Regional Research and Learning Coordinator, PlayMatters

The Regional Research and Learning Coordinator will support the PlayMatters regional research team to coordinate, design, implement, and disseminate IRC-led PlayMatters research and support MEL teams across Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda. The role involves coordinating research activities, supporting learning agendas, and liaising with internal and external research partners to ensure quality evidence-building and actionable learning.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and manage the operationalization of the research agenda and plan including qualitative and quantitative research studies.
• Coordinate with Airbel's research team on study design, data management, budget alignment, and quality assurance of research outputs.
• Instrument adaptation and validation including cognitive pretesting of tools across languages and cultures.
• Programming of tools for data collection activities using CommCare and Tangerine.
• Enumerator trainings for data collection activities.
• Data cleaning and analysis including quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Capacity building for research teams across PlayMatters.
• Coordinate and support WCA-led research studies including reporting and dissemination of findings.
• Support RCT preparation and implementation across three countries including design, timelines, data collection strategies, and logistics.
• Co-design and lead the PlayMatters Learning Agenda and learning studies.
• Serve as Consortium lead and focal point for learning, providing strategic thinking and design.
• Support collection, storage, analysis, use, and dissemination of learning.
• Conduct evidence reviews to support design and implementation of interventions.
• Facilitate learning activities including workshops, presentations, reports, academic papers, stakeholder engagement, and dissemination.
• Provide connections with HQ to link PlayMatters with broader organizational and education sector learning and strategy.
• Serve as key contact and coordination lead between IRC/Airbel's internal research team and PlayMatters teams.
• Liaise with the PlayMatters External Evaluator and reconcile technical design with implementation plans.
• Support communication and coordination mechanisms between evaluators, partners, and consortium.
• Support convening and coordination of research governance structures including quality assurance review of research products.
• Ensure coordination between research and MEAL workstreams across the Consortium.

Requirements

• Degree in Education, Psychology, International Development, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Policy Studies, or other related Social Sciences-Related discipline.
• At least three years of experience working in education in low-resource environments.
• A background in education research, including training in both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• At least one year of experience doing research on education in emergencies.
• At least one year of experience supporting the implementation of mixed-methods research studies focused on education, psychosocial support, or other areas related to Learning through Play.
• At least one year of experience supporting the implementation of measurement and learning systems in complex programs.
• Strong writing skills (in English) and significant writing experience.
• Experience coordinating research activities across multiple institutional partners (e.g., research organizations, academic institutions, or external evaluators) is a plus.
• Experience publishing in peer-reviewed journals is a plus.
• Experience analyzing qualitative data using Dedoose, nVivo or other qualitative data analysis software is a plus.
• Experience analyzing quantitative data using SPSS, Stata, or other statistical analysis packages is a plus.
• Experience working in East Africa is a plus.
• Fluent in written and oral English; knowledge of other regional language preferred.

Skills

• Education Research
• Quantitative Research
• Qualitative Methods
• Research in Education Emergencies
• Mixed-Method Research
• Measurement and Learning Systems
• Research Coordination
• Qualitative Analysis
• Dedoose
• NVIVO
• Quantitative Analysis
• SPSS
• STATA
• Research Dissemination
• Writing Skills
• Programme Monitoring and Evaluation

Languages

English