Sr Advisor-Research, Humanitarian Cash and Markets

Summary

The Sr. Advisor-Research on the Humanitarian Cash and Markets (C&M) team will collaborate with the Cash and Markets team to design, enact, learn from, and disseminate findings from a research agenda that addresses knowledge gaps and informs best practice for Save the Children’s Cash and Markets programs. You will be responsible for the development, roll-out, and quality control of tools for primary data collection of C&M research along with implementing Country Offices (CO). You will also be responsible for training COs, relevant staff, and consultants on the use of all data collection tools and will oversee data collection, analysis, interpretation, and report writing. You will serve as the primary point of contact for COs participating in research pilots, liaising with C&M technical advisors to ensure a comprehensive implementation plan, holding regular meetings to document lessons learnt, adapt implementation approaches as necessary, and publishing results. You will also develop implementation recommendations based on the results of the research in close collaboration with technical advisors throughout Save the Children.

The primary areas of focus will be:

The Cash and Markets portfolio: to support and document the use of multi-purpose cash transfers to achieve cross-sectoral outcomes, aligned with internal and Grand Bargain priorities;
Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) for Child Protection (CP) outcomes: development, implementation and management of a research agenda and pilot projects to expand the evidence base and technical approaches of integrated CVA and CP activities;
MPCA and livelihoods: C&M point person for ongoing randomized control trial exploring the effectiveness and long-term impacts of cash grants for entrepreneurs, and
The roll-out of an MPCA toolkit for CVA implementers throughout Save the Children.

Save the Children’s preference is for this position to be based in Washington D.C. but could consider any US location depending on the program portfolio, needs of Save the Children, and the profile and experience of the candidate.

Note: In early 2022, Save the Children is facilitating a global structural change to strengthen its humanitarian staffing structures. While this position will be hired by Save the Children US, it will be seconded to SC International’s Crisis Anticipation and Response Team, which is part of the One Humanitarian Team. More information about these changes is available on request.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Research and Learning (30%)

Collaborate with the C&M team to identify existing knowledge gaps in CVA for child outcomes and develop a research agenda to address those gaps though primary and secondary data collection, rooted in the current implementation model of Save the Children;
Develop a comprehensive research agenda for Save the Children’s CVA for Child Protection programs;
Stay abreast of current research and trends in CVA and CP and incorporate current research into the research agenda on a regular basis;
Systematically document the processes, decisions, deviations, and findings made in the development and implementation of the research agenda;
Regularly identify new opportunities to expand, adapt, or adjust approaches to the research agenda, utilizing analytics and data to make evidence-based decisions;
Systematize the documentation, collation, and presentation of yearly results reporting from Save the Children’s CVA programs, building off the existing work of the humanitarian Monitoring and Evaluation team;
Carry out background research on existing evidence, gaps, best practices, and innovative approaches to improve CVA impacts for multi-sectoral child outcomes, and
Participate in existing Save the Children working groups focused on knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation, and research.

Implementation, Tool Development, and Training (30%)

Collaborate with Save the Children’s CVA and Child Protection TAs on the design, planning, and implementation of CVA for Child Protection pilots;
Work closely with COs to collect, clean and store primary data, manage data quality, carry-out regular data analysis, recommend real-time program adaptations, and develop lessons learnt to inform the research agenda as well as future programming;
Collaborate with COs and the Save the Children Ethics Review Committee (ERC) to ensure all research is conducted ethically and safely at all times, protecting the rights of participants and upholding their dignity. This includes but is not limited to: establishing ethical data collection tools and informed consent protocols, ensuring ethical data collection, ensuring safe data storage and management at all times; submitting research protocols for approval to the ERC
Develop/improve tools necessary for appropriate data collection to inform Save the Children’s CVA and Child Protection research agenda;
Manage relationships with COs implementing research agenda pilots, ensuring procedures and timelines are adhered to;
Provide capacity building and training on tools for technical advisors, COs, and other staff;
Support understanding and use of existing or future monitoring evaluation tools for CVA humanitarian programming, as needed;
Ensure quality of tools currently in existence, their appropriateness to address the research agenda questions, and suggest recommendations for improvement;

Results Dissemination (20%)

Develop final reports and accessible presentations highlighting the successes, challenges, and future recommendations from CVA for Child Protection pilots;
Lead development of research reports for internal and external publication;
Coordinate with monitoring and evaluation, research, and other knowledge management staff within Save the Children to stay abreast of, and share results from, relevant internal initiatives;

Resource Development (10%)

Share learning and recommendations from research and implementation to design better technical approaches for humanitarian programs, and
Identify and pursue additional resource opportunities specific to research funding.

Management and Administration (10%)

Manages administrative tasks related to the implementation of the research agenda, including interactions with academic or other research partnerships and
Supports knowledge management and continuous improvement for CVA technical staff across the movement, in collaboration with the Cash Unit, the global C&M Humanitarian Technical Working group, and other sectoral departments.

Required Qualifications

Minimum of a Bachelor Degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 7 years of relevant experience;
Professional proficiency in MS Office suite;
Professional proficiency in spoken and written English;
Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals and teams at all levels, both internally and externally;
Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining and environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging;
Proven experience teaching, training, coaching, capacity building;
Successful experience designing or managing logical/results frameworks, M&E plans, Theory of Change, program evaluations and developing public-facing reports;
Experience designing and conducting quantitative and qualitative studies, including developing strong research questions, selecting appropriate research methodologies, calculating sample sizes, selecting a sampling methodology, developing data collection tools, training enumerators, supervising data collection, using statistical software, analyzing data and interpreting results;
Experience writing and disseminating reports and fact sheets/case studies for a variety of audiences;
Demonstrated experience carrying out research in emergency and/or development settings;
Flexibility, patience, and detail-oriented with a proven ability to work under tight deadlines, navigate multiple tasks simultaneously, and work effectively both independently and as part of multicultural teams;
Willingness and ability to travel up to 25%, occasionally in harsh environments (as permitted by SCUS travel policies), and on short notice;
Willingness and ability to occasionally work irregular hours to accommodate calls with field teams in other time zones.

Preferred Qualifications

Significant experience of designing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting field work;
Master’s degree in a relevant field;
Spanish, French and/or Arabic written and spoken language skills highly valued;
Understanding of basic concepts of CVA, child protection, food security and other technical humanitarian programming;
Experience developing and conducting training programs for field staff including curriculum design, presentation and teaching skills, and training-of-trainers methods;
Knowledge of and experience with statistical software (i.e., SPSS, STATA, etc.), qualitative data analysis software (i.e., Atlast.ti, MaxQDA, Nvivo…) and data visualization tools;
Experience using KoBo Toolbox, ODK, or other mobile data collection software.

Why you should join the Save the Children Team…

Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, pet insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, 403(b), generous vacation, personal sick leave, family leave, parental/adoption leave, commuter benefits, dress for your day, and much more.

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in YOU!

About Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond. As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

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