VACANCIES FOR COMMUNICATION SENIOR ASSOCIATE AND EVIDENCE ACTION LEARNING

Evidence Action Learning and Communication Senior Associate Job in Nairobi, Kenya

Evidence Action is a new organization working in partnership with an existing non-profit organization (Innovations for Poverty Action, IPA) to scale proven interventions to improve the lives of the poor in Africa and Asia.
Rigor, evidence, and action are all part of our values. We are looking for a dynamic, engaged individual to join our team as a Senior Associate, Learning and Communication working within organization’s Monitoring, Learning, and Information Systems (MLIS) team.
The successful candidate, like the MLIS team, will embody the evidence-based and data-driven nature of the organization.
Goals and Responsibilities

• Diagnose the Program "needs" from the MLIS Team
• Fully understanding program needs for data and translating that back to the MLIS team
• Seeking out, prioritizing, and communicating requests from the program teams to Evidence Action’s MLIS team
• Identifying, and documenting the best approaches for the MLIS team to serve Evidence Action programs
• Developing the tools that enable clear and effective information gathering from program teams and enables accurate diagnosis of program needs

Ensure effective information flow from MLIS to programs

• Collaborating with the MLIS delivery teams to ensure that all program team members to have continuous, error-free access to required data for day-to-day programmatic business, planning and decision making
• Supporting programs with timely, useful and clear information for evidence-based decision making (including connect-the-dots support)
• Extracting learnings from analysis and research products that enable program teams to make evidence-based decisions
• Collecting and organizing/curating information from various sources (i.e. existing program (primary) research, external (secondary) research, new analyses, management information systems, etc.) to help programs in making decisions
• Disseminating MLIS data findings to donors, across programs and to external audiences through innovative tools (i.e. data visualization software, infographics, etc.)
• Developing the aforementioned innovative tools for sharing data findings
• Leading the coordination of the four MLIS delivery teams

Market and Showcase MLIS services

• Responsible for making program leadership and program delivery teams aware of the ways in which the Monitoring, Learning, and Information Services (MLIS) team can assist programs in making evidence-based decisions
• Successfully moderating the conversation between MLIS and program teams to ensure that the MLIS team is providing the services that the programmes teams want, and providing them in a way that the programs teams can and will effectively use
• Showcases areas for cross program learnings.
• Communicating the results and practical consequences of research and analysis products to a non-research audience
• Writing and editing reports and presentations with a keen eye for how the information should be phrased based on the view point of the target audiences

Learning and Communication Team Management

• Managing the productivity, professional development skill building and liaising of at least one Associate, Learning and Communication
• Managing the work plans and priorities of the Learning and Communication team

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in data-oriented social sciences (i.e. economics, quantitative political science), data-journalism, public health, epidemiology, or related field
• A minimum of 1-3 years work experience generating high quality, clear, thought leadership pieces and managing communications within organizations and to partners and external audiences
• An active approach to problem-solving and an orientation toward practical knowledge-seeking through learning, questioning, and experimentation
• A belief that the timely and right-sized application of knowledge and information is a requirement for strong decision-making and high-quality service delivery.
• Highest quality, professional writing and communications skills
• Experience building infographics and/or using design and infographic software (e.g. Gapminder, StatSilk, Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop, OmniGraffle etc.)
• Work experience in entrepreneurial or start-up environments in Africa
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with a team that is geographically dispersed
• Self-directed/self-motivating personality, with proven ability to manage demands from multiple supervisors while adhering to program deadlines and priorities
• Strong critical and analytical thinking skills
• Intellectual flexibility and willingness to form and adjust opinions based on evidence
• Quick to learn, motivated to self-teach and capable of independently translating new knowledge into practice
• Willingness to travel
• Note: Please specifically illustrate the above desired qualifications in your cover letter by giving examples from your experience.
• In addition, this position requires a candidate to:
• Have a strong commitment to evidence-based practice and policy in the development field
• Be enthusiastic to develop personally and professionally as part of a growing global team
• Possess a strong attention to detail and a genuine love of working with data

To apply: Please send a cover letter and detailed CV, 3 references, daytime phone number(s), and email address.
Your CV should include details about your academic qualifications and any relevant work experience.
Optionally, include a work sample which highlights your analytical and written communications skills
Applications can be submitted by email to both jobs [at] evidenceaction.org and jobs-kenya [at] poverty-action.org, please ensure that the subject line reads: "Senior Associate, Learning and Communication" REF NO: Evidence Action-2014-06-03.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.
Applicants are encouraged to apply early, as applications will be reviewed on a ROLLING BASIS
Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the Senior Associate, Learning and Communication.
The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary.
Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant.
Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization.
Please direct questions to jobs-kenya [at] poverty-action.org.