VACANCY: Policy Coordinator

POSITION: Policy Coordinator, IPA Kenya

REPORTS TO: Country Director, IPA Kenya

LOCATION: Nairobi, Kenya

DEADLINE TO APPLY: 30th April 2015 (applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis).

START DATE: ASAP
ELIGIBILITY: Position open to local hires only
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About

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a rapidly growing, global organization, and operates in almost 40 countries. We design innovative, cutting-edge approaches to solving development problems, rigorously evaluate these programs and promote the adoption of those with proven impact. This occurs both through the dissemination of results to policy makers, practitioners, and donors, as well as through supporting the large-scale implementation of evidence-based programs. IPA-Kenya (IPAK) is IPA’s oldest country program, and the site of many of its most influential projects, including seminal studies on de-worming, clean water promotion, bed-net usage and fertilizer subsidies. IPAK employs more than 400 contracted staff working on 20 different projects across multiple offices.

JOB PURPOSE

 Contribute significantly to the design and execution of IPA Kenya’s policy outreach work with significant contribution to the education sector policy engagement. The successful candidate will work 30% of the time on Education Policy.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

 Engagement and advocacy: In coordination with the Country Management team, meeting with and building relationships with key partners in the national and county governments, legislatures, non-profit organizations, foundations, multilateral aid agencies, and the private sector across Kenya. Work with the Country Office Management and the projects management team to perform stakeholders’ mappings and build project and Country Office policy development plans. Represent IPA-Kenya in working groups with government and other partners.

 Policy outreach. Giving presentations on IPA Kenya’s work, disseminating research findings to policymakers and the media, and encouraging the scale-up of evidence-based policies. Organizing policy dissemination events at Country Office and project level. Timely disseminating approved materials (e.g. scientific literature, policy briefs) to relevant stakeholders.

 Research relationships: Building and maintaining strong relationships with researchers working on randomized evaluations in Kenya. Serving as a resource for IPA-Kenya affiliates interested in conducting randomized evaluations. Maintaining strong and effective relationships between IPA-Kenya and IPA Global and other regional offices, especially in Africa, to ensure that IPA-Kenya uses and contributes to the research generated by IPA international network.

 Policy Publications and Analysis: Working with IPA’s Global Policy Group to (a) create policy memos and publications that ‘translate’ IPA’s research into policy lessons for dissemination to policy makers around the world, and (b) reviewing academic literature on randomized evaluations to draw out policy lessons, conducting literature reviews, undertaking cross-sectorial comparative cost-effectiveness analyses of IPA’s randomized evaluations, identifying the most cost-effective policies and programs that are candidates for scale-ups

 Sector Working Groups: actively contributing to the IPA Sector Working Group in Agriculture, Education, and Health. Collaborating to create review papers that describe the current state of knowledge in the sector.

 Mapping: Conduct a policy mapping exercise with management and identify key bodies (government, NGO and private sector) at the national or local level as appropriate and work with management to create an engagement plan.

 Organizational: Helping in recruiting, supervising and mentoring junior staff, organizing policy dissemination events and other conferences, and helping to teach IPA Kenya’s capacity building courses.

JOB SPECIFICATION/QUALIFICATIONS

 Education: Master’s degree in public policy, communications or education. Graduate level coursework in economics is required. A good understanding of economics is necessary to ensure that IPA’s findings are translated into general policy conclusions in a way that is both simple to follow but also accurate and undistorted. Strong interest in domestic policy as demonstrated by coursework and/or professional experience is strongly preferred.

 Experience: 2 or more years of relevant experience working in a research or policy organization. The ideal candidate for this position will be very knowledgeable about domestic public policy issues in Kenya. Interest in international development issues is required to better understand the work of other IPA centers worldwide. Any prior experience working with players in the Kenyan education sector an added advantage as the successful candidate will work 30% of the time on Education related policy work.

 Communication: Attention to detail and advanced writing and presentation skills for communicating policy lessons from academic papers in ways that policymakers understand. This requires clear, precise, non-technical writing, and confident, effective public speaking skills.

 Time Management: Proven ability to multitask and successfully complete projects on tight deadlines with little supervision. A willingness to work hard, be

 Experience: 2 or more years of relevant experience working in a research or policy organization. The ideal candidate for this position will be very knowledgeable about domestic public policy issues in Kenya. Interest in international development issues is required to better understand the work of other IPA centers worldwide. Any prior experience working with players in the Kenyan education sector an added advantage as the successful candidate will work 30% of the time on Education related policy work.

 Communication: Attention to detail and advanced writing and presentation skills for communicating policy lessons from academic papers in ways that policymakers understand. This requires clear, precise, non-technical writing, and confident, effective public speaking skills.

 Time Management: Proven ability to multitask and successfully complete projects on tight deadlines with little supervision. A willingness to work hard, be self-motivated, and learn will be essential for doing well in this position.

 Ability to supervise staff and manage projects independently while constructively working within a team.

 Willingness to travel mostly within Kenya, but sporadically also internationally.
TO APPLY:
Please send a cover letter, CV, 3 references, daytime phone number(s), and a sample writing – this can be an article or any writing you have put together in the past. Your CV should include your scores or grades and other measures of academic achievement, and details about any relevant work experience.
Applications should be submitted only by email to jobs-kenya@poverty-action.org , please ensure that the subject line reads: “POLICY COORDINATOR.” REF NO: FK-2015-04-01. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted by email 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 Policy Coordinator. 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@poverty-action.org.