Associate & Senior Associate

Job Description

Locations: East Africa (Nairobi, Kenya); Southern Africa (Lusaka, Zambia, Lilongwe, Malawi, or Johannesburg, South Africa).

About IDinsight

IDinsight is a mission-driven global advisory, data analytics, and research organization that helps global development leaders maximize their social impact. We tailor a wide range of data and evidence tools, including randomized evaluations and machine learning, to help decision-makers design effective programs and rigorously test what works to support communities. We work with governments, multilateral agencies, foundations, and innovative non-profit organizations in Asia and Africa. Our work spans a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, education, health, governance, sanitation, financial inclusion, and other areas.

We have expertise in a variety of rigorous approaches and methodologies, which we tailor to each client depending on their needs and constraints. To achieve a positive social impact, we:

• Support clients’ use of data and evidence for routine and major decision-making.
• Inform funding decisions – toward high-impact initiatives and away from less effective programs or approaches.
• Create and share tools, knowledge, and ideas that expand the use of data and evidence for social good.

Our diverse, growing team of roughly 280 outstanding colleagues operates in nearly two dozen countries around the world.  Learn more about our mission and values at www.IDinsight.org.  

About the Associate & Senior Associate role

IDinsight’s Associates and Senior Associates are high-performing early-career professionals passionate about experiencing the front-line realities of evidence-informed decision-making. These roles provide a rich, varied experience with responsibilities ranging from in-depth research and analysis, data collection management, client interactions, and internal team building.  We seek intellectually curious, resilient, and team-oriented individuals who – in addition to developing professional and technical skills – are highly motivated to grapple with the difficulties and unpredictability of trying to improve lives at scale.

Associates and Senior Associates are responsible for the following areas of work: 

Managing project team workflow, systems, and deliverables

• Driving the day-to-day execution of the project work according to project plans and leading internal coordination efforts for their team
• Conducting and supporting appropriate research design, data collection or acquisition, technical analysis, and results visualization/packaging, etc. for project tasks
• Creating client deliverables, including reports, slide decks, and oral presentations to inform decisions and actions of clients
• Developing strategic communications to build awareness of IDinsight projects and learnings, contribute to sectoral knowledge, and shift the sector towards more evidence-informed policy and practices 

Supporting their team in developing strong client relationships

• Preparing talking points and presentations for client and partner meetings
• Managing relationships with stakeholders
• Contributing to client development, including developing proposals and concept notes

Leading data collection activities

• Overseeing all data collection activities to ensure quality, including questionnaire development, sampling, managing data collection teams, analysis, and result synthesis
• Traveling to project sites, IDinsight offices, embedded client locations, and other areas as per project needs 

Contributing to internal team building

• Developing, piloting, and implementing internal systems or other organizational contributions (e.g., event management) for IDinsight, in coordination with functional teams such as Operations, Communications, Finance, etc.
• Contributing to office life and culture building, such as facilitating All Hands Meetings; leading team building efforts at team retreats; participating in Social Cultural Committee events; and engaging with the DEI Working Groups. 

Examples of recent Associate and Senior Associate work streams include:

• Working with several African and Indian governments to support evidence-based decision-making capabilities in areas like women’s economic empowerment, education, economic growth etc. 
• Supporting household registration and post-distribution monitoring for the government’s COVID-19 Urban Cash Intervention response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi
• Conducting at a nationally-representative household survey that gathers data on health literacy and knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to core healthy behaviors (e.g. diet and physical activity, mental health, sexual and reproductive health) to inform the Philippine Department of Health’s Promotion Framework Strategy and achieve goals under the Universal Healthcare Act
• Utilizing visual storytelling to lead Theory of Change workshops for an NGO-led digital menstrual health program for Senegalese young women and girls 
• Building a monitoring, evaluation, and learning system for Rockefeller Foundation’s Power and Climate Initiative that will influence the direction of their global strategy
• Leading a multi-part process evaluation consisting of multiple rounds of phone surveys; qualitative interviews; analysis of administrative data; and an assessment of the quality of infrastructure for a government social protection program.

• Helping the Delhi Government collect high-quality data on employment and unemployment in the city to estimate the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on livelihoods of Delhi’s residents through primary data collected from 9,900 households
• Conducting a descriptive and causal study on the gig economy and its implications for the welfare of gig workers in three countries: India, Indonesia, and Kenya
• Supporting the creation of remote data collection infrastructure for IDinsight’s Africa regional project teams when in-person data collection was not possible
• Participating in IDinsight’s internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion working group on the Recruiting Committee, Careers & Promotions Committee, and/or the Work Culture Committee
• Analyzing data from IDinsight’s recruitment processes for our Global Operations team

Associates learn professional, technical and life skills while working on some of the world’s most critical problems. No two experiences are the same. Some Associates work deeply on one project for an extended period of time, while others work across a variety of projects.  Workstreams can immerse Associates in remote, front-line program contexts, deep statistical analyses, and/or high-level, strategic interactions. 

Associates and Senior Associates will be staffed on IDinsight projects according to various factors, including organizational need, timeline and availability, team dynamics, skills optimization, and professional development. While we aim to factor in individual preferences whenever possible to staffing decisions, they are one of many factors in the project staffing process. 

The Associate role is not a typical “9-5” job and can require early mornings and late nights to accommodate the time zone differences of a dispersed team, as well as busy periods within project workflows. IDinsight encourages balance with flexible work hours and wellness benefits, including comprehensive mental health care support and organization-wide wellness days off. Many find this balance to yield rich professional and personal rewards and, therefore, progress to more senior roles with IDinsight.     

Career development

Skill and career development are core to IDinsight’s values and long-term impact strategy. Associates and Senior Associates receive significant mentorship from IDinsight leadership, support from talented peers, and considerable autonomy in their work. They maintain professional development plans and are given “stretch” opportunities designed to strengthen a variety of skills. Real-time feedback and structured reviews are regularly provided to enable maximum professional growth. Additionally, Associates and Senior Associates have access to an annual professional development stipend that they are encouraged to utilize to explore their career interests and develop their skills.

Alumni placement

The Associate and Senior Associate experience has prepared former IDinsighters for outstanding educational and professional paths. Associates have progressed to IDinsight management and leadership roles, started their own organizations, and joined leading private and non-profit institutions, such as Bain & Company, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Facebook, GiveDirectly, International Monetary Fund, Lyft, McKinsey & Company, One Acre Fund, SocialCops, The Bridgespan Group, the World Bank’s Young Professional Program, and more. 

Alumni have also enrolled in graduate and Ph.D. programs, including the  University of Zambia, University of Malawi, Kenyatta University, University of Cape Town, University of Nairobi, Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University; Columbia Business School, the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, the Harris School of Public Policy and the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, Harvard Business School, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, London School of Economics, the Sloan School of Management and the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton, UCSF Medical School, University of Southern California, Yale Law School, Yale School of Management, and more.

Qualifications

IDinsight Associates and Senior Associates come from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including economics, data science, policy research, development projects, engineering, environmental science, political science, public policy, literature and more. Given that no Associate or Senior Associate comes in with the same exact background as another, we’re typically looking for candidates with a broad range of qualifications and former experiences. Here are some examples of the key qualifications most successful candidates should possess:

Knowledge, skills, and abilities

• Strong analytical skills, with exposure to (either via professional work experience or academic coursework) the basics of econometrics, data, and research analysis tools, and quantitative and qualitative research processes or an ability to quickly understand these topics

• Strong writing skills with the ability to translate technical jargon into well-structured, writing-based deliverables (e.g., policy briefs, project memos, analytical reports, external blog posts, and more)
• Ability to understand complex concepts and topics quickly even with limited prior knowledge or exposure and a willingness to invest in learning new concepts, skills, and methods without being prompted

Behaviors and mindsets

• Highly organized, attentive to deadlines, and able to manage a high volume of work with efficiency
• Excellent interpersonal skills, can effectively engage with stakeholders ranging from school children to senior government officials to internal colleagues, and places a high value on being a teamplayer

• Demonstrated ability to be a self-starter and fast learner; resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges
• Intellectually curious and a willingness to share your opinions with the team, question the status quo, and encourage others to expand their perspectives
• Excels in diverse team environments, consistently treating colleagues across our global organization with respect.
• Embodies our organizational values and demonstrates a steadfast commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in their daily interactions.
• Deeply passionate about combating poverty worldwide and improving lives in disadvantaged populations
• Willingness to travel for extended periods of time where safety precautions and restrictions allow, including to remote and rural areas

Additional preferred qualifications

• Proficient in statistical analysis and data collection software, such as Stata, SPSS, R, SurveyCTO, and/or Open Data Kit
• Familiarity with local context as well as working proficiency in the local language(s) of country of placement

Candidates will be evaluated for an Associate vs. Senior Associate role based on their qualifications, quality of highly relevant work experience, and performance in the hiring processes. Additionally, candidates may be considered for other available roles based on experience and qualifications.

*Highly relevant work experience includes, but is not limited to, creating quality research and analysis deliverables; managing data collection processes, including overseeing data collection teams; engaging with client and stakeholder relationships, including contributing to client development efforts; working within very similar contexts and with matching scopes of the role at IDinsight (e.g., complexity of workstreams, organization/team size, span of control, etc.).

Nuts & bolts

Location

Associate positions will be based in one of IDinsight’s offices or satellite teams* with possible significant regional travel depending on project needs and organizational expansion. 

• East Africa: Kenya (Nairobi)
• Southern Africa: Zambia (Lusaka), Lilongwe (Malawi)*, Johannesburg (South Africa)*

*Due to the nature of our work, Associates/ Senior Associates may be asked to relocate based on project requirements.

Work Authorization

IDinsight sponsors employment visas for all nationalities in IDinsight’s office locations; however, we will prioritize candidates who do not require IDinsight to sponsor work authorization in the aforementioned countries. Candidates who want to be based in a satellite team must already have existing work authorization. All candidates not currently located in our country offices listed above will be expected to relocate to their office locations at the onset of their employment. 

Start dates

Start dates for Associates and Senior Associates hired during this hiring process will fall between May and October 2024, with mutually agreed upon start dates based on candidate availability and preferences and IDinsight project needs.

Compensation & benefits

Compensation and benefits are commensurate with the qualifications and experiences IDinsight is hiring for. We are especially proud of the people-focused benefits we offer, including comprehensive international health insurance with mental health coverage, paid vacation, sick leave, parental leave, relocation benefits, a travel stipend, technology and work-from-home stipends, a professional development budget, and more.

Please note, that while we aim to be competitive within the global development sector, we are non-profit, and as such  are usually unable to meet compensation brackets similar to leading private sector organizations.

How to apply

Applications are due by 18 February 2024.

The application asks various questions in order for us to get to know you and requires a CV and cover letter. 

Please ensure that your CV includes relevant professional and personal experience as well as details on academic qualifications. CVs can range from one to two pages. Please note that headshot photographs, parental details, birth dates, marital status, and other personal information not relevant to the application do not need to be included in your CV. Additionally, we strongly encourage you to use your cover letter to highlight why you want to work for IDinsight and what has prepared you to succeed in the role you’re applying for. A customized cover letter is an important part of IDinsight’s recruiting process as it allows us to understand your motivations for the position, relevant skills, and clarity of writing.

If you’ve previously applied to an IDinsight Associate role, we encourage you to reapply only if you’ve gained additional relevant experience to strengthen your application since your previous application. More information, including details on IDinsight’s hiring process and frequently asked questions, can be found online at IDinsight Careers. 

Upcoming Engagement Opportunity

Meet our East & Southern Africa Associates on 6 February 2024 at 3:00 pm CAT.

IDinsight’s commitment to reducing power asymmetries

IDinsight is committed to reducing power asymmetries in the social sector. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion reflects our understanding of the need for the sector to abandon unhealthy practices of the past. We wish to be part of a new generation of international NGOs who are honest about this history and transparent about our role in the present. Our commitment is also aligned with the impact of our work. 

We seek a diverse workforce that inherently embodies our commitment to fostering inclusivity. This also helps us refine and improve our methods and relationships and strengthen the services we provide our clients and their communities or constituencies. The following commitments represent our vision for the IDinsight team:

1. IDinsight will have greater representation from the populations with whom we work and the clients we serve.
2. IDinsight will have greater representation from the countries in which we work.
3. Across all countries in which we recruit, we will seek greater representation from historically excluded communities.
4. IDinsight will foster an inclusive work culture that empowers a diverse team to do their best work.

IDinsight is committed to non-discrimination in our recruitment, employment practices, and organizational culture, regardless of people’s age, disability, gender identity, national origin, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable law.

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