Jobs at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)

Summary

• We are seeking an Operations Coordinator to manage country office operations staff and systems that support the administrative and operational needs of the office.
• The Operations Coordinator will provide in-country support in Human Resources, IT, Safety & Security, Procurement, and Inventory Management Systems, and will ensure the general compliance of the country office with relevant laws and regulations.
• The Operations Coordinator will work under the direction of the IPA Nigeria Country Director and will have significant collaboration with the Finance and Admin team.
• The Operations Coordinator will also liaise with the key Global Functional Teams led by the General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer, Chief People Officer, Senior Director of Technology, Senior Director of Global Operations, and others as required.

Responsibilities
Procurement:

• Supervise procurement of goods and services in line with IPA  procurement policy
• Oversee the general implementation and continuous refinement of IPA’s procurement systems, including online process flows.
• Assist in the review of agreements, MoUs, and contracts as required both as oversight to procurement processes and to review content in coordination with General Counsel and Country Director.
• Manage relationships with suppliers and other external bodies which serve the office as a whole, such as landlords, insurance carriers and brokers, local legal counsel, etc.

Compliance:

• Ensure IPA Nigeria’s registration is up to date and that it complies with all statutory requirements.
• Ensure IPA Nigeria complies with all Nigerian laws and regulations and all IPA Operations-related Global policies, all in coordination with IPA’s General Counsel, IPA Global Operations team, and IPA Nigeria’s lawyers.

Operations and Security:

• Work closely with the Country Director to define and implement IPA Nigeria’s long-term operational strategy in the areas of HR, IT, Procurement, Safety & Security, Office Management, and Compliance.
• Lead the development and implementation of annual strategic plans for all Operations functions.
• Continuously analyze and review internal controls, operational policies and procedures, and business processes and identify gaps for strengthening, training, and implementation.
• Provide input to and oversee the roll-out and implementation of global operations and administrative policies and procedures at the country office level.
• Be IPA Nigeria’s Safety & Security Focal Point.
• Lead the maintenance and management of the country risk register, and risk management in general.
• Work closely with the IPA Global and Regional ICT functional support teams to ensure the Nigeria office has a functioning ICT infrastructure and support.
• Ensure IPA Nigeria assets are properly managed and the asset register is up to date.

Human Resources:

• Work closely with the IPA Global HR functional support team to manage country-level human resource needs in line with global and local policies.
• Provide timely information for payroll management to finance department.
• Plan and conduct orientation training for all new staff.
• Facilitate exit clearance in liaison with line managers and other departments and liaise with Finance Team to calculate terminal benefits and issue service certificates.  
• In collaboration with the HR assistant, maintain an organized filing system and personal files for all staff that is UpToDate and well secured.
• Regularly update the HR Information Systems (HRIS) and prepare monthly and quarterly HR reports.
• Oversee and build the capacity of the Nigeria Operations team to execute routine operational processes and solve operational problems with minimal management intervention.

Qualifications

• Minimum of Bachelor's Degree-level in Education;
• A minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience, preferably in an NGO
• Experience managing compliance requirements for an NGO in Nigeria
• Experience with a wide range of donors
• Experience with operations support management
• Excellent management and organizational skills
• High attention to detail and ability to multitask effectively
• Strong communication skills and ability to represent an organization professionally
• Sensitivity to working in a culturally diverse organization
• Master's degree an added advantage

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Position Summary

• We are seeking a Country Director to oversee its Nigeria operations. The Country Director will be based in Abuja, with travels to project locations within the country.
• The Country Director will work with IPA Global and key stakeholders to set the strategic direction for IPA in Nigeria and oversee multiple simultaneous impact evaluations in a variety of sectors, including financial inclusion, social protection, peace & recovery, and health.
• The position provides the opportunity to guide the research and evidence-policy program for the Country Office, spend time in the field, direct in-country operations and to interact closely with academic researchers, local government agencies, donors, as well as other NGOs.
• The Country Director, assisted by his/her management team and more broadly a team of permanent staff and dozens of short-term field staff at any given time, will provide overarching oversight to all project and office operations in Nigeria, lead strategic planning for the country program, oversee the finance and operations teams, build and strengthen systems for high-quality data collection, provide capacity building of staff and partners, and lead the sharing of results to practitioners and policymakers.
• The Country Director will also guide IPA’s continued expansion by initiating new partnerships and projects and be a key player in the growth of the country offices.
• The position requires close interaction with academic researchers, donors, local government agencies, and other implementing partners.
• The Country Director will be assisted by a Management Team comprising of two Policy and Embedded Lab Managers, a Policy Manager, two (Associate) Research Managers, a Finance Manager, as well as project development and finance and operations professionals.
• The larger team is comprised of local and international permanent staff, and up to several dozens of short-term field staff at any given time.

Responsibilities
Oversee high-quality research:

• Oversee and manage a research team, whose responsibilities include project design, management of data collection, data management and analysis, and writing of research reports, all in close collaboration with the Principal Investigators;
• Strengthen current systems and structures to ensure that the implementation of research activities follows IPA’s research quality standards and processes and Principal Investigators’ directions;
• Coordinate skills training and provide mentorship to staff; and
• Work to incorporate best practices and lessons learned in research and operations by other IPA offices and research affiliates.

Ensure sound operations and finances:

• Provide supervision and support to administrative staff, overseeing human resources, IT, procurement, operations, and finance;
• With support from the Global Finance, Grants and Grants Finance teams, ensure compliance with financial procedures, approve expenditures, make accurate spending projections and ensure overall compliance;
• Oversee the management of project budgets and donor reporting, with support from the country office management and finance team and in coordination with IPA’s global Grants team;
• Coordinate office and country-wide meetings and trainings and oversee performance and salary reviews and contracting for locally-hired staff; and
• Create and monitor an annual budget for the Country Office and ensure that country office structures are supported by incoming revenue through country office budget planning and management.

New project development:

• In dialogue with potential partners and Principal Investigators, identify and develop potential projects with meaningful research and policy outcomes;
• Participate in research project design, co-lead partner engagement and lead budgeting during the proposal stage to ensure evaluations meet IPA standards; and
• Coordinate fundraising for research proposals.

Policy impact and external relations:

• Identify priority research questions for Nigeria and key concerns for policymakers and initiate and manage the development of corresponding new research proposals;
• Represent IPA with national and local government agencies and partner organizations. Manage relationships with current and potential IPA partner organizations;
• Develop and maintain relationships with implementing partners, the government, and academia for the country office to maximize its impact;
• Oversee capacity building of local development partners in evidence-based policy making and rigorous impact evaluations; and
• Oversee targeted dissemination, encourage scale up of successful interventions.

Mitigate and manage risks:

• Take steps to mitigate risks and to safeguard the organization’s reputation;
• Ensure CO compliance with government laws and regulations, including updated rules and regulations in the implementation of Labor laws and the Data Privacy Act, and work with the Operations team and Local Counsel to gather up to date information and guidance;
• In coordination with the Global Operations team, set security standards and parameters for work to ensure staff safety and security; monitor security concerns for IPA operations in the country, review project-specific security plans before the start of field work, and act as primary contact in crisis management;
• Communicate safety and security policies and wellness resources to local and international staff; and
• Ensure compliance with all IPA policies and procedures.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Development Economics, International Affairs, International Public Policy, or field related to International Economic Development;
• Must have 8-10 years of relevant work experience, including 5 years in a management position; preferably experience in research and policy engagement.
• Demonstrated ability to lead large teams and multiple projects;
• Experience in developing research projects, experience with budgeting and project planning;
• Significant exposure to human resources and financial management;
• Passion for connecting rigorous research to policy makers and practitioners and communicating what works in development;
• Experience in grants and contracts management, preferably in a research setting;
• Good quantitative skills and familiarity with randomized controlled trials is an added advantage;
• Commitment to leading a diverse team in a multicultural environment and building staff capacity;
• Ability to communicate effectively across cultures with multiple stakeholders including international and local academic researchers, government officials, NGO partners, enumeration teams, and study participants;
• Excellent management and organizational skills and ability to work independently;
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player;
• Experience living and working in Africa;
• Experience in managing complex safety and security situations or working in volatile countries;
• Fluency in both written and spoken English is required;
• Strong oral and written communication skills.

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Summary

• We are seeking a Research Associate to join its Agro Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS) Socio Emotional Skills (SES) project with the World Bank Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) to assess the returns to socio-emotional skills training for people working in the agri-business sector.
• IPA and GIL are working with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to carry out a randomized control trial across six states in Nigeria to increase the understanding of how to effectively deliver these skills and in turn impact individual earnings, employment, and entrepreneurship.
• This study will contribute to a larger research program studying the impacts of socio-emotional skills in a range of populations and contexts.
• The Research Associate will support the Nigeria Country Director and the World Bank GIL to successfully administer and implement a range of research activities including, but not limited to: coordinating research plans with project partners, piloting survey questionnaires, conducting qualitative research, refining study design, managing survey teams, conducting data cleaning and analysis, drafting working papers and other publications and materials for disseminating research findings.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the research project development process across all phases: project design, partnership agreements, budgeting and procurement, implementation, and dissemination.
• Monitor project implementation to ensure quality control and adherence to the research specifications agreed upon.
• Draft reports, working papers, briefs, blogs, and other materials to disseminate the findings of research.
• Develop and pilot the survey instruments and manage the translation of the survey into local languages.
• Build and support project relationships with local stakeholders, including government authorities, multilateral and bilateral partners, and the private sector to successfully implement the research projects. Make decisions and take actions to ensure research partnerships progress on track, and those political dynamics are managed to ensure successful outcomes for the research collaborations.
• Ensure all data quality protocols are followed including auditing enumerators and performing daily checks of the incoming data; correct the errors of staff iteratively to ensure the data is of the highest quality.
• Sort, clean, analyze, and report on data and findings from the research projects.
• Contribute to the delivery of high-quality policy and research outputs and activities. These include internal and external communications on the progress and outcomes of the research projects.
• Ensure project deliverables, such as reports and financial statements, are submitted on time.
• Take joint responsibility for project management, including drafting work plans, budget management, forecasting, and ensuring value for money.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of relevant work experience in research, international development, and project management.
• Master's Degree in Development Economics, International Public Policy, or a related field.
• Experience supervising large data collection research projects, including leading survey design, implementation, and data management; background in randomized control trials.
• Experience working on both quantitative and qualitative data collection.
• Intermediate/Advanced knowledge of statistical packages such as STATA, R, Python.
• Demonstrated capacity to produce high-quality publications.
• Superior analytical, quantitative, and conceptual thinking skills.
• Ability to present information in a structured and insightful way, both in writing and orally.
• Self-starter, entrepreneurial mindset, versatility, and strong multi-tasking skills.
• Experience working on sensitive issues related to gender and social norms.
• Experience with data visualization.
• Significant applied econometrics skills.
• Passion for making data-driven decision-making a reality in the development sector.
• Ability to manage and coordinate diverse teams across stakeholders, including academic researchers, field staff, government and private sector partners.
• Experience working with diverse teams across multiple locations, including extensive remote locations of team members.
• Detail-oriented, flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently and under pressure.