Project Associate at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
Social Underwriting in Microfinance Project
Position: Project Associate
Deadline to Apply: January 31, 2014, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis
Start Date: flexible (March 2014 target)
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) seeks qualified applicants for the position of Project Associate for the Social Underwriting in Microfinance Project.
The primary goal of the project is to assess the role of social networks in effectively directing credit to borrowers.
The project will be conducted in partnership with Kiva, a leading micro-lending organization, focused on their new peer-to-peer lending platform, Kiva Zip.
The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand field management experience in an organization undertaking cutting-edge development research.
The principal investigators are Emily Breza, Chaning Jang, and Simone Schaner, however you will also be working closely with the partner organization, Kiva.
Responsibilities:
The Project Associate will work closely with the IPA-Kenya Country Office and the PIs (academic researchers) to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:
- logistic planning,
- assisting with project design,
- designing survey questionnaires,
- conducting focus groups,
- running pilot exercises,
- introducing the project to and negotiating with government officials,
- managing survey teams,
- checking and analyzing data,
- cleaning data and assisting in preliminary analysis,
- assisting in the writing of project reports and policy memos,
- financial accounting,
- HR, and
- various administrative tasks.
The Project Associate will be based in Nairobi, with occasional travel within Kenya.
The initial project will be for a five month period, with the possibility to extend based on performance and development of the project.
Qualifications and Experience
Required Qualifications:
- A Bachelor’s degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, or related fields
- Excellent management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills
- Fluency and excellent communication skills in English
- Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, a team player
- Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations
Desired Qualifications:
- Familiarity with randomized controlled trials preferred
- Knowledge of and experience working with STATA or other data analysis software
- Proven experience managing a team
If you are interested, please follow the instructions below: Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application indicating that you are interested in applying for a “Type 1” position.
Please note: you are not required to include transcripts or letters of recommendation upon initial submission.
After submitting, you can edit your application at any time and may add these materials, if requested. Send an email to jpaljobs@gmail.com, following these instructions exactly: In the subject line: Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name.
Attachments: Please attach ONLY your CV. In the email body: Copy exactly the following position line: (Job Number, ex. 100209) (Organization/Country Code, ex. IPA Kenya), (Position Name, ex. Project Associate), (Project Name, ex. Investments in Community-Managed Water Bodies).
Please do not include any text besides the position line(s) in the body of the e-mail.
Adding extra text will interfere with the processing of your application.
If you are applying to multiple positions, you can put multiple positions lines in the same email.
And you may send multiple such emails. However, please do not do this for more than 10 positions per every 6 month period. So, if you put 10 position lines in one email, then that counts as ten.
Or if you put 4 in one email, and 6 in another, that also counts as ten. J-PAL and IPA work closely together to conduct rigorous impact evaluations to test and improve the effectiveness of poverty reduction programs.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.
Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the Project Associate .The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs-kenya@poverty-action.org.
