Job Description
Job Summary Every employee of IRI is responsible for carrying out the Mission of IRI and demonstrating the Core Values in their day-to-day operations. The Core Values, which are IRI's foundational building blocks, include:
Excellence - We believe in quality results delivered by investing in people.
Freedom - We believe in exploration and experimentation to be agile and responsive.
Respect - We believe in trust, empathy and empowering people.
Teamwork - We believe in diversity, inclusion, and the power of global collaboration.
Transparency - We believe in open communication and clear decision-making.
Accountability - We believe in personal responsibility as the foundation of success.
The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization and a world leader in promoting democracy and advancing freedom. The Evaluation and Research (E&R) Specialist/Senior Specialist will serve as a technical and project management lead on evaluations of IRI projects. These evaluations will assess program theory, strategy, and efficacy. The E&R Specialist/Senior Specialist will also contribute to efforts to disseminate lessons learned from these evaluations internally to IRI's program teams and externally to the wider democracy, human rights, and governance (DRG) community.
This position will be located in the Center for Global Impact's Evidence and Learning Practice. Center-based teams implement innovative, evidence-based programs and develop new resources, tools, and approaches to advance democracy worldwide. The Evidence and Learning Practice provides technical expertise on IRI's monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning efforts.
This is a hybrid role based in Washington, DC. Remote candidates may be considered, but local candidates living within 100 miles of Washington, DC are preferred.
Position Requirements: We are recruiting for one opening that can be hired at two different levels depending on the experience and qualifications of the selected candidate. The qualifications for each level are detailed below and level will be determined at the job offer stage:
Evaluation and Research Specialist (I-06)
- Undergraduate degree in political science, international relations or related field required; MA preferred.
- 3-5 years of professional experience in the international development sector, preferably with a background in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning
Specialist salary range $58,777 USD to $88,165 USD
Evaluation and Research Senior Specialist (I-07)
- Undergraduate degree in political science, international relations or related field required; MA preferred.
- 5-7 years of experience of professional experience in the international development sector, preferably with a background in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning.
Senior Specialist salary range $70,532 USD to $105,799 USD
Both Levels:
- Demonstrated understanding of the program theory-based approach to program design, monitoring, and evaluation.
- Experience with outcome and impact evaluations strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
- Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative data analysis software - such as SPSS, STATA, R, NVivo, or Dedoose - preferred.
- Experience working with U.S. Government-funded projects and familiarity with USG regulations and processes preferred.
- Experience with program management, project implementation and/or budget oversight.
- Strong written and oral communication skills.
- Exceptional ability to operate under strict deadlines, while managing multiple priorities.
- Willingness and ability to travel to challenging environments.
Primary Functions & Responsibilities Evaluation Design and Management - 45%
- Support (Specialist) or lead (Senior Specialist) thematic and impact evaluations of IRI projects, including designing evaluation methodologies, workplans, sampling strategies, and data collection tools, collecting and analyzing data, and writing evaluation reports.
- Collaborate with IRI program staff to identify and scope the most appropriate cases for thematic evaluation series and to identify opportunities to apply research to their programming designs, decision-making, and strategic planning.
- Support (Specialist) or lead (Senior Specialist) the development of resources and tools that provide evidence-based guidance to IRI program staff and the DRG community for purposes of designing, implementing, and evaluating programs and work to drive uptake and engagement with/utilization of such tools and guidance.
- Support (Specialist) or lead (Senior Specialist) consultations with program teams on key topics, such as business development opportunities, proposal writing, and brainstorming around thematic or impact evaluation related topics.
- Support program teams to identify and integrate research and evidence, including evidence produced by IRI and from the broader DRG sector, into program design and implementation.
- Travel as needed for data collection or other evaluation-related purposes.
- Foster and contribute to an inclusive, equitable workplace that embraces diverse identities, backgrounds, and experiences.
- Display cultural and gender sensitivity, engage with colleagues and partners in a respectful, welcoming manner, and demonstrate integrity by modeling IRI's values.
Project Management - 45%
- Develop and monitor work plans related to project implementation and special projects. Lead medium- and long-term planning for a portfolio of projects (Senior Specialist).
- Establish, maintain, and develop productive working relationships with relevant stakeholders, including DC and field-based staff, academic partners, and funders.
- Draft and review quarterly, final, and other reports for funders.
- Monitor and ensure proper tracking of budgets and program expenditures to ensure that IRI projects remain within budget allocations. Lead regular team budget analysis discussions (Senior Specialist).
- Maintain an understanding of funder and IRI policies and procedures related to grant and project implementation and compliance.
- Work with other members of the Evidence and Learning Practice (ELP) to complete projects, achieve organizational goals, and advance IRI's Learning Agenda and related efforts.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
External Engagement with Democracy, Human Rights and Governance and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Fields - 10%
- Keep apprised of research in the academic and practitioner/policy communities relevant to democracy and governance work.
- Prepare external communications on IRI's evaluation findings and methodologies (e.g., blog posts, articles, presentations, etc.).
IRI Total Compensation The salary for this position is determined based on a wide variety of factors including but not limited to an individual's professional experience, qualifications, education and other business needs along with internal equity considerations. Employees are not typically hired at the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are made based on the aforementioned considerations.
IRI offers a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, sick and personal) medical/dental/vision insurance, 403(b), and other benefits to eligible US based employees. Please visit our website to learn more about our benefits offerings.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)
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