Research Director

What we are looking for

We are looking for a Research Director who will directly conduct high-quality, actionable research into the most cost-effective opportunities to tackle key challenges facing low-income countries. This is not an academic role: we want you to propose practical solutions that we can actually launch as ambitious, well-funded programs.

What does the job involve

• Conduct practical research into the most cost-effective ways to spend large philanthropic sums in low-income countries: this will involve reviewing or conducting meta-analyses and speaking with leading experts across a range of sectors, and will likely also include getting into the weeds by visiting programs in person
• Synthesize and translate evidence from this research to determine what is and is not working, what might scale cost-effectively, and identify the breadth of actors working on the issue that might be able to absorb significant funding
• Identify removable key bottlenecks and new opportunities in pressing global challenges, and propose nonprofit solutions to address them:
  • Major global challenges, such as disease elimination, poverty reduction or fighting climate change, often have specific bottlenecks that can be removed or opportunities that can be pursued through targeted philanthropy, such as specific R&D investments or purchase guarantees to create a market.
  • Your role will be to identify those bottlenecks and opportunities, and propose evidence-based solutions in response
• Developing clear, succinct written outputs: we value crisp writing
• Conduct research to answer key programmatic questions: examples might include, “In which countries should we launch a dengue fever elimination initiative?” and “Do the effects of literacy programs for children persist into adulthood?”
• Conduct bespoke research to support the giving plans of leading philanthropists
• Partner with other key members of the team to iterate on research needs

Qualifications

• You're an experienced research professional driven to see your research make a real-world impact.
• You can communicate complex ideas clearly and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Action orientation: You conduct goal-oriented research, identify the most efficient path to reaching that goal and ensure all outputs are directly relevant to the decision or actions being considered.
• Research Experience: You have significant (10+ years) experience in conducting decision-relevant research. Examples might include economics or quantitative social science research.
• Experience in global development research is a strong asset but not required.
• Reasoning transparency and humility: You transparently outline how you came to key conclusions, you are open about your key uncertainties and can propose strategies to remove those uncertainties.
• Data Skills: You have an analytical mindset but we do not expect you to directly conduct analysis or study design. Most importantly, you love to synthesise complex data and identify clear recommendations.
• Concise Communication. You can communicate complex concepts/analysis and ideas to colleagues and partners in a clear and compelling way.

Benefits

• TBC

Location

Remote - Globally