Innovations for Poverty Action was established in Rwanda in 2013 as International Non-Government Organization. IPA Rwanda has 10 active projects spanning across Education, Agriculture, Finance and Health. With 36 full time staff, a network of part-time field numerators of over 300, IPA Rwanda predominantly implements Randomized Control Trails in collaboration with leading Rwandan and international academics, the Government of Rwanda and other development NGOs to evaluate the impact of new development concepts to help inform future government policy and development projects.

Project and position summary:

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) seeks a Research Associate to be based in Kigali, Rwanda,  to support the office’s research projects. The Research Associate will work closely with the research manager, principal investigators, and implementing partners gaining hands‐on field research experience and management responsibility. Key areas of involvement will include: coordinating and collaborating with implementing partners and the PI team, designing survey questionnaires, recruiting, training, and managing survey teams, designing and supervising logistics for the field activities, cleaning and analyzing survey 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.

As an ideal candidate, you should have a solid technical foundation in impact evaluation methodology and in econometrics and statistics. You must be able to lead small teams and manage relations with relevant stakeholders including investigators and implementing partners. You should be organized, have a great capacity to work individually and as a team, and demonstrate rigorous attention to detail.

Key Responsibilities:

The Research Associate will perform a variety of tasks related to managing day-to-day research activities, from planning to implementation and monitoring quality. These include, but are not limited to:

• Document all activities related to the project, including preparation of progress and results reports for Principal Investigators, partners, and funding agencies, and sharing them in a timely manner.
• Conduct pilot survey exercises, provide feedback on field operations and survey instruments, and refine and finalize survey instruments in collaboration with the Principal Investigators.
• Manage surveyors recruitment, training, management and evaluation.
• Plan, conduct and lead field research activities including training field staff, team planning and logistics, and data collection.
• Ensure adherence to data quality protocols, managing data quality audits and running high frequency checks guided by IPA protocols and monitoring systems.
• Ensure that research data and outputs are stored in a confidential and systematic fashion.
• Assist in the preparation of research reports, briefs and other documents for management, the Principal Investigators, donors and other external parties.
• Assist in managing IPA relationships with implementing partners and other high-level stakeholders involved with the project.
• Assist in the enforcement of all IPA Rwanda human resources and security policies.
• Develop and monitor activity-specific budgets for the project.
• Work with IPA Rwanda’s Finance Team to keep detailed records of all project activities and establish systems to ensure the efficient disbursement and reconciliation of project funds; and perform other work-related duties that may be assigned.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics, agriculture, public policy, or other quantitative social science disciplines (Master’s degree preferred).
• Quantitative Skills: Strong technical understanding of econometrics, psychometrics, and/or data science is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated proficiency in the use of statistical software such as Stata or R, and experience with data management and data cleaning.
• A minimum of 2 years of work experience is required. Experience managing field staff, partner liaison and relationship management in developing countries is strongly preferred.
• Excellent management and organizational skills; ability to successfully complete assigned tasks and meet deadlines required.
• Communication Skills: Strong oral and written communication skills in the English language are required.
• The ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences including the Principal Investigators, the IPA Rwanda management team, implementing partners, government officials, and field staff.

Preferred

• Experience in coordinating and implementing large-scale data collection activities
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative research methods;
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials.