Role Purpose:

The Research Manager is responsible for the design, development, and implementation of programme-related research activities including the annual client exit interview (CEI) and poverty surveys across all the Lot 2 countries of implementation.

Context of Role:

• WISH 2 (Women’s Integrated Sexual Health) is one of three components of the overarching WISH Dividend programme that is being procured by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO). This programme is central to delivering the UK’s priorities on empowering women and girls as set out in the
• International Development Strategy, the UK’s strategic approach to sub-Saharan Africa and the International Women and Girls Strategy.
• WISH 2 will be divided into two geographic Lots. IPPFAR is planning on submitting a bid as prime for Lot 2 which covers Burundi, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Zambia.

Deliverables:

• Lead the design of programme-related research activiitesincluding operational research, CEIs and poverty surveys ensuring alignment with programme budget.
• Develop relevant study protocols, data collection tools and obtaining all ethical approvals/country-level approvals to implement research-related activities in all of the Lot 2 countries.
• Monitor research-related spend against budget, working where possible to provide cost-savings without compromising the quality of the research processes.
• Develop all the required training materials and oversee the local recruitment and training of enumerators hired by country teams.
• Oversee the programme-related research activities, travelling to countries to provide technical oversight and support with a particular focus on fidelity to research processes and ensuring research data quality.
• Develop and maintain a data analysis plan that supports the drafting of comprehensive narrative reports that clearly speaks to the programmatic implications of the results.
• Serve as the focal point for all Third-Party Monitor (TPM) discrete study activities including finalisation of study background notes, identification of external and internal study respondents, collating WISH 2 hub feedback on study findings and updating the study reports accordingly.
• Partner with the Deputy Director MERL to present programme-related research findings at appropriate forums including Member Associations, consortium partners and conference.
• Lead the research input into technical reports, peer-reviewed manuscripts, conference abstracts and presentations, evidence and policy briefs.

Reporting/Management Responsibility:

• None.

Requirements

Expertise:

• At least 7 years of experience working in a research position with a particular focus on programmatic surveys, and operational research studies for multi-country programmes with a health/SRHR focus.
• Knowledge of major evaluation methodologies (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, mixed method and impact) and data collection and analysis methodologies.
• Experience planning and managing large-scale surveys
• Experience in building and refining data collection tools e.g., KOBO
• Demonstrated ability to think conceptually about research evaluation questions and to pragmatically apply evaluation theory to practice.
• First rate strategic thinking and analytical skills.
• Experience working in matrix organisations.

Skills:

• Excellent interpersonal skills with a proven ability to influence and negotiate.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong leadership skills including the ability to effectively engage a range of stakeholders.
• Excellent project management skills including experience of reporting to donor agencies.
• Excellent time management skills able to meet tight deadlines.
• Fluent English essential. French or Arabic an advantage.
• Excellent IT skills.

Your Ethos:

• Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding in a local and international context.
• Demonstrates ability and willingness to work in a diverse, multicultural, multilingual and intergenerational environment that is anti-racist and respectful of others.
• An intersectional (pro) feminist passionate about sexual reproductive health care rights + justice, including safe abortion.
• Supportive of people’s rights regardless of sexuality or gender identity/expression and supportive of workers’ rights and access to health care in sex work.