Project Associate Job Vacancy at Innovations for Poverty Action in Uganda

Job Title: Project Associate, Small and Medium Enterprise Initiative, Uganda
Closing Date: Saturday, 15 December 2012

The SME Initiative at Innovations for Poverty Action seeks a qualified Project Associate to join a study of the impact of a business skills training program for women entrepreneurs. The SME Initiative at IPA coordinates and supports research on the SME sector in developing economies, and this evaluation assesses the direct and indirect impacts of business skills training implemented in Kampala, Entebbe, Mukono and Jinja. The Principal Investigators are Dean Karlan, Greg Fischer, and Meredith Startz.

The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand field management experience in an organization undertaking cutting-edge development research . The work will stretch your analytical and management skills to the limit and will require your full commitment in a challenging environment. This position will be based in Kampala with some travel to surrounding areas.

Responsibilities:

The Project Associate works closely with academic researchers, the Project Coordinator and other field staff to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

    Overseeing multiple rounds of data collection , including follow-up surveys and a final endline survey;
    Developing and piloting the survey instruments; programming surveys onto mobile devices; and managing the translation of the survey into the local language;
    Hiring, training, and managing data collection teams;
    Managing data from collection at the businesses to the delivery of a final, cleaned dataset;
    Ensuring adherence to IPA and study protocols including auditing enumerators, performing daily checks of incoming data, and ensuring data is of the highest quality;
    Coordinating and maintaining close relationships with the local implementing partner; and
    Assisting in the writing of project reports and policy memos.

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

    A Bachelor's or Master's degree in economics, public policy, international development, social sciences, or related fields;
    Excellent project management and organizational skills;
    Demonstrated ability to lead staff efficiently to achieve project goals and to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations;
    Strong quantitative skills, with a background in statistics preferred;
    Knowledge of Stata (preferred), SAS, or other data analysis software required; programming and other technical knowledge a strong plus;
    Familiarity with randomized controlled trials preferred; and
    Experience living or working in a developing country.

In addition to the qualifications described above, applicants should have excellent writing and communication skills; exceptional attention to detail; flexibility, self-motivation, and an ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently; and should be a team player.

How to Apply

If you are interested, please do two things:

1. Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application at https://apply.povertyactionlab.org/login indicating that you are interested in applying for a "Type 1: Field Research Associate or Project Associate" position. Please include two letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, CV, and transcripts.

2.  Send an email to jobs@poverty-action.org and copy scraig@poverty-action.org, following these instructions exactly:

    In the subject line: Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name.
    Attachments: Please attach ONLY your cover letter and resume.
    In the email body: Copy exactly the following position line: 100773IPA, Project Associate, SME

Please do not include any text besides the position line(s) in the body of the e-mail. Adding extra text will interfere with the processing of your application.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.




Deadline: 15th Dec 2012