Encouraging
Multilingual Early Reading as the Groundwork for Education (EMERGE) Project
Position: Research Associate
Deadline to Apply:13th October 2014
Location: Kisumu, Kenya
Eligibility: Position open to local and international hires
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit research organization.
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit research organization.
Based in New Haven, CT,
with offices in Washington, D.C. and worldwide, IPA works with development
partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches to solving
development problems, to communicate “what works” in development and to scale
up successful projects in a variety of fields, including health, education,
microfinance, governance and agriculture.
Program / Project
/ Initiative Summary: IPA seeks qualified
applicants for the position of Research Associate for the EMERGE project
(Encouraging Multilingual Early Reading as the Groundwork for Education).
EMERGE is a randomized control trial which aims to improve early childhood
literacy and school readiness.
In Kenya and
throughout sub-Saharan Africa, many primary school children read below grade
level. While there are many causes of low literacy in primary school, a key
contributing factor to the widespread lack of literacy is low level of child
readiness for primary school.
Our research focuses
on an innovative, light touch early childhood intervention to improve school
readiness and classroom-level pedagogy through the provision of children’s
books and dialogic reading training to parents of children between 2 and 6
years of age in rural, Western Kenya.
We will work in
partnership with a local NGO, Maria’s Libraries, to distribute storybooks in
official and local languages. This impact evaluation measures the impact of
distributing children’s storybooks and supporting family reading on a range of
child, household, and school-level outcomes.
We seek: first, to
quantify the effects of inexpensive literacy interventions on learning
outcomes; second, to quantify parent behavioral responses to the availability
of the new educational materials; and third, measure the change in classroom
environment brought about by improved student preparation before school
age.
Following pilot
activities in 2012 and 2014, we are now preparing for large-scale
implementation with baseline data collection to begin in early 2015.
This position offers
an opportunity to gain first-hand field management experience from project
inception to close in an organization at the cutting edge of development
research.
Position Summary: The Research Associate will oversee all
aspects of field work in Kenya, under the supervision of a Research
Coordinator, and in close consultation with Principal Investigators.
Responsibilities:
- Manage
multiple project data collection activities, including baseline, midline,
and endline surveys of parents, children and/or households;
- Develop
and pilot survey instruments;
- Design
forms for electronic data collection (using SurveyCTO) and manage survey
data;
- Train
and manage teams to conduct surveys;
- Ensure
all aspects of data quality and assist with data cleaning and preliminary
analysis;
- Manage
logistics for new pilot activities;
- Manage
project budget, including tracking project expenses and adherence to the
project budget;
- Work
closely with principal investigators and the local partners to ensure
study protocols are followed;
- Assist
with donor reporting and proposal writing;
- Other
duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications:
- A
Bachelor’s degree in economics, social science, or related field.
- Excellent
management and organizational skills.
- Strong
quantitative skills.
- Outstanding
interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills. Fluency in English
is required.
- Must be
flexible, self-motivating and able to work independently, detail-oriented,
able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player.
Desired Qualifications:
- Master’s
degree in economics, public policy, social sciences, or public health.
- Experience
hiring, training, mentoring, and managing staff; experience managing
multiple teams simultaneously and prioritizing projects preferred.
- Logistics
and coordination experience preferred.
- Familiarity
with randomized controlled trials is a strong plus.
- Experience
living in a developing country preferred.
- Background
in economics, education, human development, or public health is a plus,
but not required.
- Familiarity
with database management is a plus, but not required.
- Familiarity
with statistical software (Stata or other) is a plus, but not required.
If you are interested in applying, please follow the
instructions below:
To Apply: Please send a cover letter and detailed
CV, 3 references, daytime phone number(s), and email address. Your CV should
include your scores or grades and other measures of academic achievement, and
details about any relevant work experience.
Applications can be submitted by email to jobs-kenya@poverty-action.org.Applications must be submit by email, please ensure that the subject line reads: “RESEARCH ASSOCIATE.” REF NO: EMERGE-2014-09-01.
Only short-listed
candidates will be contacted.
Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the Research Associate-Emerge. 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 prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs-kenya@poverty-action.org.