Senior Researcher, HBS Africa Research Center at Harvard Business School

Reporting to the Executive Director of the Africa Research Center based in Johannesburg, the Senior Researcher will work closely with HBS faculty managing research projects, performing in-depth field and secondary source research, and supporting other HBS-wide activities, including admissions, external and alumni relations.

This position will be based in Nigeria, with additional travel required.

Working in close collaboration with the Executive Director of the Africa Research Center, the Senior Researcher will be responsible for developing case studies about West African companies for the HBS MBA and Executive Education programs.

The Senior Researcher will be responsible for:

• Identifying potential case study subjects for proposal to the Director of the Africa Research Office and presenting case leads to HBS faculty.
• Maintaining and extending relationships within the candidate’s existing knowledge/country/sector networks, which can contribute immediately to the development of intellectual capital at HBS.
• Conducting on-site interviews with senior company and government officials alongside HBS faculty.
• Gathering and synthesizing data from a variety of sources leveraging online resources, statistical and financial reports.
• Writing high-impact, well-documented and compelling case studies.
• Supporting other HBS-wide activities, including admissions, alumni, and external relations.
• Responsible for other projects and duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of business experience required.
• Must be legally authorized to work in Nigeria.

Additional Qualifications and Skills:

• MBA preferred (HBS strongly preferred), with outstanding academic record.
• Strong knowledge of western Africa and work experience on the continent are required.
• Experience of delivering a range of research outputs, including reports, articles, presentations, and summaries is required.
• Strong skills in written and spoken English required, proficiency in French or Portuguese beneficial.
• Excellent communication, analytical, and organizational skills required.
• Candidate must (i) demonstrate an ability to work independently while establishing strong, collaborative working relationships and (ii) take direction from a project leader to meet the highest standards of academic rigor.
• Other desired skills include proven effectiveness in a consultative role and strong proficiency in developing contacts with academics and business leaders on behalf of an academic institution.
• Finalist may be asked to successfully complete a writing exercise