Project Associate, Girls Empowered by Microfranchise, Kenya

• Reports to: Country Director, Kenya and Principal Investigators
• Location: Nairobi, Kenya
• Application Deadline: June 30, 2013
• Start date: As soon as possible

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit research organization. Based in New Haven, CT, with offices in Washington, D.C. and worldwide, IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches to solving development problems, to communicate "what works" in development and to scale up successful projects in a variety of fields, including health, education, microfinance, governance and agriculture.

Project Summary:

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) seeks qualified applicants for the position of Project Associate for the evaluation "Estimating the Impacts of Microfranchising on Young Women in Nairobi."  The project will measure the impact of a novel "microfranchising" intervention intended to help young women become entrepreneurs.  Microfranchising, which connects unemployed participants with businesses via multi-person franchises, is a recent policy innovation whose efficacy has not yet been convincingly demonstrated. Conceptually, a microfranchise has features in common with both a formal sector job and self-employment: while microfranchisees do not need to devise business models of their own, groups of microfranchisees work together with very little managerial supervision and considerable latitude for creativity.

We will carry out a randomized evaluation of the Girls Empowered by Microfranchise (GEM) project.  The evaluation will measure the impacts of a microfranchising intervention designed specifically for young women in six Nairobi neighborhoods.  Our design allows for a comparison between the microfranchising intervention and both a pure control group – who receive no entrepreneurial support – and a traditional cash grant treatment which provides capital but no entrepreneurial guidance or business plan.  Our design also allows us to estimate spillover effects on pre-existing businesses.  This addresses a major concern in evaluations of entrepreneurship and credit interventions:  estimates of direct effects may overstate overall social impacts if new enterprises adversely affect the profits of existing firms.  To explore this question, we will collect panel data on pre-existing businesses in sectors and neighborhoods in which the new microfranchises will operate, and in comparison sectors and neighborhoods which will not be in direct competition with the microfranchisees. 

Position Summary:

The Project Associate will be one of two team members leading the fieldwork for an ongoing randomized controlled trial evaluation of the Girls Empowered by Microfranchise program. The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand field management experience in an organization undertaking cutting-edge development research. Key areas of involvement will include: designing survey questionnaires, running pilot studies, managing survey teams, cleaning and analyzing data, assisting in the writing of project reports and policy memos, and liaising with nongovernmental partners. The principal investigators are Maddalena Honorati (World Bank), Pamela Jakiela (University of Maryland) and Owen Ozier (World Bank).

Responsibilities:

The Project Associate will work closely with the IPA-Kenya Country Office and the researchers to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

• Planning and managing baseline and endline survey data collection;
• Liaising with the implementing partner and monitoring the implementation of the microfranchising intervention;
• Hiring, training, and managing survey enumerators;
• Developing and piloting survey instruments; managing the logistics of a large-scale field experiment, including managing budgets, timelines, contract worker payroll, and procurement;
• Managing data entry and assisting in data cleaning and analysis;
• Ensuring adherence to data quality protocols, including auditing enumerators, monitoring data collection, and conducting data quality audits;
• Managing critical high-level relationships with local NGOs;
• Participating in meetings with key stakeholders and presenting research findings;
• Writing reports detailing research findings and proposed interventions;
• Overseeing funding and approval applications, and ensuring that all necessary approvals are in place; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, or related fields;
• Experience implementing surveys and/or conducting research in a developing country setting;
• Excellent management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills;
• Knowledge of Stata (strongly preferred) or other data analysis software;
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials;
• Prior work experience in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa;
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English (knowledge of Swahili is a plus);
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player; and
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations.

How to Apply:

1. Send an email to  and cc , following these instructions:

• In the subject line:  Copy exactly the following position line: 100944IPAKenya, Project Associate, GEM
• In the email body:  Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name
• Attachments:  Please attach Only your CV and cover letter

2. Qualified candidates: Please submit an application through J-PAL's , indicating that you are interested in applying for a "Type 1: Research Analyst or Project Associate" 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.

3. Fill out our .

IPA is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer.

All persons shall have the opportunity to be considered for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

IPA will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business. If you believe you require such assistance to complete this form or to participate in an interview, please contact us at .

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be 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 .