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), seeks a Research Cluster Manager to oversee a portfolio of projects.The Ghana Research Cluster comprises a set of research projects that seek to build on previous research in Ghana, focused in the areas of health, education and agriculture. Example Cluster projects include an ongoing project investigating to the barriers to investment and profitability of smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana, and a nation-wide project under development that will look at the long term impacts of access to family planning. The Research Cluster Manager will oversee project development of Cluster projects and supervise ongoing Cluster projects as required. The Research Cluster Manager will work closely with the Principal Investigators working with Cluster projects to identify key research questions and define a research agenda. One key project area will be overseeing the ISSER-Yale Panel Survey data collection, and developing randomized control trial research projects making use of the data collected by the ISSER-Yale Panel Survey. As part of his or her supervisory role, the Research Manager will also work closely with the country office to ensure effective support is being given to Cluster projects, and projects are working within the relevant policies and procedures. The Research Cluster Manager will also participate in IPA Ghana Senior Management discussions and contribute to research policy development and capacity building.

Responsibilities:

The Research Manager will:

•    Work with the Principal Investigators to identify key research and policy questions in the areas of education, health and agriculture in Ghana, and build relationships with partner organizations working in these areas.
•    Advise on data collection for the ISSER-Yale Panel Survey.
•    Together with country management, oversee project development for Cluster projects, including drafting research proposals, meeting with partner organizations, drafting budgets, writing grant applications, and hiring project staff.
•    Oversee project management of Cluster projects, including ensuring project adherence in the field to general research design, sample selection, data management and analysis, and overall project management.
•    Oversee financial management of the Cluster, including creation and monitoring of Cluster activity budgets, and working with Ghana Senior Management to provide support to the financial management of Cluster projects.
•    Work with Ghana Senior Management to support project staff, including supervising Cluster project staff, helping with transitions, on-boarding new research staff and maintaining “institutional memory” of project activities.
•    Assist Ghana Senior Management in general staff development, including recruiting, developing training programs and materials, and leading training on data management and general project management.
•    Attend regular meetings with local government officials and partners in the areas of health, education and agriculture, and track important research and policy trends in these sectors
•    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 in developing countries required, including experience with research design, survey design and supervising data collection. Background in randomized control trials is strongly preferred.
•    Experience in project development, including meeting with partners, developing project proposals, drafting budgets, and drafting grant applications.
•    Experience planning and monitoring the implementation of development interventions.
•    Experience with data management, econometrics, and advanced knowledge of Stata or other statistical packages.
•    Cultural sensitivity and demonstrated ability to work successfully with diverse constituencies required.
•    Strong budgeting and financial management skills.
•    Experience representing an organization at stakeholder meetings, and presenting research findings at public forums, including to non-research focused audiences.
•    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 resumes 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 jobs-hr@poverty-action.org, copying info-ghana@poverty-action.org and jobs-ghana@poverty-action.org, following these instructions exactly:

Closing Date: 15 October, 2013

•    In the email body: Copy exactly the following position: 100877IPAGhana, Research Cluster Manager
•    Attachments: Please attach your resume and cover letter
•    In the subject body: Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name

Please do not include any text besides your name 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 at https://apply.povertyactionlab.org/login  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