Research Associate NGO Jobs – Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)

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Job Title:            Research Associate
Organization: Innovations
for Poverty Action (IPA)
Research Project:  Ewallet Project, Uganda
Duty Station: Kampala,
Uganda
Reports to: Research
Coordinator
Start Date: 1st
July 2017
About Us:
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy
non-profit 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 400 leading academics to conduct
over 600 evaluations in 51 countries. This research has informed hundreds of
successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.
About Ewallet Project:
The research focuses at generating high-quality evidence about the
marginal impact of each of two innovative interventions both on women’s
empowerment: (1) offering labeled mobile money ‘sub-wallets’ to make mobile
money products more relevant to the way that women think about and use money,
and (2) improve equitable household decision making through household financial
counseling across 2 parishes in two districts of Western Uganda. The Principal
Investigators for this study are Linda Scott (Oxford), Catherine Dolan
(University of London) and Anna Custers (Oxford).
Digital financial services are potentially one of the most accessible
means for the rural poor to access the formal financial sector. Cellular based
services break down barriers to traditional financial services, which have
failed to penetrate most of rural Africa, maintaining branches only in distant
and difficult to reach urban centers. However, globally, women have lower
adoption rates for digital technology, including mobile banking, compared to
men. Indeed, in low- and middle- income countries, women are 21% less likely to
own a mobile phone than a man (Cherie Blair Foundation 2010). Research in
sub-Saharan Africa shows that, even when using mobile money, women are
“passive” users; that is, they receive, but do not send money, probably a
symptom of unequal authority over the deployment of funds.
CARE and Postbank Uganda will develop mobile money products that speak
more directly to women’s priority needs, aimed at improving the relevance of
mobile money specifically to how women plan and use money. CARE intends to
address the socio-cultural barriers to women’s uptake of mobile money services
by using existing Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) groups as the
entry platform for promoting mobile money use amongst women, who form the
majority of VSLA members.
Job Summary: The Research
Associate will support the Ewallet Project, Uganda and work in close
collaboration with the PIs.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:   
  • Throughout the timeframe of this position,
    the RA will be expected to work full-time on the research project. The
    major roles and responsibilities of the RA are expected to consist of:
  • Data Collection: The RA will
    take a lead role in designing and implementing all data collection
    activities. These include organizing focus group discussions, piloting
    survey instruments, programing surveys into hand-held devices, and
    training and supervising survey enumerators.
  • Data Management. The RA will
    take a lead role in cleaning original survey data and preparing fully
    labeled datasets for analysis. The RA will also be responsible for assembling
    information from official sources (e.g. Postbank customer information) and
    CARE’s respondent data.
  • Permissions: The RA will provide
    support in the development of material for IRB approvals and research
    permits from the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology
    (UNCST), as needed.
  • Budgets: The RA will track
    expenses to ensure they align with the evaluation budget.
  • Support to partners:  The RA will help ensure that CARE and the
    implementing partners adhere to the research protocol. This role will require
    operating with considerable sensitivity, as well as establishing trust
    with and respect from our partners. In particular, the RA will work
    closely to track uptake of the digital sub-wallets from post bank customer
    data.
  • Maintaining the distinction between
    treatment and control until after the study period
Qualifications, Skills and
Experience:  
  • The ideal candidate for the Innovations
    for Poverty Action (IPA)Research Associate job placement should preferably
    hold a bachelor’s degree in economics, political science, cognitive
    sciences, public policy, or related field is required, Masters preferred.
    Coursework in statistics is a big plus.
  • Possess excellent management and
    organization skills, along with keen attention to details
  • Have advanced proficiency using data
    management software. Knowledge of Stata is a MUST.
  • Be interested financial inclusion, and
    social development issues.
  • Willingness to travel extensively in the
    field.
  • Possess excellent communication skills in
    English.
  • Previous experience in qualitative
    interviews is an added advantage
  • Familiarity with randomized controlled
    trials preferred
  • Demonstrated ability to manage high-level
    relationships with partner organizations
  • Ability to work effectively independently
    and as part of a team.
  • Keen attention to detail, a strong work
    ethic, and a high level of comfort leading people.
  • Be able to command respect not just from
    the research team and other local partners.
How to Apply:
All suitably qualified candidates should send an updated CV (Including
naming 3 professional referees), a statement of purpose (cover letter), and
academic transcripts to  jobs-uganda@poverty-action.org
with the E-mail subject line specified as “Research Associate, Ewallet Project,
Uganda.”
NB: Female candidates are
strongly encouraged to apply
Deadline: 16th June 2017
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