Jobs

Posted 7 March 2010

Research & Evaluation Specialist
Rural Development Institute

Deadline: 'open until filled'

Founded over 40 years ago, Rural Development Institute (RDI) is an international nonprofit dedicated to ending global poverty by securing land rights for the world’s poorest. RDI has worked in 44 countries throughout the world, and with a home office in Seattle, RDI currently has field offices in China and India.  The organization is widely supported by partners, including NGOs, foundations, donor agencies (USAID, World Bank, etc.), world leaders, educational institutions and individual supporters throughout the world.

An exciting, new position for RDI, the Research & Evaluation Specialist will lead and support project implementation, research, and monitoring and evaluation activities related to rural land tenure and agricultural livelihood projects in developing countries.  This role receives direction from all Program Directors and supports all of RDI’s project areas and country programs. This position requires significant travel, up to 120 days per year, conducting field research and program implementation and monitoring and evaluation in all of RDI’s program geographies.

The Research & Evaluation Specialist will contribute to designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems for ongoing programs.  He/She will track project progress toward meeting ongoing program objectives, facilitate mid-course corrections, and evaluate overall performance. We also seek an individual with experience in both quantitative and qualitative impact assessment methods, including a strong background in statistics and multivariate analysis.

Research is a significant responsibility for this role, and the Research & Evaluation Specialist contributes to designing, supervising and participating in quantitative and qualitative research activities, including conducting and overseeing surveys and data collection, designing and conducting rapid rural appraisals, analyzing research findings, and preparing reports that include practical recommendations for government and civil society actors as well as other program progress and final reports.  This individual will present research findings and related recommendations to key target audiences, including government policy makers, rural communities, NGOs, and donors.

 The selected candidate will have experience in, and be motivated by field research, ideally in developing regions.  Endurance for significant international travel in rural developing regions is essential for this position’s success.

The selected candidate will have well-developed communication skills and will be experienced in and sensitive to cross-cultural communication, and respectfully adapt style, tone, and messaging for the appropriate audience.  Strong writing skills are also essential for this position, with the ability to convey research findings to various audiences.

We seek an independent, proactive, professional with an entrepreneurial spirit who is motivated to effectively build a new position for RDI.  The ideal candidate will be comfortable working autonomously as well as contributing to and collaborating with the greater team.  We desire rigorous attention to detail and the flexibility to work simultaneously on multiple projects.

RDI is a world-renowned organization that operates at the highest levels in the international development community.   As such, the expectations of performance are very high, but fair. To be successful, she/he will have an interest in and appreciation for international development issues and a strong affinity for RDI’s mission of securing land rights for the rural poor.  

A graduate degree in Economics, Sociology, Natural Resources Economics, Agricultural Economics or closely related field, with a strong foundation in statistical methods is required.  A minimum of two years progressively responsible experience working on international rural development projects in research, project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and managing projects is required.  Experience working with SPSS, SAS or other common data analysis packages is helpful.

This position requires authorization to work in the United States.

The Rural Development Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in all areas of its operations.  We welcome and encourage diverse applications.  Please send a resume and cover letter as soon as possible to: Waldron & Company; info@waldronhr.com.  1100 Olive Way, Suite 1800; Seattle, WA 98101.  Email submissions preferred.