Salary: 65000-90000

Who we want:

MSA seeks a driven professional with strong economic development, private sector development, or market systems experience to join the team in the position of Research Advisor, in Denver, Colorado; Toronto, Canada; or Kampala, Uganda. Candidates not in one of these locations will be considered on an exceptional basis.

MSA is growing – this opportunity offers significant potential for the successful candidate to grow with us, assuming progressively greater responsibility with MSA.

The nature of the role:

This is a full-time position that will liaise with a Practice Lead. The role is 85% technical with the remaining 15% spent between strategy and other internal tasks. We hope to find someone who wants to learn quickly and grow with our firm.

Key Areas of Responsibility:

• Serve as Engagement Lead on MEL-focused projects. The Research Advisor will be an Engagement Lead on MEL-focused engagements, which includes leading communication with the client, designing the workplan and resourcing allocation and being responsible for the research process from design to delivery.

• Secondary research and literature reviews. Conduct in-depth secondary research to and review relevant literature to inform key research questions and complement primary data collection where it is required. This applies to MERL-focused engagements and wider engagements with MERL components. Exposure and knowledge of the latest and most useful literature that can be consulted for different engagements will be especially helpful.

• Provide technical advice and review during the research design phase. This may include, but not limited to providing advice on structuring research plans and / or questions, providing guidance on structuring codebooks, codesigning and / or reviewing data collection tools, preparing and delivering enumerator training, and reviewing engagement inception reports. They will work collaboratively with other MSA technical team members to ensure quality standards are met throughout the research design phase.

• Data analysis, and mentorship and oversight of data analysis. Providing high quality in-depth quantitative and qualitative data analysis that enables action, informs better decision-making, and ultimately improves outcomes and impact is a key responsibility. The advisor will provide oversight of data analysis - done by other team members - to ensure high-quality MERL products are delivered to clients. This may include, but not limited to, reviewing data summaries, providing training in the use of quantitative and qualitative analysis computer software, correcting for issues that arise in data collection, etc. They will work collaboratively with in-country research firms and consultants to ensure quality standards are met throughout the data collection process across the MSA team.

• Methods improvement and development. Improving on existing research methods and developing new methods that enable action, inform better decision-making, and ultimately improves outcomes and impact is one of the main responsibilities of the Advisor. They will be expected to systematically look for ways and opportunities to improve on existing methods and, where relevant, propose new, more appropriate, robust, credible and right-sized methods for different client engagements.

• Report writing. Building from the above responsibility areas, the Research Advisor will write reports (documents and presentations) that synthesize findings and present recommendations to enable evidence-based actions in line with MSA's mission. They will also review reports written by Research Specialists and/or consultants on specific project deliverables, such as market assessments, baseline, midline and endline studies. Smooth and productive collaboration with other technical teams within MSA is an enabler for this responsibility area.

• Thought leadership and institutional guidance. One of the Research Team's main mandates is to cultivate a learning practice and excellence in monitoring, evaluation, learning and evaluation through producing learning products, organizing learning convenings, and producing trainings and guides. The Advisor will produce learning products for internal and external learning products that improve MSA's work and / or our clients, as well as more broadly in the field.

• Effective organization and collaboration. The Advisor is expected to be able to prioritize, implement and deliver high-quality work within tight timelines with minimal supervision. They will need to effectively allocate their time across multiple engagements that they are involved in. Collaboration is one of our core values that drives our mission and growth. The Research Specialist will collaborate extensively internally as well as with external stakeholders.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in economics, sociology, international development, anthropology, decision sciences, or related field.
• At least seven years of significant experience designing and conducting qualitative research using Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS, such as NVivo) and quantitative research using software, such as Stata, SPSS, R, and others.
• Strong primary and secondary research experience including research design and implementation, and knowledge of ethical practices and quality assurance.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including experience drafting reports.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work and build relationships with team members and clients from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to prioritize, implement, and deliver high-quality work within tight timelines and with minimal supervision.

Other desired characteristics:

• Experience developing strategies to measure challenging concepts in practical ways and applying systems approaches.
• Graduate degree in sociology, anthropology, economics, or other relevant social science.
• Experience with leading private foundations, or USAID specifically in market systems development, economic development and/or private sector engagement projects. Experience with USAID MERL activities, such as contributing to Monitoring and Evaluation Plans and Collaboration Learning and Adaptation plans is preferred.
• Experience working for a consulting firm and managing consulting projects.
• Experience designing and leading trainings.
• Proficiency in another language, preferably written and oral French.
• Experience working and living in developing countries.

Other information:

This is a salaried, full-time position that will report to a Practice Lead. It will require approximately 25-35% travel. The position will be based in either Denver, Kampala, Uganda or Canada.

For reference, the salary range for this position is $65,000 – 90,000 if Denver based. For candidates based in another state or outside the US, MSA will consider rates aligned with local market rates. Where a candidate falls within this range is based on previous years of experience and versatility (i.e., number of required and desired characteristics as well as expected capability).

Application Details:

Deadline to apply is November 8th, 2023. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Please also include a cover letter (maximum one page) explaining your interest in this role and answering the following questions:

• What do you see as the most important innovation in research approaches that support learning?
• List the three things, in order of impact, that you would bring to MSA to take us to the next level.
• Which of our values most resonates with you, and why?
• What professional achievement are you most proud of?
• Where are you based? Where are you legally authorized to work?
• What is your location preference?
• Where did you learn about this role?
• If selected, how soon would you be able to start?

remote work