Research Manager

DRS (DevelopmentAid Recruitment Solutions) is looking for a Research Manager for an international NGO which discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. We are actively searching for a candidate who is motivated to take part in establishing and shaping a new country program and portfolio of research studies in Nigeria. Each of these projects is expected to be staffed with a permanent team of 1 or 2 staff each and up to 30-50 short term staff during survey periods. Additionally, s/he will be a core member of the new Nigerian management team and contribute to the establishment of the policies and procedures, development of new projects, stakeholder outreach, and capacity building.

Job Title: Research Manager

Location: Abuja, Nigeria; traveling - approx. 20% from overall work time

Duration of contract: 1-year contract, with possibility of extension

Starting date: As soon as possible

About the organization:

The employer represents a research and policy NGO that brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine the solutions and applications related to poverty, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of the world’s poor. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence on which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. This organization has a scope to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence is created leads to tangible impact on the world.

Main Roles and Responsibilities:

• Ensure a strong administrative setup of the Nigeria office, including assisting with hiring of key project staff, creation and implementation of sound human resource, financial, and operational policies and procedures, and compliance with organizational and Nigerian laws, standards, and research ethics requirements
• Directly supervise project research associates, and lead transitions, onboarding of new research staff, and maintaining institutional memory of project activities;
• Keep the Country Director apprised of all developments on the projects within their portfolio, and serve as a key link between the field office, project staff, and Principal Investigators;
• Ensure project adherence to general research design, sample selection, data management, research protocols, and overall project management timelines, as well as submission of project deliverables (reports and financial statements) to donors and partners;
• Build systems and structures to build staff capacity and lead training on data management and general project management for new/incoming project research staff;
• Oversee project financial management, including creation and monitoring of project budgets, and ensuring smooth integration of projects into company financial systems;
• Represent company and attend regular meetings with government officials, donors, and other partners to ensure the success of programmatic activities;
• Establish efficient relationships with researchers, implementers, and funders.

Qualification, Experience and Skills:

• Master’s degree in Development Economics, Public Policy, Global Health, International Education, or another related field);
• At least 3 years of experience in managing multiple projects with increasing responsibility; minimum of 5 years of overall professional experience;
• Proven track of min. 3 closed research projects where the Randomized Control Trials approach has been used;
• Previous experience in supervising data collection, teams of field workers, survey design and implementation, and data management;
• Advanced knowledge of quantitative data collection relevant to measurement and instrument development; experience with econometrics, and electronic data collection platforms;
• Demonstrated experience in writing project proposals and/or grants, preferably for international field research;
• Experience interacting with partners, government officials, and other key stakeholders in a developing country context;
• Advanced skills in Stata; CSPro and R programming language are considered an asset;
• Experience with presenting research findings at public forums, including to non-research-focused audiences.

Applications and updated CV should be submitted to m.cernomoret@developmentaid.org, under the title: DRS ref. number 11282. Due to the high number of applications received via DevelopmentAid website, we can reply to shortlisted candidates only.

Please note that the above requirements can be modified during the recruitment process according to client's procedures.