Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to creating, evaluating, and replicating innovative solutions to poverty and policy problems worldwide. IPA specializes in using randomized impact evaluation to assess the effectiveness of development programs.

Job Summary:

Summary:
IPA seeks an Evaluation Coordinator for immediate hire, who will assist with the design, implementation and evaluation of pilots of new banking products designed to increase savings. The pilot products are being launched by North Volta Rural Bank (NVRB), and the Evaluation Coordinator will work closely both with NVRB and with researchers from the World Bank to design and test these new products to increase both the number of savings account customers, and to help customers increase their savings account balances. The interventions being tested include a mobile savings deposit collector service, lockboxes, and a commitment savings product. This position will be based in the North Volta Region, near Guaman or Nkwanta, and will require extensive travel within the Northern Volta region.

Responsibilities:
The Evaluation Coordinator (EC) will have primary responsibility for day to day supervision and management of the fieldwork, and will work on a daily basis with counterparts from North Volta Rural Bank. The EC will be the only member of the research team who is based full-time in the region where the study is taking place, and will be responsible for making sure that every part of the pilot study is carried out according to plan. However, the EC is expected to contribute his or her own intelligence and creativity to the design and execution of the pilot study. As the person who will be observing how the pilot is functioning most closely, the EC will likely have his or her own ideas about the reasons behind challenges that the project faces; how to change things; and what would make the program being piloted more successful. Part of the EC’s job will be to share his or her thoughts on these matters to the rest of the research team and NVRB. Any changes to the plan must be agreed to by the rest of the research team, and depending on the matter, also by NVRB.

The EC will be supervised by the IPA office in Accra, and by international researchers based at the World Bank in Washington DC. The EC will be asked to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

Partnership with North Volta Rural Bank:

•  Provide daily coordination between the research team and North Volta Rural Bank and its staff, ensuring that concerns are effectively communicated between parties, flagging emerging issues that may be of potential concern to one or both parties, and in general ensuring that effective and productive collaboration is maintained.
•  Help ensure that all NVRB marketing and messaging of the new products is in accordance with the study design.
•  Ensure that enrollment targets are met: With NVRB and research team, help oversee the recruitment of NVRB existing and new customers into the study sample, helping to ensure that targets are met on time, that all is done in accordance with the study design.
•  Help ensure that the new products are rolled out only to the clients selected through the research team’s randomization.
•  Oversee the export of administrative data from NVRB’s computer system for use by the research team, as well as retrieval of any necessary data from NVRB’s paper records.

Baseline and Endline Survey Design and Data Collection Management:

•  With research team, help create baseline and endline survey instruments;
•  Oversee and monitor data collection and survey field work, including planning, logistics, hiring, and training;
•  Conduct qualitative research to inform research design;
•  Run pilot survey exercises, provide feedback on field operations and survey instruments, and make and monitor improvements;
•  Provide quality control for collected data through data cleaning, and assisting in preliminary analysis; and

Report Writing and Analysis:

•  Keep both the rest of the research team and NVRB routinely updated on activities, concerns, and decisions that need to be made (at least once per week).
•  Communicate regularly with IPA management team on matters including finance and logistics.
•  Write up reports on findings from qualitative investigations on particular matters.
•  Write reports with feedback and analysis of how the pilot interventions seem to be working.
•  Write reports with feedback and analysis of how the survey instruments seem to be working.
•  Assist in the analysis of the survey data, and the writing of project reports and policy memos.

Financial Management:

Work with IPA Ghana’s financial staff to keep detailed accounts of all project program activities, including monitoring project expenses.

Human Resource Management:

•  Manage human resource procedures in coordination with IPA’s HR Manager including recruiting, contract/salary negotiation, evaluations, staff development, disciplinary action, etc.:
a) Draft Job Descriptions for local hires and, when necessary, help circulate them;
b) Participate in the selection process and assist HR with employment-related communication; and
c) Assist PC/PAs with training as needed;
•  Assist with staff evaluations twice annually; make recommendations regarding renewal of staff contracts;
•  Work with the HR department to process paperwork for contract renewals and terminations;
•  Enforce all IPA Ghana policies and work with IPA Ghana management to execute staff disciplinary action.

The commitment sought for this position is one year. However, we anticipate that this initial piloting with NVRB will lead to a larger-scale study during the following year, and an EC who is successful with the smaller-scale pilot would likely be very well suited to work on the larger-scale study that will follow.

Qualification Required & Experience

Qualifications:
IPA is seeking candidates who meet the following requirements:

•  Masters (or significant work experience) in statistics, economics, sociology, anthropology, or related field.
•  Demonstrated ability to manage collaborations between multiple organizations.
•  Strong oral and written communications skills in English, including strong ability to communicate effectively via phone and email with counterparts who are located elsewhere.
•  Strong budgeting and financial management skills.
•  Strong oral proficiency in Twi, Ewe, and/or additional languages used in the Volta Regions is preferred.
•  At least two years of project management experience. Extensive experience supervising, designing and implementing data collection and/or field work activities, and managing teams of field workers, is preferred.
•  Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
•  Well organized, detail-oriented, able to prioritize, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously with minimal supervision.
•  Advanced user of Microsoft office suite (Excel, Word, Power Point), and the internet.
•  Interest in pursuing a career in research, non-profit management, public policy, or financial services outreach is preferred.
•  Strong professional experience working in the banking or microfinance sector is preferred.
•  Experience in data management, econometrics, and programming in STATA or SPSS is preferred.

Location: Northern Part of Volta Region

How To Apply For The Job

Please submit your complete CV and cover letter by email to:

jobs-ghana@poverty-action.org

Use the subject line: IPA Ghana Financial Services EC:  Firstname Lastname, as soon as possible. All documents should be submitted as attachments, and the file names should include the name of the applicant.  The documents may be submitted in Word document or PDF format.  Applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted by email or phone.

Closing Date:  01 January, 2013