Senior Research and Policy Associate Innovations for Poverty Action(IPA) Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Job Type: Full-Time
Closing Date: 30th October 2023
Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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IPA Tanzania is looking to hire a Senior Policy Associate to work on the interoperable payments systems research project in Tanzania. The position holder will be responsible for the overall coordination of the project on-the-ground, being the primary liaison and ensuring continuous collaboration between financial service providers, IPA Tanzania, IPA Global and respective principal investigators (PIs) working on this project. The position holder will also be responsible for supporting the design of survey instruments, training and supervising data collection teams, ensuring compliance with IPA’s research protocols and data quality standards, and conducting preliminary data analysis.

Responsibilities 

  • ​​​​​Liaise and communicate between Financial service providers (FSPs) in Tanzania, Partner Organizations, IPA Tanzania, IPA Global, PIs on a regular basis to ensure smooth project delivery 
  • Provide in-depth input on research design through understanding and knowledge of the local payments ecosystem 
  • Undertake desk research, market level consultations to collate information on major bottlenecks in the payments ecosystem in Tanzania, with respect to interoperability 
  • Align partners, current and future, on the research agenda, clearly displaying the importance of this research agenda 
  • Work with FSP partner(s) to design research exercise(s), assist FSP partners in implementation
  • Design survey instruments and data collection strategies, lead enumerator training, manage data collection teams, monitor data quality and undertake data analysis, under direction of PIs and in close collaboration with IPA Tanzania and IPA Global 
  • Lead on developing dissemination plans for Tanzania by, including but not limited to, organizing events, identifying the right audience, and ensuring that research outputs are translated into actionable insights for the payments ecosystem 
  • Assist in the management of other financial inclusion projects in the Tanzania via IPA Global, if needed
  • Provide support on budgets through close coordination between IPA Tanzania and IPA Global 

Qualifications 

  • Bachelor’s, advanced degree, or equivalent combination of education and experience in economics, international development, financial inclusion, public policy, or other relevant field.
  • Four to six years of prior professional experience in economics, research, financial inclusion, international development; or financial sector policy; preferably with experience managing research activities on the ground and overall impact evaluations
  • Experience working in the payments ecosystem in Tanzania; strong understanding of local ecosystem dynamics is preferred.
  • Experience using statistical softwares such as Stata or R is preferred.
  • Strong project management ability. Experience managing multi-stakeholder and multi country projects is a plus.
  • Strong professional writing skills. 
  • Strong client facing and presentation skills.
  • Fluency in English and Kiswahili.
  • Experience with randomized controlled trials strongly preferred.
  • Experience interacting with researchers and practitioners, especially high-level government officials and c-suite executives is a strong plus.
  • Self-starter, entrepreneurial mindset, versatility and strong multi-tasking skills.
  • Passion for making data-driven decision making a reality in the development sector.
  • Team player, with the ability to lead and coordinate across teams and external partners