Researcher and Monitoring & Evaluation Manager

About Ark’s Education Partnerships Group

 

Education systems the world over are failing to give disadvantaged children the learning opportunities and outcomes they need to succeed in life. Education Partnerships Group (EPG) is a non-profit consultancy created to help ensure all children are able to go to school and learn.

 

We work towards this goal by helping governments in low-and middle-income countries to shape and strengthen their education systems and by contributing to global evidence, policy and practice. We support Governments in three main ways: helping them build the regulatory and policy environment in which their system operates; improving the ways in which they hold schools accountable for children’s learning; and developing processes for school support. The types of projects we’re working on at the moment include designing: public/private partnerships; inspection systems; data dashboards and school support frameworks. EPG is a research-driven organisation that draws on available global evidence and through its programmes generates new evidence which we share through a wide range of networks.

 

EPG has active portfolio of engagements in South Africa, Uganda, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, and is growing a pipeline of opportunities in other countries in Africa and Asia.

 

About the Role

EPG is looking for a highly motivated candidate to join the small but growing research team that drives everything we do. The right candidate will find EPG an exciting and entrepreneurial environment and see this role as an opportunity to change children’s learning in developing countries. This role is based in EPG’s London office with international travel (indicatively 15-20%). The Researcher and M&E Manager will report to the Associate Director of Research and Evaluation.

 

The successful candidate will play a critical role in supporting the generation of policy-relevant data and research from our growing portfolio of country programmes; use this research to contribute to the global evidence base on mixed market education systems reform; and drive the monitoring and evaluation activities across all EPG country programmes.

 

Location: EPG’s London office, with international travel (20%)

 

Salary: £45,000 - £55,000 (commensurate with experience)

 

Closing Date: 25 February 2019 at midnight

 

To apply with a cover letter and CV, visit our recruitment portal here. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Julie Belanger at julie.belanger@arkonline.org

 

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

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Responsibilities

 

The successful candidate will perform a range of research, data analysis, and monitoring and evaluation activities including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Provide technical advice to EPG engagements by working with the projects team to ensure that every EPG engagement is driven by evidence, including advice, guidance and problem-solving approaches in measurement, monitoring and evaluation. This includes, for example providing technical support and testing on the development of value-added models of school quality.
  • Support the EPG projects team to ensure that high quality research and impact evaluations are commissioned, well supervised and sufficiently quality-assured.
  • Conduct primary and secondary research related to the current portfolio of projects, including conducting literature and data searches for ongoing research projects, provide descriptive statistics, and run other statistical analysis using Stata and preparing publication quality graphics.
  • Support the EPG projects team in the development of proposals for primary and secondary research.
  • Support in the design and implementation of project and country programme monitoring and evaluation plans to enable the timely collation and communication of learnings and practical knowledge to support programme design and evaluation.
  • Collaborate with EPG’s project team to draft blogs, policy briefs, and notes on research findings.
  • Present research findings at seminars and conferences.

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The successful candidate will have the following qualifications and skills:

  • A post-graduate degree with emphasis on quantitative analysis, such as applied statistics, economics, or evaluation.
  • Experience in designing and implementing experimental/quasi experimental impact evaluations, mixed-methods approaches (including survey design and sampling).
  • Extensive experience conducting quantitative analysis (including econometric and other complex statistical analysis).
  • Experience in programme monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems.
  • Familiarity with current issues, actors and debates in global education.
  • Experience working in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams (including with in-country partners)
  • Proven ability to be a team player and to successfully manage multiple and changing priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, all while maintaining a good sense of humour.
  • Outstanding organisation and time management skills, with an attention to detail.
  • Essential software skills: Microsoft Office (specifically Excel) and advanced statistical analysis software such as Stata, SPSS, SAS or R.
  • Experience working in developing country contexts or international education policy would be an advantage.

Researcher and Monitoring & Evaluation Manager
Location: Education Partnerships Group
Salary: £45,000 - £55,000 (commensurate with experience)