Job Description
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a leading Africa-based, African-led, international research institution headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. APHRC conducts policy-relevant research on population, health, education, urbanization and related development issues in sub-Saharan Africa.
APHRC’s Data, Measurement, and Evaluation (DME) Program conducts impact evaluation assignments for several partners at sub-national and national levels from across sub-Saharan Africa, with focus on social sciences including health and systems for health, population dynamics and reproductive health, urbanization and wellbeing, maternal and child health, education and youth empowerment, and aging.
To this end, APHRC seeks to recruit a Post-Doctoral Research Scientist in Impact Evaluation to support the evaluation activities at the center. The Impact Evaluation Specialist will be primarily responsible for management of IE projects and supporting researchers at the Center on appropriate IE designs for different studies.
Duties and responsibilities
Technical leadership and support
• Leading the design and implementation of development-related impact evaluations and research studies;
• Support researchers at the Center in adoption of impact evaluation designs in research studies including complex impact evaluations based on modern practices such as Interrupted time series (ITS), Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), cluster-randomized designs, step-wedge designs among others; and
• Develop and deepen innovative approaches to impact evaluation e.g., through training of researchers at the center in IE methodology, developing and writing papers that utilize IE methodologies in peer-reviewed journals, engaging with IE communities of practice to strengthen the Center’s visibility in IE practice, etc.
Fundraising for IE sustainability
• Lead the resource mobilization for IE projects to ensure that the Center sustains its IE mandate to the foreseeable future;
• Support proposal writing and other fundraising activities geared towards leveraging funds to broaden the current mandate of the Data, Measurement & Evaluation Program;
• Actively collaborate with and contribute to the work of other Program Areas at APHRC to strengthen the Center’s impact evaluation mandate.
Management of Impact Evaluation Projects
• Establish, monitor, and update work plans and budgets for Impact Evaluation projects;
• Oversee mobilization of evaluation teams, including organizing and managing team planning meetings and overseeing all necessary logistical preparations for field data collection;
• Identify, recruit and train the research assistants, support teams technically, assist in orienting consultant team members to the procedures of working with APHRC;
• Assure high-quality deliverables and evaluation reports;
• Support development of IEs including background and supporting research for ongoing/upcoming IEs and oversight of survey development;
• Manage IE datasets throughout the evaluation life-cycle from coordination of local data collection partners to data management and cleaning to preliminary analysis;
• Serve as a responsive point of contact for clients, ensure contract compliance, and support contract reporting requirements;
• Support the impact evaluation team to develop, review and finalize evaluation analysis plans, evaluation frameworks, and contribute to drafting of work plans, data collection tools, and field monitoring tools for each IE activity;
• Work with Project Evaluation Team to provide timely updates and reports on evaluation activities as needed;
• Participate and/or support the dissemination of findings; and
• Perform any other tasks required to advance the projects’ and the Center’s objectives.
Key Competencies, qualifications and experience:
• PhD in Economics, Development Economics/Politics or Public Policy with specialization in Impact Evaluation of development projects, preferably, in Public Health.
• Advanced skills in econometrics/statistics and quantitative methods.
• Ability to conduct large-scale surveys in developing countries and handle large datasets using standard econometric software (STATA, SAS, R, etc.).
• Work experience (of at least 3 years) in project evaluation and impact analysis is essential.
• Demonstrated experience in in-depth impact analysis methods, and experimental and quasi-experimental methods applied in impact evaluation (RCT, Instrumental Variable, propensity score matching, and interrupted time series).
• Experience designing and implementing one or more of the following: implementation research, process evaluations, formative research, qualitative research.
• Excellent written, presentation, and communication skills; ability to present arguments and analysis in a structured and succinct manner.
• Strong quantitative skills and ability to work with large data sets.
• Ability to work independently; self-starter and highly motivated.
• Strong statistical knowledge in particular for the design of impact evaluations.
• Proficiency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of West African region, specifically Ghana is desirable.
The position will be based at the Center’s head office in Nairobi, Kenya; and may include some travels for impact evaluation (IE) activities in other African countries.
Interested candidates are invited to submit their application in English and include:
• A letter of application not exceeding one page, highlighting your qualifications and experience relevant to the terms of reference;
• A statement of research interests and goals (1-2 pages); and
• A detailed CV with contact information for three professional references.
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply via email to jobs@aphrc.org with the subject ‘Post-Doctoral Research Scientist in Impact Evaluation’ by September 30, 2021. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and incomplete applications will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted; shortlisted candidates will be required to have a Police Clearance Certificate. Cover letters should be addressed to:
The Human Resources Officer
African Population and Health Research Center, Inc
APHRC Campus, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, Kitisuru
P.O Box 10787-GPO, Nairobi
Website: www.aphrc.org
APHRC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the protection of vulnerable persons.