Research Associate (RA)

Position description

DevTech is seeking Research Associate(s) (RA) for the evaluations of the CATALYZE EduFinance interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of the CATALYZE EduFinance mechanism is to improve the educational and learning outcomes in disadvantaged children and youth by mobilizing private capital for the non-state education sector. Under this mechanism, USAID is funding public-private sector partnerships (PPPs) and private sector activities in several countries (hereafter called “EduFinance activities”). Independent evaluations will be conducted of these EduFinance activities to determine if the goals and intermediate results have been met. Findings of the evaluations will be used to strengthen implementation and support adaptive management and learning of EduFinance activities and inform future activity design. In addition, the evaluations will be shared with key stakeholders, such as Congress and the EduFinance Community of Practice, to expand the body of evidence about Private Sector Engagement (PSE) initiatives strengthening development outcomes. The activities to be performed under this contract will take place in the following countries: Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Zambia.

Target education levels:  

• Rwanda, Tanzania and South Africa: Early Childhood Education (ECE)
• Zambia: Primary Education

Objective:

Independent evaluations of the EduFinance activities will be conducted to determine if the goals and intermediate results have been met. 

Responsibilities 

The Research Associate will be part of the local evaluation team responsible for conducting performance evaluations and preparing and finalizing the evaluation report that address evaluation topics related to relevance, effectiveness, sustainability, scalability and gender and social inclusion. The Research Associate will work under the supervision of the Principal Investigator, supporting the various steps of the evaluation, including coordinating logistics with key informants, collecting data on the ground and supporting preliminary data analysis. The Research Associate will also support the evaluation team with translating data collection tools, interview guides and focus group discussion guides from English to local languages when needed. He/she will travel with the evaluation team to collect data for the performance evaluations.  

Location: Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Zambia. DevTech seeks four Research Associates, three per country 

Eligibility: Locals only, must reside in the country of the evaluation 

Qualifications 

Minimum Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in the field of program evaluation, international education, or a related technical field. Master’s degree or higher is an advantage.
• At least three years of experience conducting qualitative research, performance evaluations or impact evaluations in the field of education or institutional capacity development and performance.
• Knowledge of the education sector in the country of the evaluation, proficient in education policy.
• Excellent English writing skills.
• Understanding of the culture and operating environment of the assigned country.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Fluency in written and spoken local languages, such Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Zulu, Xhosa, Icibemba or Cinyanja.

Application instructions

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