Job Description Job title:

Country Coordinator and Research Uptake Manager for Rwanda, Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme

Responsible to:

GAGE Director and GAGE Operations and Partnerships Manager

Time commitment: The role is expected to be 80% to full time. A competitive remuneration package will be offered.

Purpose of Job: We are seeking an experienced Country Coordinator and Research Uptake Manager for Rwanda to join the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) consortium. GAGE will strengthen the evidence base on ‘what works’ for adolescent girls in diverse Global South contexts to fast-track social change. GAGE is a nine-year (2015-2024) £26.4 million mixed methods longitudinal research and evaluation programme. GAGE is funded by UK Aid from the UK government (Department for International Development – DFID). The GAGE consortium has over 35 partners, based across different regions around the world. GAGE aims to understand what programmes are most effective in transforming adolescent girls’ lives at specific junctures during the second decade of life. GAGE research will put girls’ perspectives at the centre of its evidence base. Through our mixed methods longitudinal study, we will generate unique cross-country data following up to 18,000 adolescents (including approximately 12,000 girls and 6,000 boys), along with their families, and male and female peers, across the course of the critical transition from early adolescence through to adulthood, in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal and Rwanda and potentially India. This will be complemented by participatory action research with adolescent girls and boys in conflict-affected refugee and host communities in Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Sierra Leone. For further information on GAGE, please visit www.gage.odi.org . We are now seeking to appoint a Country Coordinator and Research Uptake Manager for GAGE in each of the focal countries of the mixed methods longitudinal study in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal and Rwanda. We welcome your application either from you as an individual or in your institutional capacity. We have already appointed national research partners to lead on the quantitative, qualitative and policy and legal analysis research streams within each focal country of the mixed methods longitudinal study. These national research partners are supported by hub (international) quantitative, qualitative and policy and legal analysis teams. The Country Coordinator will play a vital role in:  Coordinating the research partners from GAGE across the different work-streams and ensuring it follows a robust mixed methods approach. This will include liaising closely with the national research partners and with the implementers of the adolescent programming at the heart of the impact evaluation work-stream  Supporting substantive uptake and application of the research from GAGE by key national and regional policy makers, practitioners and research stakeholders.  Building national and regional key partnerships for GAGE. The Country Coordinator will work closely with a part-time Senior Strategic Advisor for Rwanda (to be appointed).The Country Coordinator will also liaise closely with the international Programme Management Office (including the Operations and Partnership Manager and Strategic Learning Manager) and the advisors

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on research uptake and capacity strengthening to promote international learning and programme adaptation over time.

Main Duties and Responsibilities 1. Research work-stream coordination: expected to be approximately 30% of time  Coordinate the quantitative, qualitative and policy & legal analysis work-stream partners in order to achieve a robust mixed methods approach throughout (including regular bilateral and group meetings) (noting partners are all directly contracted to ODI as the lead consortium partner) .  Engage with the GAGE management team (and also particularly with the GAGE Director and Operations and Partnerships manager) on behalf of the national research partner group, implement decisions made and report back to the country research partners.  Provide support on the liaison process between the international quantitative, qualitative and policy and legal analysis teams and the country research partners.  Support on the design and delivery of the longitudinal research baseline, midline and endlines and annual qualitative cohort, particularly in relation to managing timelines and securing ethics and governmental approvals.  Primary liaison with GAGE implementer partners (whose projects are being assessed through the impact evaluation) on behalf of the GAGE national research partner group. These activities will include: acting as primary liaison with the implementer partners (e.g. supporting the coordination of the survey roll out within the focal communities, involving implementer partners in national and regional GAGE research uptake efforts, sharing lessons learned from the research evaluation and from the implementing partners’ monitoring and learning activities).  Develop and deliver action plans to support research partners and implementer partners. 2. Research uptake & M+E: expected to be approximately 35% of time  Lead the design and delivery of the GAGE approach on research uptake for Rwanda in collaboration with the Senior Strategic Advisor.  Lead on knowledge management of the research1 from GAGE and work together with the GAGE hub team in creating research uptake related outputs for Rwanda, with support from regional/international GAGE research uptake team members.  Identify key national and regional government, NGO and academic and other stakeholders for GAGE research and develop tailored engagement strategies for these stakeholders, in collaboration with the Senior Strategic Advisor and the GAGE research partners and the implementation partners we will be working with.  Organize engagement events and meetings on the findings from GAGE.  Track uptake and application of research products and services and recalibrate them based on feedback received.

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‘Knowledge management of the research’ will include: commissioning country specific research uptake products, policy briefs and other documents for publication; carrying out country and regional public affairs work, representing ideas and knowledge from GAGE with the aim of informing policy; and disseminating the results of research through the media, meetings and conferences. It will also include collating materials within GAGE’s internal and external systems.

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 Develop a country impact pathway, for monitoring and evaluating research u ptake over time, in consultation with the GAGE hub team and strategic learning manager and the Senior Strategic Advisor and monitor progress of the pathway.  Provide quarterly and annual inputs to the quarterly and annual DFID reporting processes. 3. Liaising with key stakeholders: expected to be approximately 30% of time  Map and actively engage with key stakeholders in government (e.g. including ministry of women and children’s’ affairs and ministry of education and other relevant ministries) and key academic, NGO media and private sector stakeholders. This mapping will be at national and regional level and will also include United Nations stakeholders. This will be completed in collaboration with the Senior Strategic Advisor.  Develop tailored engagement plans for these stakeholders with the objective of packaging research accordingly and establishing constructive long term dialogues. This will be completed in collaboration with the Senior Strategic Advisor. 4. General consortium engagement: expected to be approximately 5% of time  Participate in regular consortium webinars and events including the annual GAGE Learning Exchanges.  Collaborate and share learning with Country Coordinators in the other countries for the longitudinal study and the associate regional director for MENA.

Person Specification Experience Essential  Proven track record of meaningful research uptake in relevant areas (which has led to changes in policy and practice);  Established national and ideally also regional networks (e.g. with government, NGOs, United Nations agencies, private sector and media); established existing relationships with key stakeholders;  Coordination and management experience (ideally of large and longer-term research projects or at research institutions);  Experience collaborating with local and international NGOs who work on adolescence and gender;  Experience publicly representing projects and institutions;  Experience of delivery and/or management of rigorous, mixed-methods research in areas related to adolescence and gender/empowerment / social norms change;  Significant experience related to programming for girls/women;  Experience of working within major donor (research) programmes. Desirable  Experience of ethics reviews (and ethical conduct of research).

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Skills/abilities  Fluent written and spoken English (the working language of the overall GAGE consortium is English). Fluent written and spoken Kinyarwanda is preferred;  Excellent organisational skills;  Excellent communication abilities in relation to a wide variety of audiences from different countries and cultures;  Skills in listening, problem solving, decision making and conflict resolution;  Ability to work as part of a team;  Ability to be flexible and adapt to evolving project demands;  Ability to work under pressure and to strict deadlines. All GAGE partners are expected to:  Adhere to GAGE policies (including on child protection, gender equality and anti -fraud and bribery).  Positively support equality of opportunity both within GAGE and externally.  Help maintain a safe working environment and take responsibility for own and colleagues’ Health and Safety.  Undertake such other duties within the scope of their post as may be requested .

Application process All applicants should send a resume/CV and cover letter explaining how you would meet the requirements of the role to Alexandra Vaughan at [email protected] (please note whether the application is for an individual or on behalf of your organisation). Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview. The closing date for receipt of applications is 27th April.

Terms of appointment Location: Rwanda. Salary: a competitive rate will be provided. Hours: this is expected to be an 80-100% role.

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Annex: GAGE Partners 1. GAGE Country Research Partners in Rwanda: a. Quantitative: Laterite b. Qualitative: FATE Consulting Ltd. c. Policy & Legal Analysis: FATE Consulting Ltd. N.B the Country Coordinator will coordinate across the research partners, and with the international team and actively promote mixed methods research approaches. All partners are all directly contracted to ODI as the lead consortium partner.

2. Organisational diagram:

3. Expected timeline: 1. Interview date: Tuesday 16th May 2. Appointment: as soon as possible 3. Country coordinator on-boarding sessions: 10th-14th July (ideally Country Coordinator is in post before this date)

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