RESEARCH MANAGER -SUDAN

Sayara International is looking for a highly skilled and self-motivated individual with significant academic and professional training and experience in research design, research implementation, and report writing, as well as capacity building of research associates and field researchers.

The Research Manager position will be full-time and based in Khartoum, Sudan. The Research Manager’s primary role is to ensure the delivery of high-quality research projects for Sayara’s clients in Sudan. There are three main functions of this role: research team management, client management and engagement, and high-level research input and oversight.

Please read the full Terms of Reference below and guidelines on how to apply for this role. We look forward to hearing from you.

Position Description:

We are looking for a highly skilled and self-motivated person to join Sayara International’s Sudan team as Research Manager – Sudan. This is an exciting and challenging role in a busy, friendly team. Here is an overview of the three main functions of this role:

Research Team Management

The Research Manager will directly manage the Research & Program Associates and fieldwork staff and build their capacity to deliver top-quality research deliverables. The Research Manager will be integral to Sayara’s aim to execute our work using a sustainable teaching model that builds local research capacity in Sudan’s challenging environment.

Client Management and Engagement

The Research Manager will play a critical role in managing the client relationship, including by providing advice on key decisions related to research design by spelling out both the methodological and practical (i.e. budgetary and logistical) implications of a given decision. The Research Manager will work alongside the Support Services team, Business Development team, and Communications team to ensure that all proposals are methodologically coherent, locally contextualized, profitable, and are in keeping with the highest standards of research quality.

High-Level Research Input and Oversight

It is the responsibility of the Research Manager to oversee the lifecycle of every project and support their team through the challenges that come with administering high-quality fieldwork in complex environments. They will provide expert input on sample design, questionnaire design, and analysis techniques/approaches. The Research Manager will guide key decisions related to statistical analysis, including choices of appropriate inferential-statistical tests, data structure, weighting, and other adjustments to account for survey design (including stratification and clustering).

The Research Manager – Sudan will report to Sayara’s Director – Sudan.

The Research Manager – Sudan will contribute to the work Sayara does to build positive change in societies that most need it. You will be working as part of a welcoming and diverse international team of experienced professionals.

About Sayara International:

Sayara International is a social enterprise combining rigorous research and communication to create positive change in fragile and conflict-affected societies.

Sayara provides complex monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) and social and behavior change communication (SBCC) in the most challenging environments. We work on countering disinformation, measuring social cohesion, and assessing education, migration, inclusive governance, climate change, and health.

Diverse perspectives and an emphasis on equity bring strength to Sayara. Gender, inclusion, and intersectional identities are cross-cutting themes across all our internal practices and our programs for governments, civil society organizations, and international institutions.

Sayara has evolved across unstable contexts. Our decentralized structure – with a global leadership network and investment in local talent – enables agility and rapid start-up, while equipping us with unique values and competencies.

Founded in 2003, Sayara operates in 30 countries across Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Our teams of professionals are based in field offices in Khartoum, Kyiv (until recently), and Nairobi, with support from our offices in Dubai, London, Marseille, and Warsaw.

Find out more about Sayara International:

Website: https://sayarainternational.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SayaraIntl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sayarainternational

Facebook – Sudan: https://www.facebook.com/SayaraSudan

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/9407279/

Responsibilities:

Research Management

• Guide key decisions related to research aims and methodological design of projects during project implementation
• Guide key decisions related to statistical analysis, including choices of appropriate inferential-statistical tests, data structure, weighting, and other adjustments to account for survey design (including stratification and clustering).
• Provide expert input on matters of sample design, questionnaire design, and analysis techniques/approaches.
• Provide or appropriately delegate/assign the provision of quality assurance and quality control on all research-related deliverables (e.g. research protocols, analytical reports, datasets, and presentations).

Business Development:

• Liaise with the Director – Business Development to ensure growth of our research portfolio
• Guide key decisions related to research aims and methodological design of projects at the proposal stage
• Lead the drafting of technical sections of proposals
• Review proposals and provide feedback to the business development team to ensure that all bids are competitive, methodologically coherent, and can be executed fluently by available staff, within proposed budgets and timelines.

Human Resources (HR):

• Actively track all key research staff, their levels of utilization, and their skill sets.
• Annual performance evaluations for all research staff.
• Daily supervision, coaching/mentoring and feedback to all Research Officers (ROs) and Fieldwork Managers.
• Periodic supervision and training of researchers/enumerators.
• Maintain performance database for contract researchers/enumerators.
• Maintain reasonable workloads and expectations for all research staff.
• Develop professional development plans for research staff to ensure appropriate skill-building and mentoring activities occur.

Day-to-day tasks of the Research Manager will include (but not be limited to) the following:

• Guide key decisions related to research aims and methodological design of projects at the proposal stage and during project implementation.
• Provide or appropriately delegate/assign the provision of quality assurance and quality control on all research-related deliverables (e.g. research protocols, analytical reports, datasets, and presentations).
• Actively track and manage all key research staff, their levels of utilization, and their skill sets.
• Actively track and manage all ongoing and incoming/nascent projects, and appropriately match people/teams and their toolkits with projects.
• Provide input on local context and other practical aspects of research execution, both internally and with our clients.
• Learn, teach, and uphold Sayara’s existing systems for ensuring quality research. Assist with the roll-out and adoption of new research-related systems, as necessary.
• Serve as the primary point of contact with clients during the proposal stage and continue high-level management of the client relationship during implementation of projects, including planning and attending client meetings as necessary.

Required Qualifications:

• M.A. degree in political science, anthropology, international development, statistics, public health, economics, or a related field.
• Irrespective of degree field, graduate-level training in research methods and statistics is required.
• At least 5 years of experience in a similar role.

Required Skills:

• Advanced knowledge of Stata required.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office software.
• Graduate-level coursework in econometrics and inferential statistics, ideally including applied regression analysis, survey data analysis, data visualization, and power analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to clean and interpret real-world data, generating publishable insights.
• Experience in managing diverse, multi-cultural teams and human resources to ensure successful completion of projects and objectives.
• Prior experience and technical skills in qualitative and quantitative tool development, sampling, operationalization of complex research designs, data cleaning, and quality assurance methods.
• Demonstrated ability to efficiently and effectively edit the technical writing of others.
• Ability to conduct themselves in a professional manner regarding client and partner communication and interaction, as well as liaising with upper-level management.
• Ability to work independently in a stressful environment with minimal supervision.
• Ability to produce high-quality work under tight deadlines.
• Creativity and an ability to think outside the box to conceptualize projects and implementation strategies.

Preferred Skills (not required):

• Prior experience of living and working abroad, preferably in a developing country.
• Graduate-level coursework in research design and sample design.
• Knowledge of Open Data Kit (ODK), SurveyCTO, or KoBoToolbox.
• Training in, or experience using, qualitative analysis software (e.g. NVivo).
• Training in, or experience using, GIS analysis software (e.g. QGIS).
• Knowledge of R, Python, or other statistical programming/databasing languages is an asset.
• Prior experience in a teaching/mentoring capacity.
• Prior experience in planning and managing budgets and resources.

Location & Travel:

The Research Manager will be based in Sayara’s office in Khartoum, Sudan.

Job Type:

This is a full-time position (40 hours per week), Sunday-Thursday.

Duration:

The Research Manager will be offered a one (1) year employment contract, with a four (4) month probation period and the option for renewal, based on the discretion of, and mutual agreement between Sayara and the Research Manager.