Engagement Director at Busara Center for Behavioral Economics

Core responsibilities:

Develop, Delivery and Voice (out) the impacts of our projects/ portfolio:

• Lead a portfolio of projects across multiple client bases (researchers, private sector, government, etc). This includes identifying areas of interest, designing projects via proposals to funders, then delivering on successful proposals with applied behavioral science that is rigorous and thoughtful.

• Manage, motivate, and coach a team of associates and analysts to execute projects in your portfolio.  This team will be distributed across Lagos and Abuja, which creates both opportunities and challenges as a manager. You’ll need to assemble team members on specific projects to match skills and interests, and to ensure excellence throughout.

• Stay current on the latest research in qualitative and quantitative methods, behavioral science, psychology, economics, and international development to provide creative direction for projects. You’ll then use this expertise to ensure the quality of all products produced by the team, through regular feedback and direct contributions as appropriate.   

• Develop lasting relationships with clients and partners, to build long-term partnerships and promote behavioral science as a tool within their organizations.  This includes serving as the primary points of contact on large, multi-year projects, and networking throughout the field at conferences and client meetings.

• Serve as a core member of the senior management team, responsible for setting organizational strategy, holding other team members accountable, and making senior hiring decisions.

• Drive the strategy of the Projects Division by setting annual targets, managing any team building events, and ensuring clear, division harmony on priorities for the organization.  Help identify markets of interest, future service lines, and priority investments.

To do this well, you should:

Your formal background, frankly, is not a criteria. We don’t evaluate what school you went to, who you know, or where you previously worked.  These experiences can certainly help you, but what really matters is that you have the skills, the knowledge and the passion to lead this portfolio. Show us what you can do.   

But, if you’re looking for guidelines on whether this is the right level of seniority for you, we’ve learned that it’s useful to offer some benchmarks for comparison.

• Be an experienced leader in applied behavioral science and/or behavioral design.  You should deeply understand the behavioral research literature, and know how to contextualize and practically apply it to real products, communications and services.   

• Understand the Nigerian context through lived experience, with a particular focus on Northern Nigeria. Live, or be willing to relocate to Nigeria, with a focus on Northern Nigeria.  

• Have led at least a moderate sized team (5 to 10) of people, especially with multicultural and multinational backgrounds, and can mentor mid-level staff and young professionals.

• Know how to build and manage relationships with external partners and funders of diverse backgrounds and interests, especially within the health sector.

• Have direct experience working in one or more of the substantive areas of international development (e.g., sustainability, financial services, healthcare, gender equity, agriculture), either within development itself or in the business or non-profit sector. Ideally within the health sector in Nigeria.

• Ideally, have previous experience in a client-delivery role (e.g. management consulting, internal innovation team, etc.).

• Ideally, have previous experience running randomized controlled trials or lab experiments. Be excited about nurturing a partnership with Ahmadu Bello University to turn the newly formed lab into a world-class research facility.

You should have approximately this level of expertise, regardless of where it comes from:

• The knowledge that comes from a Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy, or related fields.

• The hard-won lessons and self-awareness that usually comes from at least 5 years of  work experience.

NOTE: This job is open ONLY to candidates who have pre-existing LEGAL authorization to live and work in Nigeria. If you do not have that authorization, please consider other roles.

As applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the vacancy is filled, you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible.