We are looking for a driven professional with a very strong background in research, and gender and/or empowerment or social inclusion. The position will report directly to, and work closely with, the MEL Practice Lead.

The successful applicant will spend the majority of their time working directly with clients, supporting the integration of gender and empowerment in market-based programming, conducting gender-responsive research and analysis, supporting client M&E systems and capturing results on empowerment, conducting gender-responsive evaluations and impact assessments, and managing client and internal learning agendas in this area.

Do not worry if you do not already possess all of these skills. We want someone with a strong research and gender background who is willing to learn about what they do not already know.

MSA is growing – this position offers significant opportunity for the successful candidate to grow with us, assuming progressively greater responsibility with MSA.

We are looking for someone who finds fulfillment in:

• Doing gender differently. We believe there are some known good practices in how to promote gender equality. We like these. But we also believe that the best gender and empowerment work is born of creative thinking. We want someone who is comfortable challenging themselves to find unique and intervention-specific solutions to old problems. We want our gender specialists to think outside the box, pushing the boundaries of what seems possible.

• Understanding the perspective of the private sector. Most of our work is in the space of market systems and private sector development. We do not just promote gender as a compliance or one-off social development solution, we rather find viable business models for gender inclusion in order to promote sustainability of empowerment results over time. We are looking for someone who likes to build these win-wins with local companies, work with our clients to see how the system can be disrupted, and see how the incentives of all players can be shifted.

• Being a research nerd and enjoying MEL. We want someone to join the team who loves qualitative research. This person loves designing good interview and focus group discussion guides, conducting fun interviews and focus group discussions in-country, and all of the deep analysis that follows. Knowing how to do all of this from a gender and empowerment perspective is key. Also enjoying measurement and finding new ways to measure social change over time is critical.

• Driving forward client relationships. This person will enjoy working with the internal team, but will spend significant time engaging and collaborating with clients. Being communicative, diplomatic and having the ability to navigate people-dynamics is critical to succeed in this role. You need to feel comfortable working in groups, discussing and bringing your point of view to the table with clients in higher positions of power and gracefully managing expectations of clients. Previous experience leading client relationships for larger projects would be preferable.

• A focus on co-creation. We do not do research for research’s sake. We like action research that leads to better decision-making, project performance and eventual social impacts. All MSA technical consultants enjoy working with our partners and clients to get better results. This means we need to be good listeners, get their buy-in and always think about how to engage with partners in a process of co-creation. This role will not be a good fit for someone with a particular agenda in gender that is inflexible to client and partner needs.

• Learning. We are a learning organization, continuously pushing the frontiers within our field together with our clients, while being strongly rooted in a community of practice, both locally and internationally. A curious person who is interested to learn and grow with the company will thrive here.

• Completing high quality work. We believe in what we do. Our work and productivity reflect our passion. We want another team member to believe the same!

• Working in an expanding company. Our company is small, but we are growing. If you enjoy fast-paced working environments and strategizing how to take a company to the next level, we are a good fit. If you are looking for a place to work with the same daily checklist and regular work, this is not the position for you.

Requirements:

· At least 10 years of professional experience in the public or private sector with a Masters degree or higher in economics, international development or another relevant social science OR at least 12 years of professional experience in the public or private sector with a Bachelors degree in economics, international development or another relevant social science is required

· Four years of experience managing research, monitoring, evaluation, and/or learning for donor-funded activities Very strong experience designing and implementing gender-responsive research and/or MEL systems

· Proven experience on an economic growth, private sector development, agriculture, employment, financial inclusion, impact investing, decent work, competitiveness and/or market systems-development focused projects

· Significant experience designing and conducting qualitative research

· Experience conducting gender work on USAID-funded projects and/or other relevant foundations and/or bi-laterals

· Demonstrated competencies in mixed-methods design and strong technical writing for both technical and lay audiences

· Experience supporting project management functions, such as managing budgets, managing local consultants, and following donor rules and regulations

· Strong client relationship and engagement management skills