Role Purpose Statement

The Associate supports both the advisory and research arms of Busara by leading the planning, execution, and day to day management of Busara projects. While the role will mainly involve research and advisory in inclusive finance, they may be expected to contribute to other portfolios. 

As primary project manager for all external Busara projects, an Associate quickly gains an expert understanding of a particular problem or research question and uses all tools at their disposal, both within and outside Busara to execute an engagement to the highest possible degree, with careful consideration of timing and budget. An Associate develops creative and rigorous solutions to client and partner needs and manages both internal and external relationships with energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism. 

Associates directly manage other project staff that work on their project and, as well as liaise with other Busara teams and are expected to coordinate and manage staff effectively.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities

CORE PROJECT RESPONSIBILITIES:

Associates will work closely with Busara offices and directly with academic researchers and advisory clients to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

• Engage in multiple large-scale research and advisory projects at a given time.
• Plan, manage, and execute external and internal engagements independently from start to finish with limited supervision.
• Incorporate the latest research in qualitative and quantitative methods, behavioral science, psychology, economics, and development to provide creative solutions to engagements.
• Manage and conduct qualitative and quantitative research and data analysis.
• Design, launch, and analyze effective quantitative and qualitative survey instruments with coordination among project staff (Analysts, Project Leads, Data and Programming, and Operations teams).
• Serve as a point of contact for clients and partners.  Effectively manage the needs of stakeholders through proactive communication and troubleshooting.
• Contribute to project on-boarding and off-boarding for knowledge management.
• Responsible for project timelines, deliverables, reports, and staffing.
• Contribute to the creation of proposals, concept notes, and pitch decks for new business opportunities and knowledge sharing. Present at conferences, networking events, or client meetings.
• Contribute to the design, execution, and dissemination of Busara internal research projects.
• Work closely to lead or support other Associates to fulfill engagement requirements.
• Perform any other duty as may be assigned by the project supervisor.

CORE ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

In addition to project responsibilities, Associates also have the following organizational responsibilities to ensure a healthy and functioning organization.

• Work with the Associate team to conduct goal-setting exercises, objectives and key results, and team building events.
• Contribute to skills-building workshops for Associate teams.
• Assist with internal initiatives where necessary.
• Serve as mentors to Analysts and Project Lead team members, when requested.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience: Minimum Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy, or related fields.
• Strong qualitative, quantitative, research, and data analytic skills.
• 2-5 years’ previous work experience in financial inclusion / research in financial services
• Experience managing large scale research and consulting projects in developing countries.
• Demonstrates the ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations.
• Strong quantitative skills including knowledge of and experience working with data analysis software
• Experience managing and mentoring staff
• Ability to quickly understand and adapt to new contextual situations
• Excellent management and organizational skills.
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player.
• Interest and experience working in a fast-paced working environment.
• Fluency and excellent communication and writing skills with a mastery of English.
• Ability to execute projects while sustaining a global focus and vision for institutional planning and decision making.

Desired Qualifications:

• A Master’s degree in Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy, or related fields.
• Technical understanding of qualitative research techniques.
• Knowledge of the application of behavioral science to real-world problems.
• Proficiency in Stata, R, or Python
• Technical understanding and practical experience of randomized controlled trials and/or quasi-experimental designs

About the Role:

A  Qualitative Research and Design Analyst is a critical part of the Qualitative Research and Design Team. The role holder supports the rest of the division, as well as the organization in delivering on high-quality projects.

The Qualitative Research and Design Analyst will support the Projects Division team and will be responsible for the execution of the qualitative phase of research within a project. They will also engage in a variety of qualitative research activities and is required to have a high level of self-motivation and energy, an optimistic “Can-do”  attitude, and very strong analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills. Due to the sensitive nature of our projects and our clients, extreme attention to detail is required. Additionally, an Analyst should have the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Qualitative Analysts report to Specialists within the Qualitative Research & Design Team.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities

A Qualitative Analyst will work closely with Busara staff and directly with academic researchers and advisory clients to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

External-facing work

• Design effective qualitative instruments and coordinate all activities associated with tool development, including research, formatting, and liaising with survey programming teams.
• Conduct qualitative research in the field and support the project supervisor in field officer management when  conducting qualitative research in the field.
• Analyze, summarize, and present results from qualitative research projects.
• Support the specialists and project supervisors in preparation of customized reports, highlighting main findings and key points, and effective communication of the results to the end-user both orally and in writing.
• Create detailed and well-formatted drafts of client reports, research processes and findings, literature reviews, proposals, and pitch decks.
• Serve as a professional and timely liaison to clients when necessary.
• Contribute to project on-boarding and off-boarding for knowledge management.
• General logistics planning for project activities as it relates to content outcomes such as phasing of field activities and coordinating client meeting.
• Work closely with Operations and Labs staff to plan logistics for field operations, data collection, and data quality assurance.
• Ensure that all project work is communicated with the relevant teams at Busara to ensure the proper roll-out of the engagement. These include, but are not limited to, Finance, Procurement, Operations, and People.

General accountabilities

• Engage in multiple, concurrent projects.
• Manage external and internal engagements with limited supervision.
• Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve inquiries on external and internal research data and act as a resource for  leadership, internal teams, staff, and external parties.
• Maintain and update project timelines. Alert Project Supervisor/ Specialists of upcoming deadlines, deliverables, and meetings.
• Strong report-writing skills and verbal communication skills for facilitating training to diverse audiences.
• Perform any other duty as may be assigned by the Project Supervisor.

Required Qualifications

• A Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences, Economics, Public Policy, Public Health, Anthropology or related fields.
• Strong qualitative research skills- both theoretical and practical.
• Excellent management and organizational skills.
• Flexible, self-motivated, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player.
• Interest and experience working in a fast-paced working environment.
• Fluency and excellent communication and writing skills with a mastery of English and (if applicable) at least one other appropriate language for the office in which they will be based.
• Extreme attention to detail while sustaining a global focus and vision for institutional planning and decision making.

Desired qualifications

• Familiarity with behavioral science, behavioral economics.
• Familiarity with qualitative data analysis software such as NVIVO, QDA Miner, ATLAS.ti
• Familiarity and strong interest in Human Centered Design (HCD)
• Exposure to large-scale research and consulting projects in countries in which Busara has an office.