Senior Research Fellow, IWWAGE

Location: Chennai, New Delhi

Reports to: Director – Research

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: Commensurate with qualifications and experience 

About LEAD at Krea University:

LEAD is an action-oriented research centre of IFMR Society (a not-for-profit society registered under the Societies Act), leverages the power of research, innovation and co-creation to solve complex and pressing challenges in development. LEAD specialises in developing in-depth granular understanding of socio-economic contexts and harnessing actionable insights that have a wide range of applications in industry, policy, and academia. LEAD is a collaborative hub that brings experts from diverse disciplines and sectors together to develop innovative solutions by harnessing innovation, technology and analytics.

About IWWAGE:

Institute for What Works to Advance Gender Equality (IWWAGE) aims to build on existing research and generate new evidence to inform and facilitate the agenda of women’s economic empowerment. IWWAGE is an initiative of LEAD, an action-oriented research centre of IFMR Society (a not-for-profit society registered under the Societies Act). LEAD has strategic oversight and brand support from Krea University (sponsored by IFMR Society) to enable synergies between academia and the research centre.

About the Position:

We are actively seeking a qualified, self-sufficient and thorough Senior Research Fellow, preferably trained in Economics/Development Studies/other social sciences with a strong focus, particularly on Women Labour Force Participation and Women Economic Empowerment, for carrying forward the research agenda of IWWAGE. 

The successful candidate will have superior research and analytical skills, will be an excellent writer, and will have a solid understanding of evaluation methodologies. They will be adaptable, quick-to-learn, and uncompromising with respect to research quality and thoroughness. Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written) are essential in order to be able to present research insights to various stakeholders and on national and, possibly, international platforms through a wide range of media. 

In the long run, the Senior Research Fellow will support the Executive Director to develop and expand the team’s research agenda and grow the team’s research portfolio, with the opportunity of leading/pursuing other research opportunities. The Fellow is also expected to supervise and guide field staff as well as liaise with local government partners and stakeholders. The candidate should be willing to travel whenever necessary.

Responsibilities:

Research Role:

• Contribute to determining the research objectives for the time-bound research programmes;
• Conceptualise and carry out independent in-house research projects to enhance the research portfolio of IWWAGE;
• Develop survey design, questionnaires, polls, etc., specific to research requirements and test research methodologies to confirm the intended purpose of the evaluation for the current research;
• Oversee and monitor fieldwork, interviews, and experiments to gather evidence.

Institution and Capacity-building Role:

• Contribute along with other senior team members in establishing the broader research agenda of IWWAGE;
• Contribute actively in managing project deadlines, maintaining timelines, reviewing outputs and coordinating with funders/research/academic partners;
• Maintain project information on internal systems (like Asana), monthly and periodic reporting on progress, managing resource requirements;
• Manage and build the capacity of the research assistants and young researchers/interns, and fellows at IWWAGE;
• Actively contribute to developing research opportunities;
• Respond to RFPs, or anchor proposal development in particular on the technical aspects;
• Where relevant expertise area, forge partnerships with donors and other research organisations to co-develop research concepts and implement them;
• Networking across sectors, including government, for the expansion of the vertical.

Learning, Policy and Outreach Role:

• Publish articles in peer-reviewed national and international journals, opinion pieces for magazines and newspapers, and blog pieces;
• Develop policy briefs, factsheets and short research outputs for IWWAGE internal publications;
• Ensure compliance with LEAD’s research protocols across all project activities to maintain the integrity and quality of research;
• Any other task assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications:

• PhD/Masters in Gender Studies/Development Economics Studies/Public Policy with at least 8-10 years of relevant work experience, involving varied responsibilities in formulating, developing, implementing, managing and delivering evidence-based research projects of various levels of complexity. Strong research and evaluation skills to lead impact evaluations and research studies. Would also consider a PhD with at least 5 years of experience; however, strong project management skills are required;

• Demonstrable experience in supporting the capture and recording of impact from research projects. Knowledge of advanced statistical methods used for impact evaluation of large programs;

• Demonstrated experience in fundraising for projects;

• Record of publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals;

• Significant experience in establishing strong relationships with external partners, such as government, industry, NGOs, think tanks and multilateral donor organisations;

• Excellent communicator, both written and oral, able to express complex technical issues in plain language;

• Demonstrated ability to lead a team and a strong understanding of the entire research project development and research management cycle;

• Excellent relationship management skills at an executive level.

Application Instructions:

Deadline: Applications will be open till the position is filled. To apply, please collate your resume, a cover letter and writing sample in a single PDF and apply in the form here.

Note: Due to the large volume of applications we receive, we are unable to contact each candidate individually regarding the status of their application. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview purposes.