Seefar is seeking a Head of Research. The Head of Research will have responsibility for implementing and managing Seefar’s M&E services internally and externally and will deliver a dynamic programme of research. This includes improvements to the efficiency and impact of Seefar’s current research services. You will contribute to innovations, lead fundraising and ongoing improvements of our research approaches. You will oversee the recruitment, training and development of those in the research team. You will lead the design and delivery of research projects for donors and support Seefar to better embed research tools and systems into projects and the organisation more broadly. 

Job Description

To excel in this role, you will have at least 10 years of experience in research design and delivery, and experience working in developing countries. You are capable of managing diverse teams spread around the world; generating trust from donors and other stakeholders; and are fluent in English. You possess exceptional technical research skills and are experienced in researching issues related to Seefar’s themes of interest. You can live wherever you like and occasional travel is required. The role requires someone with professional experience in managing teams and implementing projects and who is smart, intrinsically motivated, worldly, interested in hard challenges and highly flexible and efficient.

We are a social enterprise with a mission to work with vulnerable people to build a better future. We specialise in justice, migration and social inclusion. Our expertise is in strategic communications, counselling, consulting, monitoring and evaluation, and research. We work in East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, North Africa, the Sahel and Europe.

You can also see examples of our research on the website to get a sense of the services and themes we specialise in at Seefar, but note the bulk of our research is unpublished.

Selection criteria

This role requires someone who has the skills, knowledge and experience listed under the “Essential criteria” heading below.

Essential Criteria:

• At least 10 years of experience in research roles with international organisations with demonstrated managerial responsibility;
• Experience in designing and delivering mixed-methods research consultancies;
• Strong experience with qualitative data and quantitative data analysis and relevant data analysis tools (NVivo, R, Stata, SPSS);
• Strong analytical skills and a track record of supporting teams with quantitative and qualitative data analysis;
• Strong report writing skills including experience in the publication of policy briefs and tailoring reports for different audiences;
• Strong proposal writing skills;
• Experience in working with partners, donors, governments and other external stakeholders;
• Experience in programmatic reporting and communication of robust and defensible data that meet internal and external requirements;
• Ability to think strategically and creatively about research concepts that have fundraising potential;
• Effective prioritisation and organisational skills, with an ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision;
• Outstanding attention to detail;
• Interpersonal skills and an ability to coordinate with teams;
• Strong donor management experience;
• Preferably thematic expertise in one or more of the themes Seefar works on;
• Fluency in spoken and written English.

Responsibilities

The following are the primary responsibilities of the role, with estimated allocations of time and attention.

Deliver:​ ​Project​ ​and​ ​Mission​ ​Implementation

Approximately 70% of your time and attention will be devoted to leading the Enterprise in planning and managing research across projects and programmes, including:

• Lead on improvements to Seefar’s current research systems, processes and quality across the whole portfolio and regularly share progress;
• Conducting and overseeing the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, writing reports and producing insights for projects and donors globally;
• Oversee or lead the design of research and implementation of projects and ensure the effective implementation of these within projects;
• Liaising with donors and clients to ensure alignment including managing donor relationships and meetings; 
• Provide research expertise to the fundraising team, support building and maintaining networks with potential donors and partners, identifying new opportunities and creating new project ideas;
• Engage in the development of innovations, proposal concepts and testing opportunities to advance our program insights and effectiveness;
• Manage and develop your team, leading recruitment, workload management, prioritization, mentoring and training;
• Recruit research staff for projects and strategic research initiatives and determine the appropriate allocation of team members’ time to projects and other initiatives based on programme/Enterprise needs;
• Support and guide other Seefar team members to advance our mission and deliver projects.

Develop:​ ​Capabilities​ ​and​ ​Programme​ ​Portfolio

Approximately 25% of your time and attention will be devoted to building and improving Seefar’s research portfolio, including:

• Design, oversee and implement an overarching research strategy, with a view to other Seefar teams’ projects and business development activities as well as any initiatives to advance Seefar’s mission via research. This may include driving innovative research activities and strengthening the Enterprise’s reputation and profile in research.
• Contribute to fundraising for Seefar. This includes identifying new opportunities and creating new projects (in line with the research strategy), as well as supporting existing fundraising activities.
• Systemise research processes at Seefar with the specific aim of making research comparatively low cost, high quality and easily replicable.

Direct:​ ​Global​ ​Management

Approximately 5% of your time and attention will be devoted to this, including:

• Represent and demonstrate Seefar’s values.
• Identify and complete professional development activities, such as training courses.
• Cooperate with other areas of the Enterprise, including communicating substantive and administrative information that supports corporate management overall.

How to Apply 

On or before 1 August, complete our online application form or click on Apply button below. Before you start, you should prepare the following two documents. Applicants that do not send both documents will not be considered. 

1. Your most updated CV, emphasising your research work (maximum of three pages)
2. An introductory letter that addresses the selection criteria listed above (Maximum of two pages)