Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
ACE Effects Project
Position: Field Manager
Reporting To: Research Associate
Start Date: 30th May 2022
Location: Ndaragwa
Duration: 9 Months
Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis
Eligibility: Position open to local Kenyan hires only
About Innovations for Poverty Action: Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is an international non-profit research organization dedicated to discovering and promoting effective solutions to global poverty problems.
IPA works in partnership with development partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches potential solutions to poverty problems using randomized evaluations in the fields of health, education, microfinance, governance, and agriculture.
We also mobilize and support these decision makers to use these solutions to build better programs and policies at scale.
About the Project: Expanding household and business access to finance is a central topic in development
economics. We will evaluate financing contracts which may lead to both high demand and successful completion of contracts.
We focus on loans where the asset being financed is used as collateral. These new asset-collateralized loans (NACLs), such as mortgages and car loans are uncommon in the developing world.
Our study will explore the mechanisms by which NACLs encourage take-up and repayment, so that better policy decisions can be made regarding programs to expand their use.
It will compare NACLs both to standard collateralized loans (SACLs, where the collateral is an existing asset already owned by the borrower) and to layaway savings plans and a hybrid layaway-loan plan.
The objective of this project is to understand whether and why new asset-collateralized loans—loans where the very asset being purchased is used as collateral—increase loan take-up while controlling default.
About the Position: The Field Manager under the general supervision of the Research Associate and within the limits of Innovations for Poverty Action-Kenya policies and procedures supervises data collection.
Below is a list of some of the general duties and responsibilities of the Field Manager to be carried out as needed according to the determination of the Research Associate.
Duties and Responsibilities
Survey Preparation
- Help in reviewing study materials for local context and general understanding.
- Assist in Pre-testing survey tools prior to planned fielding and provide constructive feedback on how to improve the survey tools and protocols.
- Helping with survey software programming on SurveyCTO.
HR and Finance
- Arrange for transport, supplies, accommodation, and venues etc. needed by team for fieldwork
- Request and manage funds for the team
- Manage staff appraisal and provide feedback as necessary to the RA/SRA and the enumerators
- Report field staff hours any other necessary information to IPA HR for payment
- Promptly report any performance or other HR issues to IPA
- Assist with training and capacity building for enumerators and other field staff including leading portions of training.
General
- Schedule, prepare and assign work, in consideration to timelines keeping in mind other relevant factors like security, weather and logistics
- Helping in piloting and pretesting the survey instruments
- Electronic data consolidation at the end of each day, accounting for all households and respondents visited and relaying this to the RA/SRA.
- Ensure proper storage of all paper data in a secure, well-organized, and well-documented repository.
- Supervise enumerators conducting phone and household data collection and provide feedback to
enumerators, and the RA/SRA. - Participate in developing data quality assurance tools including back checks, high frequency checks, and spot checks.
- Review high frequency checks on collected data and provide feedback that will inform training and
supervision. - Contact respondents by phone confirm a subset of their answers and ensure that data is accurate.
- Interviewing or note-taking as needed.
- Manage compensation for respondents and distribute to enumerators as needed
- Coordinate with RA/SRA to improve skills of data collection staff and the clarity of data collection
- Develop reporting tools with the project team and to daily update the RA/SRA on the progress of data collection
- Maintain updated project inventory records, assigning to staff and coordinating with the procurement office for necessary action like insurance
- Help in forming and maintaining relations with relevant administrative and department heads and securing necessary approvals
- Obtain any introduction and permission letters needed for fieldwork
- Represent and explain the study to facility owners, local chiefs, and village elders and ask for support
- Managing the team day-to-day in the field
- Assist in training teams on electronic survey implementation and ensure that enumerators adhere to training they received on data collection
- Any other duties as assigned by supervisor
Qualifications and Experience:
Required
- Bachelors’ degree in social sciences or related discipline or a Diploma with at least 2 years’ experience in field management.
- Excellent supervisory and management experience (2-4 years) managing data collection teams.
- Knowledge of quantitative or/and qualitative research methods.
- Ability to train field teams on the survey and data collection processes.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in both English and Kiswahili.
- Experience in conducting quality control including back checks and High Frequency Checks.
- Proficiency in MS Office Suite Especially MS Word and Excel.
- Experience working with stakeholders especially government officials.
- Excellent team building, interpersonal, negotiating skills (ability to develop networks of useful contacts within and beyond the Unit).
- Proven analytical and problem-solving capability
- Excellent organizational and coordinating skills, including ability to cope under pressure while maintaining a high level of accuracy and level headedness as well as meticulous attention to detail.
- Ability to work independently and under supervision, as appropriate, assessing priorities and managing workload effectively.
- Flexible, committed, reliable and enthusiastic approach with ability to work as part of a team with staff at all levels.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality.
- The ability to use initiative and creativity to resolve problems and identify and assess practical options.
- Self-motivated with a proactive and flexible approach to work and a willingness to learn and develop
Desired
- Knowledge in SurveyCTO is an added advantage
- Experience working with STATA
- Some experience designing survey forms.
How to Apply
Please CLICK HERE to apply online.
Only shortlisted 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 Field Manager- ACE Effects Project.
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.