Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit research organization. Based in New Haven, CT, with offices in Washington, D.C. and worldwide, IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches to solving development problems, to communicate “what works” in development and to scale up successful projects in a variety of fields, including health, education, microfinance, governance and agriculture.

Position Summary:

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), a US based, non-profit research organization, seeks a Research Manager to oversee a portfolio of projects. IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches to solving development problems, to communicate what works and does not work in development and to scale up successful projects in a variety of fields, including microfinance, agriculture, education and health.

The Research Manager will manage a portfolio of up to five projects. These projects may be based around a specific geographic area, and might include both evaluation and implementation components. They could span a range of technical areas, such as agriculture, health, Education and micro-finance. As part of their supervisory role, the Research Manager will work closely with the country office to ensure effective support is being given to projects, and projects are working within the relevant policies and procedures. The Research Manager will also participate in IPA Ghana Senior Management discussions and contribute to research policy development and capacity building.

This position will be based initially in Accra, focusing on projects in the southern part of Ghana with the possibility of eventually moving to Kumasi   (travel required).

Responsibilities:

•   The Research Manager will;
•   Keep Country Director and Deputy country Director appraised of all developments on the projects in their portfolio, and serve as key link between the field office, project staff, and Principle Investigators
•   Ensure project adherence in the field to general research design, sample selection, data management and analysis, and overall project management
•   Oversee project financial management, including creation and monitoring of program budgets, and ensuring smooth integration of projects into IPA financial systems
•   Work with field office staff to ensure sound human resource and operational management of projects
•   Directly supervise project research assistants (Project Associates, Evaluation Coordinators or Project Coordinators), and help with transitions, on-boarding of new research staff  and maintaining “institutional memory” of project activities
•   Lead training on data management and general project management for new/incoming project research staff
•   Promote inter-project best practices and take a lead in sharing best practices with projects through formal and informal training opportunities
•   Attend regular meetings with local government officials and partners to ensure success of programmatic activities
•   Support the dissemination of results via presentations and reports to academic and non-academic audiences

Qualification Required & Experience

•   Masters in development economics, or a field related to international economic development or health.
•   Extensive experience conducting social science or economic field research. Background in randomized control trials is strongly preferred
•   At least two years of project management experience.
•   Extensive experience supervising data collection, teams of field workers, and survey design and implementation
•   Experience with data management, econometrics, and advanced knowledge of Stata or any statistical packages preferably SPSS and or CSPro
•   Cultural sensitivity and demonstrated ability to work successfully with diverse constituencies required.•   Experience in conducting field research in developing countries required
•   Strong budgeting and financial management skills
•   Experience with presenting research findings at public forums, including to non-research focused audiences, is preferred
•   Strong written and oral communication skills and complete fluency in English is required.
•   Strong quantitative skills and familiarity with randomized controlled trials

Location: Accra

How To Apply For The Job

Please follow the application instructions below.  Any applications or CVs submitted outside this process will not be considered.  Note, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview. Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

1) Send an email to info-ghana@poverty-action.org and cc  jobs@poverty-action.org, following these instructions exactly:

•   In the email body: Copy exactly the following position line: 100861IPAGhana, Research Manager
•   Attachments: Please attach your resume and cover letter.
•   In the subject line: Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name.

Closing Date: 31 July, 2013

Please do not include any text besides the position line(s) in the body of the e-mail. Adding extra text will interfere with the processing of your application.

2) Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application. Please note: you are not required to include transcripts or letters of recommendation upon initial submission. After submitting, you can edit your application at any time and may add these materials, if requested

IPA is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer

All persons shall have the opportunity to be considered for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.