Consultant: Economic Growth Research and Evaluation

Palladium
United States, D.C., Washington
1331 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Show on map)
Oct 24, 2024
Consultant: Economic Growth Research and Evaluation Company Overview: About Palladium - Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact - the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people's lives. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status. Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as "the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm". We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process. Project Overview and Role: Palladium is seeking multiple mid- and senior-level consultants to provide research and evaluation support on an as needed basis to support donor funded projects. Studies or tasks will primarily focus on economic growth, are mostly - but not exclusively - funded by USAID, and often use a mixed methods approach. The studies will be led out of the Palladium's Data, Informatics and Analytical Solutions (DIAS) Community of Practice. Consultants with experience in mixed methods and have multiple language proficiencies (e.g., French and Spanish) are needed. The DIAS Practice is a dynamic and innovative group with talented and passionate members working toward the goal of improving informed decision making and implementation efficiency in international development projects. The Palladium DIAS practice vision is to improve economic growth, private sector development, and other development investments and outcomes by strengthening information and governance systems and local capacity and ownership to use quality data in real time for positive impact. The location of this position is flexible, but candidates must have a visa to work in the US. Candidates also must be available to work on Eastern Standard Time hours. At this time, no travel is envisioned, but that may change depending on the scope of work. Assignments could be anywhere from a few days to engagement over several months depending on the scope of work. Primary Duties and Responsibilities: Lead or support development of research/evaluation protocols. This includes the following tasks: Working with stakeholders to identify key study questions Designing or contributing to the research/evaluation methodology Developing qualitative and quantitative data collection tools and validating tools Developing analysis plans appropriate for given methodology Ensuring procedures are in place to ensure protection of human subjects Training field teams in data collection Ensuring high quality data collection and analysis through appropriate quality control measures and data cleaning Analyzing quantitative data and generating descriptive statistics (e.g. two-way cross tabs) or more sophisticated statistics (e.g. multivariate analysis, modelling) Coding and analyzing qualitative data Triangulating data Drafting/contributing to final reports and presentations Support the development of research/evaluation elements of business development activities Required Qualifications: Proven experience leading and designing research and evaluation studies funded by donor organizations in at least one of the following topic areas: economics, private sector development, entrepreneurship, agriculture, agribusiness, finance, investment, value chains, inclusive markets, trade, economic policy, governance, or other related areas Experience in drafting materials for IRB submission Experience leading mixed methods studies Advanced skills using statistical software (e.g., Stata, SPSS, R, SAS, or SQL) Advanced skills using qualitative analysis software (e.g., NVivo, Atlas.Ti) Experience in using study findings to draft final reports and/or manuscripts Experience in facilitating use of findings among stakeholders Ability to communicate professionally and effectively with diverse stakeholders Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to effectively write technical documents Fluency in English Strong management and coordination skills Strong work planning and budgeting skills Ability to deliver under extremely tight deadlines Comfort with ambiguity in task load and able to operationalize ideas into solutions Critical and reflective thinking skills; systems thinking skills Ability to fully use or learn the Microsoft Office Suite, including: Excel, Word, PowerPoint and the Teams collaboration suite. Preferred Qualifications: Experience conducting evaluation-based cost benefit analysis Experience evaluating the gender impacts of interventions Data science skills Experience designing data management systems and dashboards or other data visualization tools Cross regional experience (Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific Experience conducting Political Economy Analysis Ability to work in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and/or Arabic Core Competencies: Detail-oriented and deadline-driven with strong organizational skills and the ability to perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities often within a limited timeframe Curious with a strong sense of initiative and accountability Highly adaptable and able to pivot workflow and plans rapidly Highly self-motivated and able to work independently as well as in team settings Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with diverse stakeholders (written and oral), strong interpersonal skills Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a member of a fast-moving and multicultural team while maintaining a client-centered focus Interested candidates should submit a CV as well as a cover letter that includes the following information: A one paragraph summary explaining how you are qualified for this position An estimate of when you will be available to start working An indication of what percentage of time you will have available to work on Palladium assignments