at a Time, and ensuring all projects create and execute a One Project at a Time policy impact strategy
Ensure high-quality research (40-60%)
- Work closely with project staff to ensure that projects meet all of IPA research and administrative protocols as well as the quality standards of the independent researchers (Principal Investigators)
- Oversee project design and budgeting during the proposal stage to ensure evaluations meet IPA standards
- Build systems and structures to build staff capacity and ensure overall data quality, including developing computer-assisted interviewing (CAI) capacity in the office
- Directly supervise project research staff, and help with transitions, on-boarding of new research staff and maintaining institutional memory of project activities
- Promote inter-project best practices and take a lead in sharing best practices with projects through formal and informal trainings
Oversee finances and ensure sound operations of IPA Malawi (20%)
- Manage a team of Research Associates/Coordinators, whose responsibilities include project design and implementation, data collection, data management and analysis, and reports
- Hire and supervise additional support staff, as needed
- Oversee basic administrative tasks related to the management of the Malawi office, create and manage project budgets, participate in grant reporting, and other financial management tasks
- Ensure proper compliance with financial procedures, approve expenditures, make accurate projections and ensure overall compliance
Qualifications:
- Graduate degree in international affairs, international public policy, development economics, business, or field related to international economic development
- Entrepreneurial, self-starter with a passion for connecting rigorous research to policy makers and practitioners and communicating what works and what does not work in development
- Experience in economics or social science research. Field experience very highly valued.
- Experience with data management, econometrics, and advanced knowledge of Stata.
- Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations
- Experience with budgeting and project planning
- Excellent management and organizational skills and ability to work independently
- Demonstrated ability to work successfully with diverse constituencies
