Project Associate Job Opening at Innovations for Poverty Action in Siaya Kenya June 2014
Position: Project Associate
Deadline to Apply: 20th June 2014
Start Date: ASAP
Location: Siaya, Western Kenya
Eligibility: Position open to local Kenyan hires only
About Innovations for Poverty Action: Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a non-profit research organization that creates and evaluates approaches to solving development problems. IPA disseminates the results of its evaluations to policymakers, practitioners, investors and donors around the world.
“Heterogeneous quality of commercial inputs and learning through experimentation” is a randomized impact evaluation of the COMPRO 2 project managed by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
COMPRO 2 found a high degree of heterogeneity among available farm inputs; most inputs were not profitable or sometimes completely ineffective, while a few inputs did have very high returns, generating high yields and a good margin for the producer.
Farmers are often reluctant to invest in technologies that have uncertain benefits or only long-term payoffs.
We will analyze whether learning about the possible returns of pre-selected high quality versus lower quality products through on-farm trials or knowledge dissemination increases adoption of high quality inputs by farmers.
Baseline was launched in January 2014, and field staff is presently monitoring the intervention and data collection among the agrovets (local input suppliers).
The next large survey round will occur in August.
The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand field management experience in an organization undertaking cutting-edge development research.
The principal investigators are Karen Macours (Paris School of Economics) and Rachid Laajaj (Paris School of Economics).
Responsibilities:
The Project Associate will work closely with the IPA-Kenya Country Office and the PIs (academic researchers) to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:
- managing survey teams,
- logistic planning,
- programming survey,
- helping with the design of survey questionnaires,
- collecting qualitative data (i.e. focus groups),
- running pilot exercises,
- assisting with project design,
- checking and analyzing data,
- cleaning data and assisting in preliminary analysis,
- assisting in the writing of project reports and policy memos,
- financial accounting,
- HR, and
- various administrative tasks.
The Project Associate will be based in Siaya, Kenya.
A 1 year commitment is required for this position with a possibility of extension.
Qualifications and Experience:
Required Qualifications:
- A Bachelor’s degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, or related fields
- Excellent management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills
- Strong computer skills with the ability to quickly assimilate new software
- Fluency and good communication skills in English, Luo, and Swahili
- Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, a team player
Desired Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, or related fields
- Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations
- Knowledge of Stata (strongly preferred) or other data analysis software
- Familiarity with randomized controlled trials
- Experience hiring, training, mentoring, and managing staff
Internal Staff who meet the above qualifications are highly encouraged to apply
If you are interested in applying, please follow the instructions below:
To Apply:
Please send a cover letter and detailed CV, 3 references, daytime phone number(s), and email address.
Your CV should include your scores or grades and other measures of academic achievement, and details about any relevant work experience.
Applications can be submitted by email to jobs-kenya@poverty-action.org.
If you submit by email, please ensure that the subject line reads: “PROJECT ASSOCIATE.” REF NO: FARMERS SKILLS-2014-05-01.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the Project Associate-Farmers skills. The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs-kenya@poverty-action.org.