Research Lead

Job title : Research Lead

About the Role

• The Research Lead will provide strategic leadership for IIF’s research and knowledge development function, producing high-quality research, insights, and publications that strengthen the impact investing ecosystem in Nigeria and across Africa. The role will support policy engagement, ecosystem intelligence, institutional thought leadership, and evidence generation to inform sustainable development priorities and strengthen the quality of investment decisions and outcomes for the market.
• The Research Lead will also build and coordinate a dynamic research team comprising interns and volunteers, while fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation within the unit. This role reports directly to the CEO and works closely with programme, partnerships, communications, and external stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous refinement of IIF’s research agenda, ensuring alignment with the Foundation’s strategic priorities and ecosystem objectives.
• Conceive, plan, and manage end-to-end research projects across impact investing, sustainable and blended finance, ESG, philanthropy, and related themes – including annual marketing sizing study of the Nigerian impact investment landscape, the Nigerian Impact Economy Index, and quarterly economic outlooks -delivering timely, high-quality outputs.
• Develop and apply rigorous research frameworks, methodologies, workplans, and quality-assurance processes for quantitative and qualitative studies (surveys, interviews, desk reviews, ecosystem mapping, and data analysis).
• Produce and translate research into actionable knowledge products – the Nigeria Impact Economy Index, reports, policy briefs, market intelligence, ecosystem analyses, insights papers, and thought leadership—that inform programmes, advocacy, and stakeholder decision-making.
• Build, lead, coordinate, and mentor a high-performing research team and external collaborators, while driving delivery, professional development, accountability, and a culture of excellence, learning, and innovation.
• Establish and maintain strategic partnerships with academic institutions, development partners, researchers, policy makers and ecosystem stakeholders to strengthen collaboration knowledge exchange and institutional influence; represent IIF’s research externally at convenings, policy dialogues, stakeholder engagements and high-level platforms while ensuring all research outputs strengthen the Foundation’s visibility, credibility and ecosystem leadership.
• Maintain knowledge management systems and repositories to preserve institutional learning, support cross-team collaboration, and ensure research outputs contribute measurably to IIF’s institutional objectives.

What We’re Looking For

• Minimum of a Master’s degree in Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies, Finance, Research, Social Sciences, Statistics, or related fields. A PHD is an added advantage.
• Minimum of 10-15 years of relevant experience, including leadership experience in research, policy, strategy, or ecosystem development.
• Demonstrated experience in managing research projects and producing high-quality research reports and knowledge products.
• Thought leadership & Knowledge Translation – Excellent research, analytical, writing, and presentation skills and ability to craft compelling narratives from data.
• Deep knowledge of the impact investing landscape, blended finance, sustainable development, ESG, philanthropy, development finance and familiarity with global frameworks (SDGs, IRIS+, GIIN, IFC Operating Principles, OECD guidelines.
• Awareness of Nigeria’s and Africa’s investment ecosystem, regulatory environment, and market actors ) 
• Policy & Ecosystem Intelligence – Ability to analyze policy environments and regulatory shifts ; Understanding of how policy influences capital flows and market development ; Ability to synthesize ecosystem dynamics into actionable insights 
• Market Intelligence gathering & Monitoring: Access to and ability to use datasets from CBN, NBS, WorldBank, IMF OECD and other databases
• Experience managing teams, projects, interns, or research collaborations.
• Ability to synthesize complex information into clear and actionable insights.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• High integrity, professionalism, and commitment to IIF’s mission.

Proficiency

The role requires the Lead Researcher to be proficient in:

• Data Analysis & Statistics:  R ,  Python , or  Stata for advanced analytics,  SPSS or  SAS for statistical modeling or  Excel (advanced)for financial and market modeling 
• Data Visualization:  Power BI ,  Tableau , Looker Studio or Excel dashboard
• Research & Knowledge Management:  NVivo ,  Atlas.ti , or  Dedoose for qualitative analysis and  Survey tools such as KoboToolbox, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey