Engagement Manager, Right-Fit Evidence Unit
Innovations for Poverty Action is seeking a RFE Engagement Manager to develop and oversee the delivery of a portfolio of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) advisory services and contribute to the development of IPA’s Right-Fit Evidence Unit.
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a global research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. As its core business, 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.
Complementing this core business, the Right-Fit Evidence Unit at IPA is an effort aimed at helping organizations use data and evidence to learn and adapt their programs to increase effectiveness. In close collaboration with IPA’s sector programs, policy team, and country office teams worldwide, the unit advises organizations on how to use data and evidence to design more effective programs and create meaningful measurement routines and accompanies them through the process of analysis and adaptation. Clients include NGOs, funders, social businesses and governments.
Responsibilities
As the RFE Engagement Manager, you will report primarily to the Director of the Right-Fit Evidence Unit, and for some engagements to the Associate Director. You will be part of a 5-member management team leading the unit at the global level. Specifically, as the RFE Engagement Manager you will:
Lead the execution of a portfolio of advisory engagements
- As the primary senior point of contact for a wide range of clients (foundations, government agencies, NGOs, private companies, etc.), lead a team of RFE unit staff working closely with them to develop tailor-made solutions for their MEL needs, and support their implementation.
- Design and facilitate various kinds of external MEL related workshops
- Lead the design, analysis and write up of various kinds of evaluations and other studies
- Advise and support to IPA country office teams worldwide on their own technical assistance engagements with partners
- Oversee Program Associates, Senior Associates and Coordinators working on various engagements, and support their professional development
Take part in the development of the Right Fit Evidence Unit
- Lead the development of a small portfolio of new potential engagements, both self-initiated and assigned
- Be the main interface for the Right-Fit Evidence Unit for a set of active or potential funders
- Occasionally represent the Unit in conferences or other similar events
- More broadly, provide contributions to the development and ongoing adaptation of the strategy of the Unit and its internal organizational development
Qualifications
We are seeing three different types of profiles that could fit this position particularly well (and if you don’t fall in any of these categories but feel like you meet the qualifications below, please do apply as well!)
- Management consultants with some international development experience who would be excited in a career shift to an entrepreneurial and impact-focused environment leveraging their skillset
- M&E practitioners or evaluators who are interested in broadening their scope and impact on the field by advising multiple organizations on state-of-the-art M&E practices
- Researchers and research management professionals in international development who enjoy working closely with practitioners and are interested in broadening their scope to all the types of data and evidence that can inform decisions.
You’ll likely be working across multiple sectors, but if you’re bringing expertise and/or interest from a particular sector (e.g public health, education, livelihoods etc) we will use the flexibility we have to get you engaged with opportunities in that sector as much as we can – and maybe you will help create those opportunities too!
Required qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with coursework in quantitative methods as well as development economics, international public policy or related fields.
- A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience.
- Significant exposure to the design and management of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning systems.
- Superior analytical, quantitative and conceptual thinking skills,
- Demonstrated ability to coach and train others on technical matters,
- Strong client facing and presentation skills. Ability to present information in a structured and insightful way, both in writing and orally.
- Self-starter, entrepreneurial mindset, versatility and strong multi-tasking skills.
- Experience working in developing countries.
- Ability to travel (up to 20% post-pandemic).
- Passion for making data-driven decision making a reality in the development sector.
Preferred additional qualifications
- Master’s degree in development economics, international public policy, or a related field. PhDs and MBAs also welcome.
- Experience with qualitative data collection and analysis.
- Experience leading project or programme evaluations
- Familiarity with M&E technology
- Prior experience in a management consultancy
- Familiarity with debates around M&E and the use of evidence.
- Familiarity with RCTs.
- Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish