Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Kenya Country Director. Established in 2006, the IPA Kenya office employs nearly 500 staff members and manages a large number of complex research projects. IPA Kenya is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with offices in Busia and Siaya. IPA Kenya has an established strong presence in the local research environment with governmental, International Organizations, Private and NGO partners. This position provides a unique opportunity to be closely involved in cutting-edge policy-relevant research and work with top academics in the field of experimental economics, education, health, water and sanitation and agricultural research.
The Country Director will work with IPA Global and key stakeholders to set the strategic direction of the office and oversee multiple simultaneous impact evaluations in a range of sectors. The position requires close interaction with academic researchers, donors, local government agencies, and other NGOs. The Country Director, assisted by the IPA Kenya Senior Management Team, will provide overarching oversight of all project and office operations, including finance, human resources, operations and research. The position requires experience in research, partner management, grants and contracts management.
Country Director Job Responsibilities
Oversee and initiate high-quality research
- Oversee project design and budgeting during the proposal stage to ensure evaluations meet IPA standards and costing structure
- Manage relationships with and provide services to Principal Investigators (academic researchers)
- Ensure that IPA research, including data collection is implemented according to IPA’s research protocols and data quality standards and Principal Investigator’s direction
- Provide research management for IPA project teams
- Oversee the management of project budgets and donor reporting with support of the Finance Manager, in coordinating with IPA’s global Grants team on all ongoing research grants and studies
- Build systems and structures to build staff capacity and ensure overall data quality; including spearheading skills training for staff
- Work to incorporate best practices and lessons learned in research and operations by other IPA offices and research affiliates
- Ensure project audits are systematically carried out while ensuring remedial action is taken as required/proposed
Policy Impact
- Responsible for leading IPA’s policy impact in Kenya; including evidence dialogue and dissemination as well as research collaborations for policy and oversight of the development of a policy engagement plan.
- Develop and maintain high-level relationships with partners in the Government of Kenya, including Ministries of Health, Education, Agriculture, and the Office of the President
- Cultivate relationships, studies, and new partnerships in sectors that are prioritized by IPA Kenya’s policy engagement
- Engage government partners to identify research questions of interest and priority to key leadership and cultivate potential research projects in those areas
Develop and implement IPA Kenya’s strategic plan, in line with IPA’s global plan and mission.
- Identify priority research questions and key concerns for policy makers and initiate and manage the development of corresponding new research proposals
- Develop new relationships in order for the country office to maximize its impact
- Lead and initiate project development with researchers, funders and partner organizations
- Ensure a balanced country office structures that can be supported by incoming revenues
Ensure sound operations of IPA Kenya
- Oversee and manage a team of Research Managers, (Senior) Research Associates and Field Managers, whose responsibilities include project design and implementation, data collection, data management and analysis, and reports
- Oversee and manage Finance Manager, Human Resources Manager and Deputy Country Director
- Coordinate office and country-wide meetings and trainings, in coordination with the Research Managers
- Develop and oversee office administration, including human resources, information technology, project budgets and accounting; and hiring of long-term IPA staff in the country program
Oversee finances for IPA Kenya
- Ensure proper compliance with financial procedures, approve expenditures, make accurate projections and ensure overall compliance
- Strengthen finance systems to ensure the systems are robust for country program growth and compliant with strict donor requirements (e.g., USAID, DFID)
- Ensure IPA Kenya complies with the Kenya Government and NGO board Statutory requirements.
Mitigate and manage risks
- Set security standards and parameters for work and ensure that IPA Kenya staff follow security measures
- Monitor security concerns for IPA operations and act as primary contact in crisis management
- Take steps to mitigate risk and to safeguard the organization’s reputation
- Oversee safety and security and ensure organizational legal compliance
- Manage work permit applications and renewals for international staff
Manage external relations
- Represent IPA Kenya in national and local government agencies and partner organizations, including presentations on IPA’s work in Kenya and globally
- Strengthen local presence of IPA in Kenya
- Manage relationships with current and potential IPA partner organizations.
- Oversee capacity building of local development partners in evidence-based policy making and rigorous impact evaluations
- Work closely with IPA Kenya’s regional partner, J-PAL Africa, on research, policy and capacity building.
- Oversee targeted dissemination, encourage scale up of successful projects
Qualifications for the Country Director Job
- Strong oral and written communication skills in English is required.
- Master’s degree in international affairs, international public policy, development economics, or field related to international economic development
- A minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience
- Previous J-PAL/IPA work experience or experience developing new RCTs or working with researchers on RCTs highly desired.
- Successful experience leading teams of similar size (300 full time staff)
- Experience living and working in Africa /Kenya is desired
- Knowledge of human resource and financial management
- Experience with budgeting and project planning
- Passion for connecting rigorous research to policy makers and practitioners and communicating what works and what does not work in development
- Ability to lead a large and complex country program and oversee rigorous impact evaluations
- Commitment to leading a diverse team and building staff capacity
- Ability to communicate effectively across cultures with multiple stakeholders including international and local academic researchers, government officials, NGO partners, enumeration teams, and study participants
- Excellent management and organizational skills and ability to work independently
- Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player
- Quantitative research skills/ experience and a familiarity with randomized controlled trials is preferred
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