Research Associate

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit 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. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence on which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 830 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide. IPA’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). We are recruiting to fill the position below: Job Title: Research Associate Location: Abuja Reports to: Research Manager Job Summary The Research Associate (RA) will lead the data collection and management of research projects within the Nigeria Country Office under the supervision of the Research Manager. The RA will supervise project field staff, including the field managers, supervisors and enumerators, while ensuring timely submission of deliverables to donors and partners. The Research Associate will perform a variety of tasks related to managing day-to-day research activities, from planning to implementation and monitoring research data quality. These include, but are not limited to: Responsibilities Project Management: Programming survey instruments in SurveyCTO, following programming best practices. Supervising and monitoring data collection to ensure the high quality of the data. Implementing data quality checks and fixing issues with data collected during data collection. Managing project finances including budgeting, expense tracking, and financial reporting. Cleaning data on an ongoing basis. Partner Engagement: Handling day-to-day PI and partner communications. Providing timely updates and responses to partner organizations and participating in meetings with key stakeholders. Keeping the Research Manager apprised of all developments in the project and serve as the key link between the field staff, research team, and Principal Investigators. Technical Leadership: Prepare training materials and collaborate with the survey firm in conducting enumerator training and piloting instruments. Ensuring that all team members follow necessary protocols and procedures. Regularly communicate project updates to the Research Manager. Providing training and supervision for research project staff. Supporting the country office in project and policy development as needed. Analysis & Reporting: Assisting preliminary analysis and ensuring ready access to all data for researchers. Documenting in detail all activities related to the project. Maintaining accurate records of interviews, safeguarding the confidentiality of subjects, as necessary. Preparing high-quality progress and results reports to Principal Investigators (PI), research partners, and funding agencies, and sharing them timely. Producing dissemination materials such as presentations, final reports, and evidence briefs. And other tasks that may be assigned by the Research Manager. Requirements Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Public Policy, Social Science, or a related field; graduate Degree strongly preferred. 2-5 years of relevant work experience, including experience in economics research, impact evaluations, international development. Advanced Stata competency. Experience with quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. Experience managing field data collection. Strong professional writing skills. Strong client-facing and presentation skills. Fluency in English. Self-starter, entrepreneurial mindset, versatility, and ability to learn at a fast pace. Passion for making data-driven decisions a reality in the international development sector. Experience with research project management in Nigeria. Experience in randomized control trials. Travel Requirements: Expect to spend at least 50% of the time in the study sites during data collection periods.