Research Fellow - Economic Opportunities for Youth

****OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE****

****Research Fellow - Economic Opportunities for Youths****

****Contract: Fixed-Term****

****Salary: Research Fellow 1: £38,155 - £48,263;****

****Research Fellow 2: £48,264 - £61,099 per annum****

****Location: London****

****Ref: RAPID/04/14****

****The UK’s leading independent think tank on international development.****

****About us****

****ODI****(www.odi.org.uk) aims to inspire and inform policy and practice to reduce poverty by locking together high-quality applied research and practical policy advice.

The Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme at ODI works to understand the relationship between knowledge, policy and practice in developing and developed countries. We work with researchers, think tanks, civil society organisations, developing country governments and donors. RAPID’s aim is to improve the integration and use of research-based evidence and local knowledge by policy-makers and practitioners for development impact.

RAPID will be leading the implementation of the MasterCard Foundation’s Economic Opportunities for Youth (EOY) Programme Learning Partnership. The EOY program is an ambitious 6-year endeavor, aiming to improve the capacity of hundreds of thousands of young women and men in Ghana and Uganda to access jobs, grow their businesses and access finance in order to expand the opportunities available to them. The EOY Learning Partnership will add value by enhancing evidence-based understanding of the needs of youth, and how EOY models and the implementing context interact to meet these needs and shape employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

We are looking for a Research Fellow with world-class knowledge to join RAPID and be responsible for developing, fundraising for, and implementing high-quality and innovative research, policy advice and public affairs programmes, in line with the Institute’s overall strategy and with the aim of inspiring and informing policy.

While providing some support across the whole of RAPID, this post will focus primarily on leading the EOY Learning Partnership with the MasterCard Foundation which will include:

• Knowledge development – program-wide monitoring, evaluation, capacity strengthening and technical assistance for implementing organisations, and applied research
• Knowledge sharing – within and beyond the programme through program-wide, country and consortia-specific meetings, evaluation and research reports, policy briefs, and public events
• Facilitating governance & multi-sector dialogue – among youth participants, implementing organisations, policymakers and the private sector.

The Research Fellow will be responsible for:

• Leading the overall MasterCard Foundation Economic Opportunities for Youth Learning Partnership, designing and conducting the multi-site evaluation, and managing and guiding all other staff who are involved in the research, monitoring, and learning components of the programme.
• Liaising with the Donor and managing the financial administrative and reporting aspects of the partnership.
• Leading all publication, communication and public affairs aspects of the Learning Partnership.

Contributing to other RAPID projects as required.

About you

You will have:

• A strong record of mixed methods evaluation and applied research, including knowledge of advanced statistical and qualitative methods
• A degree and post-graduate qualification in a relevant discipline
• Extensive knowledge of youth employment and entrepreneurship
• Knowledge and understanding of the politics of policy change and evidence use
• Demonstrated practical experience of designing, implementing and supporting quasi-experimental evaluations
• Demonstrated practical experience of designing, implementing and supporting comparative case study research
• Demonstrated experience of managing multidisciplinary teams in a rapidly-moving environment with demanding clients
• First-hand experience in sub-Saharan Africa
• Experience working with young adults (ages 15-24)
• Experience negotiating competing priorities among a diverse set of stakeholders
• Stata or other quantitative software skills
• Nvivo or other qualitative software skills
• Demonstrated ability to deliver capacity- development work policy-advisory, public-affairs, and based on an analytical approach.
• Strong management abilities:
• Mentoring researchers and support staff
• Ability to manage and work in remote, multidisciplinary teams
• Ability to strengthen cross-team working and coherence
• Ability to encourage good performance and manage poor performance
• Ability to work and manage independently
• Intellectual leadership
• Peer review/quality control
• Financial planning and oversight
• Project management skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Successful dissemination/public affairs/policy-engagement experience, including excellent written and oral communications skills

This role is subject to RAPID securing funding from MasterCard and the continued funding received during the life of the project. Owing to the nature of this position, any offer of employment with the Organisation will be subject to a satisfactory checking report from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

****Closing date: 4th January 2015****

****Interview date: 14th and 15th January 2015****

HOW TO APPLY:

For more information, please download an application pack from our website at ****https://jobs.odi.org.uk**** and apply online. If you are experiencing difficulties downloading, please telephone 020 7922 8234 or email ****recruitment@odi.org.uk****

ODI is an equal opportunities employer Charity Reg. No.228248