Research Associate

About GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly (GD) provides cash grants directly to people living in extreme poverty. Since launching in 2011, GD has raised over $1B, delivered cash to more than 1.5 million recipients, launched operations in 15 countries, and continues to expand its reach across the Global South. GD has also grown the research base supporting unconditional cash with 20 randomized control trials from its programs, generating rigorous evidence across countries and contexts. As a result, GD has been celebrated as one of the most innovative non-profit companies by Fast Company, while the growing cash transfer movement (and GD's leading role within it) has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, This American Life, Foreign Affairs, and The Economist.

Across our global offices, our culture is candid, analytical, non-hierarchical, and agile. We work alongside 750+ individuals who come from 21 different countries and speak 69 different languages. Team members at GiveDirectly attest that diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just buzzwords, but a fundamental part of our culture and values. We actively seek to recruit individuals from the communities we serve, and use DEI as a lens in our hiring practices, programs, and initiatives. Our goal is to maintain a workplace where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, and feel valued and respected for who they are. We strive to be inclusive of all cultures and experiences while upholding our values globally. In the spirit of our "Know Yourself and Grow" value, we recognize there is always room to improve our team's working experience. But day to day, we aim to "Create Positive Energy" - we take care of one another, have fun, aim to maximize flexibility and accessibility in roles, and pursue professional development opportunities to stay challenged & engaged in our work.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Location: This role is fully remote but must overlap with an East Africa timezone by at least 4 hours. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

About this role

GiveDirectly seeks a highly skilled and motivated Research Associate, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) to assist the organization's research strategy for donor-funded projects and internal evaluations of GiveDirectly's own funded projects. The Research Associate will work on a dynamic research team supporting project monitoring and evaluation design, implementation, analysis, reporting, and dissemination. In addition, the Research Associate will benefit from exposure to intellectual exchange and networking with the various internal and external stakeholders linked to GiveDirectly's work. The Research Associate will work closely with the Research Manager.

Reports to: Research Manager (M&E)

Level: Associate

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per year to one of our countries of operation for team retreats or field visits.

Priority Application Deadline: May 20, 2024

What you'll do:

* Operationalize monitoring and evaluation plans across donor-funded projects and internal evaluations of GiveDirectly's own funded projects.
* Design quantitative surveys and qualitative interview guides in collaboration with the data and country field teams and perform cognitive testing and piloting of data collection instruments.
* Work with Field Operations to develop contextual understanding, facilitate data collection, ensure data quality, adapt implementation to local needs, and build local capacity.
* Maintain data dictionaries that will serve as a reference guide for understanding the meaning, format, and usage of each data element within the context of the monitoring and evaluation framework.
* Perform data quality checks to ensure the accuracy, reliability, validity, completeness, consistency, timeliness, and compliance of data collected for GD's monitoring and evaluation purposes
* Conduct primary data analysis for internal and externally funded non-RCT evaluations and provide statistical and analytical support to technology and data teams.
* Develop internal monitoring and evaluation learning and adaptation:
* Prepare, maintain, and update GD's monitoring and evaluation knowledge databases.
* Undertake other administrative duties related to GD's research projects, such as participating in internal meetings, arranging and facilitating M&E brown-bag sessions, synthesizing cash evidence, and coordinating the dissemination of internal evaluations and country program reports.

What you'll bring:

* Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem-solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from candidates who have personal or professional experience in the low-income or historically marginalized communities that we serve.
* Understanding of the lives of people living in poverty - learned or lived experience of the reality of poverty -- this could be extreme absolute poverty or relative poverty in a higher-income country. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from candidates who have personal or professional experience in the low-income and/or historically marginalized communities that we serve.

At least a bachelor's degree and a minimum of 2 years of experience in designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation plans - Proficiency in designing and implementing M&E frameworks, systems, and tools. Knowledge of industry-standard monitoring and evaluation principles, methodologies, and best practices is preferred but not mandatory.

* Quantitative and qualitative research experience - Expertise in cognitive testing survey questions and survey design, training field teams and overseeing implementation activities. Additionally, conducting thorough data analysis using statistical software like STATA, SPSS, R, or Python to extract meaningful insights and recommendations is desirable. While experience in experimental/quasi-experimental research studies like RCT, RDD, Diff-in-Diff, and PSM designs is advantageous, it's not mandatory for the role.
* Communication - be equally comfortable having a technical conversation with program specialists and Field Operations teams as you are describing an evaluation in straightforward terms to an internal stakeholder who has neither program nor contextual knowledge. Experience communicating project evaluation clearly and compellingly with a range of internal and external audiences -- both verbally and in writing -- is crucial in this role.
* Sense of humor - we work hard, but our team appreciates a good joke.
* Language Requirement: English

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to ensure that staff's total compensation package (base compensation + bonus) falls within the 75th percentile of similar roles, at similar organizations. We also have a no-negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles.

* The United States base salary for this role is $74,900 per year
* The Kenya base salary for this role is $42,000 per year

This role is fully remote, so if you are not based in the US or Kenya, we will share an estimated salary benchmark for the country you are based in during the hiring process.

Why work at GiveDirectly?

At GiveDirectly, we work to ensure that you have everything you need to excel in your role and on your team, including:

* A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement
* A demonstrated commitment to helping all staff develop and grow
* A competitive salary, including bonus
* A robust health benefits plan (exact details will vary by country)
* Unlimited PTO (that we encourage staff to take)
* Desk allowance and flexible work location

About this specific hiring process

Format:

Resume screening

First interview (About 30 mins)

Take-home skills assignment (Maximum 2 hours)

Final interview (Panel) (1 hour)

Reference checks (30 mins each)

You will get an email after each stage

Read more about our ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts here and about our decision to move our central support teams to remote first here.

About the hiring process

Format: The hiring process follows the same general outline for all open roles:

First interview (30 mins)

Take home skills assignment (~2 hours)

Second interview (1 hour)*

Third interview (1 hour)*

Final interview (1 hour)

Reference checks (30 mins each)

* For some roles, second & third interviews are combined into a panel interview. If there are adjustments or variations on this process, those changes will be communicated during the first interview.

Venue: We conduct interviews over Google Meet with camera on (unless communicated otherwise).

Accessibility: Closed captioning is available during all Google Meet interviews, and interviewers will also post interview questions in the chat box throughout the call. If you need assistance accessing either of these features, please let your interviewer know at the start of your interview

We're committed to running an inclusive and accessible application process for all of our open roles. If there are questions or concerns you have about the accessibility of our hiring process, we warmly invite you to reach out to careers@givedirectly.org.

GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect children, vulnerable adults, and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of "zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH)" and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.

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