Research Associate / Senior Research Associate Non-profit Jobs – Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
Job Title: Research Associate/Senior Research Associate
Organisation: Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
Duty Station: Based in Kampala, Uganda with about 30% field work in Kamwenge
Reports to: Research Manager/Research Coordinator
Desired Start Date: 1st August, 2019
Department: Research
About US:
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine these solutions and their applications, 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. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 575 leading academics to conduct over 650 evaluations in 51 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.
About Uganda Rural Water Study:
Stanford University and IPA, in collaboration with the US-based NGO Water for People (WFP), is conducting an assessment of the installation of two multi-village piped water schemes being implemented by WFP. The infrastructure investment is designed to reduce the time costs and physical burden of water supply for rural households in Kamwenge District, and also to improve the quality of water delivered to users. Three rounds of data collection are envisioned: A baseline before system commissioning in late September, then a midline and endline approximately 1 and 2 years later.
Job Summary: IPA is seeking a highly motivated and qualified Research Associate/Senior Research Associate (RA/SRA) to manage a research study comparing the effects of domestic water infrastructure investment on household water use behaviors and well-being. The study involves a quasi-experimental design using individually matched treatment and control households in neighboring areas of Kamwenge District, Uganda. The Principal Investigator is Jenna Davis (Stanford University), with co-PIs Kanwaljeet J. S. Anand (Stanford University), Scholastic Ashaba (Mbarara University of Science and Technology), and Alexandria Boehm (Stanford University).
This position provides an excellent opportunity to gain extensive hands‐on experience in a field setting and to have significant management responsibility in a vibrant organization undertaking cutting‐edge development research. Key areas of involvement will include: sample frame development, contributing to and pilot testing survey questionnaires, recruiting, designing and conducting field team training in collaboration with the study PI, managing survey teams, designing and supervising logistics for the field activities, designing and implementing QA/QC procedures, cleaning and analyzing survey data, managing a mixed-methods process evaluation and assisting in the writing of project reports and policy memos.
Key Duties and Responsibilities: The Research Associate/Senior Research Associate (RA/SRA) will perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:
- Obtain data and conducting analyses needed for sample frame development
- Contribute to and organize piloting of the data-collection instruments, including programming digital data collection and managing the translation and back-translation of the survey into the local language.
- Hire and manage the field teams that will conduct the data collection. Create and maintain a team culture that is supportive and encourages questions but also sets high expectations for committed and high quality work.
- Work with the PI to design and carry out effective training for enumerators.
- Manage all field logistics during the training and data-collection periods
- Ensure that local leaders are aware of and support study activities, securing any necessary approvals from local authorities, and maintaining good relations with communities in the study area.
- Develop and implement QA/QC procedures to ensure collected data is of the highest quality, including ensuring all data quality protocols are followed, auditing enumerators and performing daily checks of incoming data, and taking corrective measures as needed to address problems with data-collection instruments and/or enumerator performance.
- Manage the data from collection through cleaning to delivery of a final, cleaned dataset.
- Manage the budget including tracking all expenses to ensure costs are within project funds.
- Act as a liaison between the research team and the Water for People implementation team.
- Maintain regular communication with the study PI and other members of the research team regarding fieldwork progress, as well as challenges encountered and strategies to resolve them.
- Perform related duties as assigned by supervisor.
- Maintain compliance with all company policies and procedures.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The ideal candidate must hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in economics, statistics, data science, international development, social sciences, or related field
- At least two years of research project experience at a field research management or analyst position in low- and middle-income countries
- Proficiency with Stata, SurveyCTO programming language and Microsoft Office tools; programming and other technical knowledge a plus
- Familiarity with quasi-experimental research designs, particularly those incorporating matching methods
- Demonstrated ability to manage relationships with stakeholders (especially principal investigators and partner organizations)
- Strong written communication skills
- Excellent command of English, both spoken and written
- Demonstrated commitment to IPA’s high standards of data quality
- Excellent management, interpersonal, and organizational skills
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate work effectively over email and phone
- Flexible, self-motivating and team player
- Substantive knowledge of water supply, public health, and/or child development preferred but not required
How to Apply:
To complete the application, send an email to jobs-uganda@poverty-action.org with a copy to eatuhumuza@poverty-action.org. Upload your updated CV including 3 professional referees: Maximum 2 pages in length, 2) Cover letter: Maximum 1 page in length and 3) your highest level degree or diploma: Maximum 2 pages in length. Due to the high number of applications, only candidates who successfully passed the CV screening step will be contacted.
DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by Research Associate/Senior Research Associate. The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. IPA is an equal opportunity employer.
Deadline: 14th July 2019
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