The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
The IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab designs, tests, and scales life-changing, cost-effective solutions for people affected by conflict and disaster. By applying deep technical expertise and field experience with a range of skills from the behavioral sciences, human-centered design, rigorous research, and multi-disciplinary problem-solving in humanitarian contexts, we work to develop breakthrough solutions that combine creativity and rigor, openness and expertise, and a desire to think afresh with the experience of a large-scale implementing organization.
IRC reaches over a million children annually with education and child protection programs in 25 countries around the world. The Education technical unit defines the vision and strategic priorities for all of IRC’s education programs. The team provides evidence-based and contextually-relevant technical support to programs, with the goal of ensuring they are technically sound and achieving the outcomes we seek.
Job Overview/Summary:
We are seeking three researchers to join the Airbel Impact Lab and work closely with the Education Unit to advance the IRC’s research on education. The positions will provide technical research support to different education research projects. Currently, the education research portfolio has over 30 on-going studies in 15 countries affected by conflict and crisis, including:
• FCDO’s Education Research in Contexts of Conflict and Crisis (ERICC) in Nigeria, Bangladesh, South Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
• Lego’s PlayMatters in Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania
• Lego’s TeachWell in Kenay
• USAID’s Accessible and Quality Basic Education in Afghanistan
The researchers will support field-based research on Education programs, backstop new and ongoing research projects across the IRC’s Education portfolio and partner with technical units and country teams to support evidence-based programming.
Major Responsibilities:
• Support on the design, analysis and reporting of quantitative/qualitative research, including:
o Needs assessments, learning assessments, and formative research studies to identify problems and existing practices.
o Implementation research to identify quality and fidelity of implementation and the degree to which they moderate education outcomes.
o Impact evaluations to explore the effects of education interventions on the literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional skills, transition outcomes of children in conflict and crsisi affected settings.
o Measurement research to assess the reliability and validity of outcome and quality of implementation tools and establish protocols for improvement.
o Research on how to improve coherence for access, quality and continuity of in systems of education
• Work with an internal team focused on education research moving our education research priorities forward.
• Contribute to dissemination of research findings by writing blogs, briefs, and publications in academic journals and practitioner-focused outlets.
Job Requirements:
• PhD or MA in education, economics or related field.
• Two researchers should be knowledgeable of statistics, and have the ability to accurately interpret research findings from studies using causal inference research and multi-level modeling, using software such as Stata or MPlus.
• One researcher should be be knowledgeable and have experience with qualitative research, using software like NVivo, AtlasTi or Dedoose.
• Minimum five years of progressive experience in education research and/or relevant practice.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Solid organizational skills: ability to be flexible and work well under pressure, dealing with competing priorities, in a fast-paced team environment.
• Interest in and ability to think and plan at the ‘big picture’ level.
• Fluency in English a must; fluency in French, Arabic, Spanish, or Swahili is highly desirable.
Working Environment:
• Standard office work environment.
• Expected travel up to 25% of time.
Compensation:
Posted pay ranges apply to US and UK-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.
US Benefits:
The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.
In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period
Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.
Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.
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