Senior Research Associate – Education

Kigali, Rwanda

Summary

Laterite is looking for an accomplished education researcher and project manager to lead our education work in Laterite’s Rwanda office.

About Laterite  

Laterite is a data, research, and technical advisory firm that helps clients understand and analyze complex development challenges. We work with universities, global think tanks, international NGOs, multilateral donor organizations, and government ministries and agencies. Our clients include, for example, the World Bank, USAID, TechnoServe, Promundo, the Mastercard Foundation, and several UN agencies.

Our network of offices currently includes the Netherlands, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. The team brings together more than 55 full-time local and international staff, as well as 1,000 enumerators across countries, in a dynamic work environment. We are proud to be a culturally diverse organization. Learn more: www.laterite.com

Our core sectors are: education, public health, agriculture, urbanization & migration, and youth & labor. We are also involved in projects with a focus on gender issues. We believe that impact is a long-term endeavor that requires being embedded in the local context. Delivering high-quality research requires building local teams and data collection systems, understanding the context, establishing close working relationships with key players, and understanding their constraints and motivations.

Job Description & Key Responsibilities

Laterite was founded in Rwanda in 2010, and Kigali is our oldest and largest office, both in terms of team size and volume of work. The team in Rwanda comprises 25 researchers, data specialists, and a finance and admin team. Education is one of our largest areas of practice.

This role will focus on deepening Laterite’s engagement in the education sector and leading our work on the Leaders in Teaching initiative, a long-term program funded by the Mastercard Foundation to support teachers in secondary schools in Rwanda to deliver high-quality, relevant education. Along with the REAL Centre at the University of Cambridge, Laterite leads research and learning for the initiative.

Within this context, the Senior Research Associate – Education will:

• Lead a portfolio of impactful education-focused research activities, in particular under the LIT initiative, in close collaboration with the REAL Centre at the University of Cambridge.
• Lead research teams to ensure we deliver value for our clients, using rigorous and innovative research methods.
• Build successful partnerships with clients and stakeholders in the education sector and establish Laterite as a trusted partner.
• Manage the successful delivery of activities according to timelines, budget, and research objectives.
• Mentor our growing research and data teams.
• Contribute to country-level strategic decisions such as which projects to pursue, team development, and how to increase the impact of our research.
• Support business development and grow our portfolio of education work in country.
• Support recruitment processes.

As part of Laterite’s management team in Rwanda, you will have a voice in project selection, corporate strategy, process improvements, and structuring Laterite’s research agenda. You will serve as a role model for the team, actively promoting our organizational culture, and helping us to grow and achieve our mission as an organization.

Laterite is expanding rapidly, and we are open to the possibility of hiring exceptional candidates at a higher grade.

Profile

We are looking for an accomplished education researcher who combines excellent technical skills with experience in project and team management.

Our future colleague has:

• A postgraduate degree (master’s or above) in Education, Economics, Public Policy, International Development, or a related field with a strong component of quantitative data analysis
• Motivation to work in education research in Rwanda
• At least 5 years of work experience in public policy, economic and social research, or management consulting, with a focus on the education sector
• Demonstrated experience in leading and mentoring research teams
• Demonstrated experience in managing complex research projects, involving data collection and field teams
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Proficiency in STATA is required.

Additionally, we are looking for:

• Solid project management skills to oversee a portfolio of projects at different stages in the research lifecycle
• An excellent networker with experience in building relationships with clients and stakeholders from the public and private sectors
• A self-motivated team leader with excellent interpersonal skills who thrives in a fast-paced environment where timelines can be unpredictable

Please upload your CV and a personal statement describing your motivation to apply and your experience with managing research teams working on development research projects via our online application form: https://form.jotform.com/212713349315553 After submitting your application, you will be invited to complete a short quantitative assessment for which no special preparation is needed.

Successful candidates will be contacted with information regarding the next steps. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply ASAP.

The deadline:10th December 2021.