Senior Impact Evaluation Specialist

SENIOR IMPACT EVALUATION SPECIALIST

About SI

Social Impact (SI) is an Arlington, VA-based international development consulting firm. We provide a full range of innovative management consulting, technical assistance, and training services to strengthen international development programs, organizations and policies. SI conducts an increasing number of rigorous impact evaluations (IEs), including randomized control trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental evaluations, of development projects for USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and other donors.

Position Description

SI is seeking a Senior IE Specialist to help grow our expanding IE Practice Area. The primary function of the Senior IE Specialist will be to provide high-level technical management, oversight, and support for multiple IEs. The Senior IE Specialist will also be responsible for continuing to grow the Practice Area through proposal development and fostering relationships with new clients. The position offers the potential to serve as a co-Principal Investigator (PI) along with some of the leading academics across a variety of development disciplines, as well as a unique opportunity to work with key clients in the integration of rigorous evaluation into their overall approach through training programs, workshops, and technical assistance. The Senior IE Specialist will report to the IE Practice Area Leader and will be supported by our growing IE team of Program Managers, Associates, and Assistants.

Position Responsibilities:

IE Technical Management (expected 60% time)

The Senior IE Specialist will be responsible for leading a portfolio of IEs, including the following tasks:

• Lead design, monitoring, analysis and reporting of select IEs
  • Advise on and develop appropriate experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation designs
  • Conduct scoping trips to inform evaluation design
  • Perform power calculations and sampling for IEs
  • Provide oversight of pilot testing and data collection and lead enumerator training, as needed
  • Provide technical trouble-shooting to ongoing IEs
  • Draft and present evaluation results for academic and donor audiences
• Recruit, and with support of Program Managers, coordinate IE teams including top-level academics and researchers ensuring quality and timeliness of deliverables
• Provide oversight and technical support to data collection activities for IEs

Evaluation Training (expected 20% time)

The Senior IE Specialist will be expected to provide training and technical assistance to key donors, including the MCC and USAID, to build their capacity to implement high quality evaluations, including, but not limited to, IEs.

• Lead evaluation trainings for MCC and USAID in Washington and in field missions
• Serve as an IE Mentor for USAID staff seeking their Certificate in Evaluation
• Develop and lead IE capacity building activities in specific sub-sectors for individual IE projects or initiatives

Business Development (expected 20% time)

Support marketing, business and proposal development related to new IE opportunities and, as time permits, other evaluation-related new bids. The Senior IE Specialist will identify new IE opportunities, write technical sections for proposals, review draft proposals, identify IE experts to be included in proposals, and work with the Finance Department to create IE budgets.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits will be commensurate with the candidate’s capabilities and experience. Standard benefits include paid leave, health insurance, IRA.  Salary range: commensurate with skill base.

Come join our energetic and innovative team!  We offer you the opportunity to play a leading role in the growth of our Company, work as part of a creative and committed team, and to make a difference in the well-being of our world.

To learn more about Social Impact, please visit our website: http://www.socialimpact.com

Candidate Requirements

• Ph.D. in relevant subject area, such as economics, statistics, public policy, development, etc. (strongly preferred, although relevant Master’s degree with more than 8 years’ experience will be considered)
• Demonstrated experience (minimum 5 yrs with PhD or 8 with Master’s) managing or providing technical guidance to IEs or development field research that explicitly addresses a comparison group using related statistical or econometric techniques (required)
• Academic training in quantitative research/evaluation including familiarity with counterfactual based IE designs such as RCTs, propensity score matching, and regression discontinuity (required)
• Academic training and/or practical experience in quantitative analysis, including experience in econometrics and use of STATA (required)
• Academic training and/or practical experience in power calculations and statistical sampling (required)
• Ability to travel overseas for short-term assignments (required)
• Demonstrated ability to write clearly (required)
• Experience working in developing countries (required)
• Field experience in managing large-scale data collection events (strongly preferred)
• Experience with qualitative data collection and analysis techniques (strongly preferred)
• Experience working with USAID or MCC (strongly preferred)
•  Proficiency in a foreign language, such as Spanish or French (preferred)

Interested candidates, please forward CVs and cover letter to:

http://socialimpact.devhire.devex.com/jobs/326405. We will contact only eligible candidates to further discuss their availability. Please no phone calls. Social Impact is an equal opportunity employer.

Please do not apply if you do not meet the minimum requirements.