Location: London
Contract until end of Dec 2025
What the hiring manager says
"This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to thought leadership around integrating mobile technology with humanitarian efforts. The successful candidate will be instrumental in driving research on early warning systems (EWS) to contribute to the UN's Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative and the role that mobile network operators (MNOs) play in EWS. They will help design, implement and work with external researchers to analyse the different partnership models that MNOs have in implementing EWS, draft and edit research reports and disseminate findings to different audiences. We are looking for someone who is passionate about leveraging digital solutions to tackle humanitarian challenges and has a proven track record in research. Experience in both the mobile industry and the humanitarian sector will be highly beneficial."
Zoe Hamilton, Senior Research and Policy Manager
About the Team
The Mobile for Development (M4D) team drives innovation in digital technology to reduce inequalities in our world. Singularly positioned at the intersection of the mobile ecosystem and the development sector, we stimulate digital innovation to deliver both sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic impact for the underserved.
The Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation (M4H) programme is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) with a mission to accelerate the delivery and impact of digital humanitarian assistance. We have reached over 12 million people with improved access to and use of life-enhancing mobile-enabled services during humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery. We have achieved this by building a learning and research agenda to inform the future of digital humanitarian response, catalysing partnerships and innovation for new digital humanitarian services, advocating for enabling policy environments, monitoring and evaluating performance, disseminating insights and profiling achievements.
About the Role
In this role, you will be pivotal in supporting research on GSMA Members' participation in Early Warning Systems (EWS) as part of the GSMA’s engagement in the UN's Early Warnings for All Initiative (EW4All). This position will provide additional research capacity to the M4H Research and Policy team to develop further thought leadership on EWS. In particular the role will contribute to an ongoing major piece of research which will provide case studies and examples of the variety of ways MNOs have engaged in EWS around the world, as well as lessons and best practices of how those partnerships can be replicated and optimised. This may include, for example, outlining the various partnership, technical and financing models that exist for MNOs to engage in EWS with disaster management agencies, telecommunications regulators, and humanitarian partners. This role will focus in particular on advanced markets such as Japan, Europe (France, Belgium, Norway) and others as determined by the team in order to understand how operators in these markets currently engage with and support EWS.
You will also have the opportunity to contribute towards the overall strategy of the M4H programme.
About You
Your background is in social research, using qualitative and mixed method approaches
Experience designing and applying some key evaluation approaches and tools (e.g. evaluation frameworks, theories of change, most significant change and participatory evaluation approaches)
Subject matter expertise in the domain of mobile technology, humanitarian assistance and ideally early warning systems
Fluent and compelling written and oral communications skills and excellent inter-personal skills including the ability to translate research products into relevant and actionable insights for a set of diverse actors with different incentives and operational realities
You are happy working independently, but proactively seek guidance when needed
Genuine interest in both the commercial and social benefits that are presented by the use of mobile technology to address humanitarian challenges including EWS
A team player, happy to work in large multi-disciplinary groups, to support and input into their work
A very strong grasp of the English language, able to express complex technical, commercial or regulatory issues in plain language; French and/or Spanish language skills are desirable but not required.
You have experience of and enthusiasm for promoting the use of evidence to improve decision-making on projects or programmes.
Capabilities:
Develop and deliver research products to inform the mobile and humanitarian industries of key trends that will lead to impactful use of mobile technology in humanitarian contexts with a focus on early warning systems. This includes creating research proposals; supporting the creating of research qualitative tools; coordinating stakeholders for engagements and interviews; collecting and analysing data including desk reviews and stakeholder interviews; documenting insights and learning on industry trends; and engaging with MNOs and stakeholders on insights.
Manage high quality research studies across a range of methodologies and markets within budget and to time, meeting needs a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
Disseminate research and learnings through written reports, case studies, powerpoints, blogs, conferences and meetings with relevant stakeholders, tailoring research to the primary target audience.
Participate in humanitarian, government and mobile industry events and engagements, leveraging GSMA and other external platforms to demonstrate the potential of the mobile industry to contribute to humanitarian outcomes
Contract type
Short term ContractorWorker type
Contingent WorkerWorking at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.
In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.
To learn more about the GSMA, visit our career site, our LinkedIn page and our Twitter page.
Being You at the GSMA
We care deeply about diversity, equity and inclusivity and aspire to be the best at it. Your well-being and work/life balance is important, so flexi-time and remote working is available to all staff. We're keen to ensure everyone is equal, represented and connected so we particularly encourage applications from all demographics. The sucess of the GSMA year on year will continue to be contributed by people from all walks of life.
GSMA Values
Our values not only drive our culture – they shape how we work and interact inside and outside our global organisation.
Passionately driven
We approach everything we do with unparalleled capability, tenacity and commitment, knowing that the challenging scale, pace and complexity of our work is what leads to its world-changing impact.
Insightful leaders
We continually develop and engage our expertise, insight and creativity so that we’re always ready to respond to the changing landscape with authority, agility and nuance.
Stronger together
We lean on each other so the industry can lean on us, embracing our diversity by actively seeking out perspectives and skill sets beyond our own, fuelling each other’s successes and constantly asking how we can help.
Underpinning our values is our collective mindset to show up purposefully as good human beings every day, in every situation. When we’re at our best – we are collaborative, considerate and compassionate to others, and we create a safe space for one another to thrive, assuming positive intent in our colleagues. And if we aren’t at our best and the pressure is on – we feel free to be ourselves but still remain curious, lean into the tough stuff and we are always respectful to others and accountable for the part we play.
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