Researcher, Education

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The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

IRC reaches over a million children annually with education and child protection programs in 25 countries around the world. The Education technical unit defines the vision and strategic priorities for all of IRC’s education a programs. The team provides evidence-based and contextually-relevant technical support to programs, with the goal of ensuring they are technically sound and achieving the outcomes we seek. The Airbel Impact Lab spearheads IRC’s work to conduct and use research, cost analysis, and monitoring data to inform decision making and improve effectiveness throughout the organization and in the broader humanitarian field.

Job Overview/Summary:

As a member of the Airbel Impact Lab Unit, and working closely with the Education Unit, this position will advance research on education, including analyzing data from impact evaluations, writing reports, providing support for business development proposals, and implementing and publishing high-quality research.

This position will provide technical support to the Accessible and Quality Basic Education (AQBE) in Afghanistan project, a 5-year basic education project funded by USAID and led by the IRC in Afghanistan. AQBE seeks to improve safe access for schooling for Afghan children, especially marginalized groups of children through four key result areas: 1) Quality improvements in teaching and wellbeing for teachers and learners; 2) Community engagement and accountability for safe learning; 3) Supported transitions for CBE learners into public education; and 4) safe and equitable access for all learners. AQBE will undertake numerous research studies over the 5-year period which will seek to generate evidence to inform programming and policy in Afghanistan. As part of the initiative, AQBE will conduct a series of studies, including a “Household and School-Level Assessment on Learning in Afghanistan”, which will assess the current learning environment for Afghan children in both formal and out-of-school contexts. The project will also evaluate the interventions under implementation by AQBE to provide early insights on their potential impact on children’s learning outcomes and social-emotional outcomes as well as teachers’ wellbeing and professional development outcomes.

The position will lead on designing studies, analyzing data and writing reports for the household and school assessments, and for impact evaluation of the AQBE project. The role reports to the Director of Research for Education, and will work closely with the education researchers and the Education Technical Unit.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead on designing studies, analyzing data, and writing reports for the household and school assessments and impact evaluation of the AQBE project.

• Work in the analysis and reporting of research conducted as part of DFID’s EiE project in Nigeria

o Quantitative/ qualitative research to explore the effects of different education interventions on the literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional skills and transition outcomes of children in Afghanistan.

o Implementation research to look at how different aspects related to the quality of the implementation affect different learning and transition outcomes for different types of students

o Measurement research to assess the reliability and validity of outcome and quality of implementation tools and establish protocols for improvement

o Provide technical input for M&E team to ensure that the project obtains high quality data for the purposes of research

• Advise and assist M&E teams on calculating indicators and setting up processes for high quality data collection

• Work with an internal team focused on education research moving our education research priorities forward.

• Contribute to dissemination of research findings by writing blogs, briefs, and publications in academic journals and practitioner-focused outlets.

• Provide support in business development processes for research, including gathering information and proposals.

• Collaborate with colleagues within the education team, research team and R&D team, and within other IRC departments, in pursuit of the tasks above

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• PhD or MA in education, social sciences, economics, or related field.

• Knowledge of causal inference methods and strong statistical skills are expected.

• Strong qualitative skills and use of software for qualitative data analysis.

• Minimum five years of progressive experience in education research and/or relevant practice.

• Demonstrated experience with business development.

• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively in a multi-cultural environment.

• Solid organizational skills: the ability to be flexible and work well under pressure, dealing with competing priorities, in a fast-paced team environment.

• Fluency in English required; Dari, Pashto, French or Arabic language a plus.

Working Environment:

• Standard office working environment or remote work.

• Some travel may be required for project activities.

Compensation:

Posted pay ranges apply to UK-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.