Senior Researcher, Ultra Poor Graduation Initiative

Career with BRAC International

BRAC is an award-winning international non-governmental development organisation, with the vision of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realise their potential. BRAC is a leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programmes to assist poor and disadvantaged communities in low-income countries, including in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings. It is an organisation of and for the people of the Global South, pioneering new development and social enterprise approaches to equip communities to achieve prosperity. As well as being the world’s biggest NGO by number of staff and people directly reached, BRAC has regularly been ranked the number one NGO in the world by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent organisation committed to highlighting innovation, impact and governance in the non-profit sector. BRAC retained the top spot in 2020 among the top 500 NGOs for the fifth consecutive year.

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. It started its first programme outside of Bangladesh in Afghanistan in 2002, and has since reached more than 6.5 million in 11 countries of Africa and Asia. BRAC has a holistic approach to development that uses a wide array of programmes that include microfinance, education, health, agriculture, gender and human rights. BRAC invests in communities’ own human and material resources, catalyzing lasting change and creating an ecosystem in which the poor have the chance to seize control of their own lives.

About the Position

BRAC International is seeking a competent, dynamic and self-motivated individual to fill the position of Senior Researcher, Ultra Poor Graduation Initiative. The BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) is the flagship program of BRAC International at the global level that seeks to advance the use of proven Graduation approaches by governments at scale to address extreme poverty. UPGI’s works with a range of global and national partners in pursuit of this mission. Focal countries include, but are not limited to, Philippines, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Egypt.

UPGI recognises evidence generation and use as powerful drivers of progress in pursuit of this mission and is seeking researchers to join its dynamic and growing Monitoring, Evidence and Learning function. Working within UPGI’s overall research agenda in support of UPGI national and global teams, and in partnership with the BRAC Institute of Governance & Development (BIGD), this role will help to define and implement UPGI’s strategic research agenda; generating and synthesising the evidence needed to inform UPGI’s work to scale Graduation through governments. Moreover, the role will represent UPGI in external fora, and help to ensure that the team stays current with both emerging sectoral research and methodological best practices.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to play a leadership role in research for an established, southern based organisation that captures attention globally, presenting research in fresh ways and/ or undertaking new and strategic pieces of high quality research and research synthesis. It will build on a significant body of research on proven graduation approaches to addressing extreme poverty and their effective adaptation to new contexts, in order to inform and influence efforts to scale these approaches in partnership with national governments.

The right candidate will be a research specialist with a substantial record of academic and policy research, able to contribute to policy research across a range of topics and to be viewed as an authority in their own field. They will have excellent communication skills and a high level of analytical and strategic thinking, with a critical eye for both detail and the bigger picture. They will develop and lead new areas of research and undertake a significant level of public and policy engagement. They will show a deep commitment to creating and delivering an inclusive research environment, and have a high regard for the sensitivities of working with and for people living in extreme poverty.

The UPGI team is globally located and there is some flexibility in terms of where the position is based. However, preference will be given to candidates who are based in Africa or Asia. The role will be expected to undertake international travel for purposes related to research and policy engagement.

Primary Responsibilities:

The senior researcher will be responsible for informing and influencing efforts to scale proven graduation approaches through high quality and innovative research and policy engagement. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

● Establish a coherent body of research that advances UPGI’s mission and strengthens its reputation, including identifying new research agendas and leading on the design and delivery of robust research (including research design, project management, technical support, field research as appropriate, analysis and report writing)

● Build and maintain an appropriate network of internal and external research partners, identifying and working with partners and researchers, including from UPGI country contexts, to design and undertake research, keeping abreast of the research of others in this space (ie/ World Bank, FCDO, IFAD, DFAT, GiZ, JPAL etc) and helping to facilitate peer exchange

● Author peer reviewed reports, policy briefs, opinion pieces and other publications ensuring these are robust, policy-relevant and accessible.

● Contribute to the development of UPGI policy recommendations based on research evidence

● Actively disseminate research findings and undertake external engagements through advisory work, convening and engaging in public events, media work and social media engagement.

● Undertake senior-level representation and external engagement for UPGI on major research and policy agendas, interacting with senior officials and policymakers and providing senior level representation in major research and policy agendas to position UPGI as an intellectual leader and influential actor

Safeguarding Responsibilities

● Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment and exploitation to achieve the programme’s goals on safeguarding implementation.

● Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action.

● Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, encourage others to do so.

Qualifications

The candidate for Senior Researcher, Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative should have a deep commitment toward international development and the eradication of extreme poverty, and the following**:**

Essential

● Post-graduate qualification in a relevant discipline;

● At least 10 years of related research experience with developing and delivering formative research on economic development and/or multi-dimensional poverty, with a particular focus on economic inclusion.

● Proven experience and expertise with designing and leading research and learning syntheses for projects and programmes on economic development and reforms;

● Demonstrable experience with research and evaluation design including mixed-methods research approaches; qualitative and quantitative data syntheses and interpretation skills and ability to condense, refine, and tailor large amounts of qualitative and quantitative data for external audiences; thorough understanding of research ethics)

● Experience with using information management systems and software to house and analyse data, familiarity with data visualisation tools

Experience

● Experience in leading the production of academic and policy research outputs;

● Demonstrated ability to translate research into policy-relevant communications

● Strong analytical skills, including the ability to think critically about primary and secondary literature and perform meta-analytical research

Skills/Abilities

● Fluency in English and a capacity to write clearly in English, with good presentation and oral communication skills

● Ability to work in a team

● Strong organisational skills and the ability to work independently on discrete pieces of research

● Experience in developing countries and/or transitional economies

● Excellent interpersonal skills, with a collegiate approach to team work and team members and the ability to work in partnership – including at a distance – and to work as part of a team.

● Commitment to advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) principles

Desiderable

● Fluency and a good speaking and reading command of at least one other language (eg. local language) is welcome;

● Relevant personal contacts and networks in the candidate’s specialist areas (e.g. multilateral organisations, NGOs and research institutions, and government)

● Statistical analysis and experience in visualizing quantitative data