Research Advisor

Description

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Advancing Nutrition is the Agency’s flagship nutrition project, led by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.

JSI), and a diverse group of experienced partners. Launched in September 2018, USAID Advancing Nutrition provides and implements technical support to nutrition interventions across sectors and disciplines for USAID and its partners.

The project’s multi-sectoral approach draws together global nutrition experience to design, implement and evaluate programs that address the root causes of malnutrition.

Committed to using a systems approach, USAID Advancing Nutrition strives to sustain positive outcomes by building local capacity, supporting behavior change and strengthening the enabling environment to save lives, improve health, build resilience, increase economic productivity and advance development.

The Research Advisor is a member of the team and is responsible for ensuring high-quality design and implementation of program evaluation and research activities, including quantitative analysis and mixed methods research, across the project.

They will work under the direction of the Director of MEL and will collaborate with the Research and Learning Advisor to ensure that learning is integrated across the project portfolio.

This position will also work with the Senior Technical Advisor, Micronutrients to support USAID’s micronutrient work. They will collaborate closely with USAID Advancing Nutrition Technical Directors (i.

e., Nutrition and Health Systems, Food Systems, Food Security and Nutrition in the Humanitarian Transition, Social Behavior Change, and Knowledge Management) to ensure high-quality standards for program evaluation and quantitative and mixed methods research are supported across all project activities.

They are based in Arlington, VA and will report to the Director of MEL. The salary range for this position is $80,000 - $119,000.

Please note the JSI office is closed due to the ongoing pandemic and that all project staff are working remotely until the office reopens.

Advancing Nutrition is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

The Research Advisor is advertised through multiple USAID Advancing Nutrition consortium partners and is fully seconded to the project.

Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply through the single (1) organization they are most interested in working for.

Submitting applications through more than one (1) consortium partner is prohibited and could result in disqualification.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Research Advisor will :

Lead and advise program evaluation and quantitative and mixed methods research across the USAID Advancing Nutrition project, demonstrating skills in sampling and statistical analysis.

Support micronutrient assessment and collaborative inter-agency work.

Collaborate with the Senior Advisor for MEL Country Support to ensure that program evaluation and quantitative and mixed methods research activities are designed and executed correctly in all country programs.

Facilitate local partnerships to conduct the research and disseminate the results.

Collaborate with the Knowledge Management Director to ensure results and learning are packaged and shared in engaging formats.

Collaborate with the Research and Learning Advisor to ensure high quality and consistent research standards are prevalent with strong feedback loops to the learning agenda(s) of the project and USAID Bureaus.

Represent USAID Advancing Nutrition at global and country levels to share project research and establish the project as a leader in global nutrition research.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education : Doctoral degree in nutrition, epidemiology, agriculture, food systems, public health or fields related to multi-sectoral nutrition with a focus on designing research to improve nutrition, health, or related outcomes.

Experience : 8 - 10 years of experience in designing and implementing program evaluations and quantitative and mixed methods research.

Required Skills / Experience :

Experience working with US government-funded cooperating agencies and contractors, host-country counterparts and government officials, USAID Mission staff, and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs or other donors.

Detailed knowledge of micronutrient assessment, programs, and research globally.

Expertise in quantitative, mixed research, and evaluation methods, and ability to translate findings into learning.

Skilled in collaborative approaches to strengthening the quality of program evaluation and research activities across the project.

Ability to prepare compelling presentations, written reports, data visualizations, and effectively present work / findings in international and country-level forums.

Strong facilitation and communication skills.

Preferred Skills / Experience :

Experience with cost-effectiveness analysis and Stata.

Experience working with USAID HQ and / or Missions.

Proactive and comfortable independently gathering information to complete tasks.

Ability to manage competing priorities and resource demands for self and others.

Confident taking initiative within defined scope and driving work independently.

Languages : English fluency required. French, Portuguese, or Russian preferred.

Travel : Ability to travel up to 20% of the time.

Salary Range : $80,000 -$119,000