Innovations for Poverty Action: Country Director (Ghana)

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to creating, evaluating, and replicating innovative solutions to poverty and policy problems worldwide. IPA specializes in using randomized impact evaluation to assess the effectiveness of development programs.

Job Description

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), a US based, non-profit research organization, seeks a Ghana Country Director to oversee one of its large country offices.

The Ghana Country Director provides a unique opportunity to oversee and direct cutting-edge research and to work with academics from top universities, including University of Ghana, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, MIT and UCLA. The Ghana Country Director will oversee multiple impact evaluations that use a randomized controlled trial (RCT) approach in a range of sectors, including agriculture, rural finance and savings, small and medium size enterprises, health, education and others.

The Ghana Country director will also manage a team of more than 40 local and international staff, oversee all country office operations, lead strategic planning and project development for the country office, oversee capacity building of local staff and partners, and lead the dissemination of results to local practitioners and policy makers.

The position provides the opportunity to guide the research program in Ghana, spend significant time in the field, direct in-county operations and manage relationships with key players in development organizations, donors, academia, and governments.

The Country Director will also contribute to IPA’s continued expansion by initiating new partnerships and projects in Ghana.

The position requires close interaction with academic researchers, donors, local government agencies, and other NGOs.

The Ghana Country Director also provides ongoing oversight of all project and office operations, including finance and human resource systems, data collection, in-house data entry, and a short-term staff payroll of up to 250 individuals at any given time.

Description:
The Ghana Country Director will oversee the research activities of the IPA Ghana field office in the following ways:

Develop and implement a country office vision and strategic plan, in line with IPA’s mission.

• Identify priority research questions and key concerns for policy makers and initiate and manage the development of corresponding new research proposals
• Develop new relationships in order for the country office to maximize its impact
• Lead and initiate project development with local researchers, funders  and partner organizations
• Ensure that country office structures can be supported by incoming revenue
• Disseminate results via local and international presentations, reports, and publications to encourage scale up of successful projects

Manage external relations

• Represent IPA in Ghana in to national and local government agencies and partner organizations. Manage relationships with current and potential IPA Ghana partner organizations
• Oversee capacity building of local development partners in evidence-based policy making and rigorous impact evaluations
• Oversee targeted dissemination, encourage scale up of successful projects
• Manage relationships with and provide services to Principal Investigators

Oversee and initiate high-quality research

• Liaise with US-based and local Principal Investigators and IPA headquarters to educate them on services provided by IPA Ghana and roles and responsibilities
• Oversee project design during the proposal stage to ensure evaluations meet IPA standards
• Ensure that IPA research is implemented according to IPA’s quality standards and Principal Investigator direction
• Oversee data collection and data entry operations for all studies and ensure projects meet IPA’s research protocols
• Build systems and structures to build staff capacity and ensure overall data quality
• Work to incorporate best practices and lessons learned in research and operations by other IPA offices and research affiliates

Ensure sound operation of the IPA Ghana office

• Oversee and manage a team of Project Managers, Associates and Coordinators, whose responsibilities include project design and implementation, data collection, data management and analysis, and reports.

Manages in-house data entry team, with Senior Management within IPA Ghana

• Oversee and manage human resource, IT, finance and other support staff with Senior Management within IPA Ghana
• Coordinate office and country-wide meetings and trainings
• Oversee office administration, including human resources, information technology, project budgets and accounting
•  Oversee hiring of long term IPA Ghana staff

Oversee finances for the IPA Ghana office

• Ensure proper compliance with financial procedures, approve expenditures, make accurate projections and ensure overall compliance

Mitigate and manage risks

• Take steps to mitigate risk and to safeguard the organization’s reputation
• Oversee procurement, safety, billing and security and ensure organizational legal compliance

Required Skills or Experience

• Graduate degree in international affairs, international public policy, development economics, or field related to international economic development
• 5 years of management experience
• Passion for connecting rigorous research to policymakers and practitioners and communicating what works and what does not work in development
• Ability to lead a large and complex country office and oversee rigorous impact evaluations
• Excellent management and organizational skills and ability to work independently
• Experience developing projects, and knowledge of human resource and financial management
• Commitment to leading a team of diverse individuals, and building staff capacity
• Experience living and working in Africa is required; experience in Ghana or West Africa preferred
• High proficiency in English; strong oral and written communications skills
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and team player
• Strong quantitative skills and familiarity with randomized controlled trials

How To Apply

• We are looking for a commitment period of at least three years for this position.
• Start Date:May/June 2012
• Deadline for Application: April 15 2012

How to Apply:
If you are interested, please do two things:

1. Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application at https://apply.povertyactionlab.org/login indicating that you are interested in applying for a “Type 3” 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.
2. Send an email to [email protected], copying [email protected], following these instructions exactly:
   • In the subject line: Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name.
   • Attachments: Please attach your resume and cover letter.
   • In the email body: Copy exactly the following position line: 100615 IPAGhana, Country Director

Please do not include any text besides the position line(s) in the body of the e-mail. Adding extra text will interfere with the processing of your application.

If you are applying to multiple positions, you can put multiple positions lines in the same email. And you may send multiple such emails. However, please do not do this for more than 10 positions per every 6 month period. So, if you put 10 position lines in one email, then that counts as ten. Or if you put 4 in one email, and 6 in another, that also counts as ten.

J-PAL and IPA work closely together to conduct rigorous impact evaluations to test and improve the effectiveness of poverty reduction programs. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Offer valid till: 15 Apr, 2012