Innovations for Poverty Action Kenya Sandalwood Lane, off Riverside Drive
P.O. Box 72427-00200,
Nairobi, Kenya poverty-action.org/Kenya
info-kenya@poverty-action.org 0707
387 429 and 020 271 0237
Kenya Life Panel Survey (KLPS/Tracking) Project
POSITION: Research Associate (1 position)
REPORTING TO: Research Coordinator
START DATE: 2nd August 2021
LOCATION: Busia
DURATION: 6 Months
(Renewable)
DEADLINE: Applications reviewed on a rolling basis
ELIGIBILITY:
Position open to local Kenyan hires only
About Innovations for Poverty Action: Innovations for
Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy non-profit Organization 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.
About the project:
The Kenya Life Panel
Survey is a longitudinal study that seeks to rigorously examine the medium-
to-long term impacts of several programs that invested in rural Kenyan youth
then (now young adults). These programs include the Primary School Deworming
Project (PSDP), which provided deworming treatment to primary school students
in rural Kenya between 1998 and 2002, the Girls’ Scholarship Program (GSP),
which provided merit based scholarships to young women in a separate set of
primary schools in rural Kenya in 2001 and 2002, and the Vocational Training
Voucher Program (VTVP), which provided vouchers to a subset of PSDP and GSP
participants allowing them to obtain vocational training between 2009 and 2010
and lastly Start-up Capital for Youth (SCY) program which subsequently randomly
allocated unconditional cash grants to support the start-up or expansion of
small businesses, among the same sample of individuals who were part of the
TVVP. The KLPS panel data collection effort seeks to follow recipients of these
programs into adulthood and collect information on a range of life outcomes,
with particular focus on expenditure, income, health, education, labor market
participation, migration, fertility and marriage among others. We are almost
launching the intensive tracking phase of the second wave of the fourth round
of KLPS follow- up which has both adult and biological Kids component. The
current adult component is mainly a behavioural module (focused on
non-expenditure outcomes) while the Kids component mainly entails a series of
age-specific cognitive tests with two add-on intervention arms dubbed
“storybook” and “sleep” interventions.
About the Position:
The Research Associate,
under the general supervision of the Research Coordinator and within the limits
of Innovations for Poverty Action-Kenya policies and procedures, coordinates
the facilitation of field and data activities and functions within IPAK. This
position will be based in Busia and oversee the day-to-day running of both KLPS
Nairobi and Busia offices in close consultation with the Research Coordinator.
Below is a list of some of the general duties and responsibilities of the
Research Associate, to be carried out as needed according to the determination
of the Research Coordinator.
Duties and
Responsibilities
Data Management
- Data Processing, and Storage
- Designing
smooth, functioning, and timely data flow between various project
activities according to Standard Operating
- Using
STATA to process and clean data, prepare summary
- Designing
Stata auditing tools for high frequency checks and back-checks.
- Supporting
the Office Assistant in maintaining proper storage of all paper surveys
in a secure, well-organized, and well-documented repository.
- Ensuring
proper storage of all computer data including regular
- Survey Programming
- Developing
data collection instruments for computer-aided interviews (CAI) using
Survey CTO, phone surveys and field-based paper
- Conducting
spot checks for the field enumerators and providing feedback accordingly
- Data Entry
- Planning
and managing data entry from paper surveys using data entry
- Designing
and pretesting data entry
- Data Protection and Security
- Ensuring
all staff comply with all policies and procedures related to data
- Controlling
physical access to paper surveys, computers, and any other sensitive
- Ensuring
appropriate computer security on devices handling data using password
protection and
- Policy and Documentation
- For
all areas of responsibility, contributing to the development of policies,
manuals, and other documentation.
Field Management
- Human Subjects
- Ensure
that all field team comply with human subjects’ protocol and IRB
- Managing
IRB for the project including preparing the documents for submission as
well as timely submission as
- Field Logistics
- Undertaking
regular field monitoring for all the project activities accordingly
- Supporting
the process of locating respondents, ensuring compliance with protocols
- Supporting
project guidelines governing field staff who work remotely and locally
- Aid
in preparation supply procurement, upkeep, and calibration of field
equipment as necessary
- Supervising
field activities with the other field management
- Human Resource Management
- With
the rest of the project management team, train and manage the field teams
that conduct household surveys
- Participating
in the selection process for staff hiring and assist with training as
needed
- Assisting
with staff evaluations and make recommendations regarding renewal of
staff contracts
- Enforce
all IPAK policies and communicate regularly with management team
- Assisting
in the writing of weekly reports
- Other
duties related to project implementation and administrative tasks as
needed
- Financial Management
- Keeping
track of project expenses and prepare financial summary reports
- Review
expense reports and share feedback and/or reports as required
Qualifications and
Experience:
- Preferably
Master’s degree in management, social sciences, public policy, or related
Bachelor’s degree (required).
- Proven
minimum 5 years of field management experience. Extensive experience
supervising, designing, and implementing data collection and/or field work
activities, and managing teams of field
- Previous
experience in managing data collection and survey administration for adult
household surveys and the kid’s assessments (preferred)
- Experience
in training staff to improve data collection efforts and their accuracy
(required)
- Advanced
experience in programming long surveys with multiple randomization and
skips using SurveyCTO (required).
- Strong
problem-solving skills and a good understanding of team
- Proven
experience in managing IRB submissions and approvals for a
- Ability
to manage and clean complex datasets, preferably, using
- Excellent
management and organizational Ability to effectively manage multiple data
collection activities in a project will be a requirement.
- Excellent
financial management
- Flexible,
self-motivating, able to manage multiple teams in different locations and
across different complex activities efficiently, and team
- Demonstrated
ability to manage high-level relationships with stakeholders including
multiple PI team(s), partner organizations and policy
- Demonstrated
experience in managing and maintaining long-term study participants
(desired).
- Advanced
user of Microsoft Office suite especially Excel to generate summary
productivity reports (Required).
- Proven
experience in coordinating and managing large
- Excellent
oral and written communication skills in both English and Kiswahili and
proven ability to make presentations of field reports to the
How to Apply
Please click here to
apply. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.
Applicants are encouraged to apply early, as applications will be reviewed on a
ROLLING BASIS.
DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature
and level of the work being performed by the Research Associate-KLPS. 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.
Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA.