🇸🇱 Job Vacancy @ Laterite – Senior Research Associate

Summary

Laterite is looking for an experienced professional to provide strategic direction, oversee research projects, and lead and mentor research teams. This position is based in our office in Sierra Leone, Freetown.

We are also open to hiring for a Country Director role for candidates with 8+ years of experience or a Country Manager for candidates with 6+ years of experience.

About Laterite

Laterite is a data, research and analytics firm specialized in complex development challenges. We work with universities, global think tanks, international NGOs, multilateral donor organizations, and government ministries and agencies. Our clients include, for example, the World Bank, USAID, TechnoServe, Promundo, the Mastercard Foundation, and several UN agencies.

We currently have offices in the Netherlands, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Peru. The team brings together more than 80 full time local and international staff, as well as 1,000+ enumerators across all countries. We are proud to be a culturally diverse organization, and we welcome applications from groups currently under-represented in our team. Learn more: www.laterite.com

We work in socio-economic development research projects. We believe that impact is a long-term endeavour that requires being embedded in the local context. Delivering high-quality research requires building local teams and data collection systems, knowing the country, and establishing close working relationships.

One of Laterite’s key strategic goals is to create a collaborative and rewarding working environment for our staff, where every team member feels engaged, represented, and heard. Laterite is committed to create opportunities for learning and career development within the team and across our offices.

Laterite is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age or veteran status.

What you will do:

As a Senior Research Associate, based in our Freetown office, you will:

• Lead a portfolio of impactful research projects, from design to data collection, analysis, and follow-through.
• Lead research teams to ensure we deliver value for our clients, using rigorous and innovative research methods.
• Build successful partnerships with clients and stakeholders and establish Laterite as a trusted partner.
• Mentor our growing research and data teams.
• Contribute to country-level strategic decisions such as which projects to pursue, team development, and how to increase the impact of our research.
• Support business development and recruitment processes.
• As part of Laterite's management team, you will have a voice in project selection, corporate strategy, process improvements, and structuring of Laterite’s research agenda. You will serve as a role model for the team, actively promoting our organizational culture, and helping us to grow and achieve our mission as an organization.
• Laterite is expanding rapidly, and we are open to the possibility of hiring exceptional candidates at a higher grade.

What you will bring:

We are looking for an accomplished researcher who combines excellent technical skills with experience in project and team management.

Our future colleague has:

• A postgraduate degree (master’s or above) in Economics, International Development, one of Laterite’s core sectors, or a related field with a strong component of quantitative data analysis
• At least 5 years of work experience in international development, public policy, economic and social research, or management consulting
• Motivation to work in social and economic research in Ethiopia
• Demonstrated experience in leading and mentoring research teams
• Demonstrated experience in managing complex research projects, involving data collection and field teams
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Proficiency in STATA is required. Knowledge of R and/or Python is a plus.

Additionally, we are looking for:

• Solid project management skills to oversee a portfolio of projects at different stages in the research lifecycle
• An excellent networker with experience in building relationships with clients and stakeholders from the public and private sectors
• A self-motivated team leader with excellent interpersonal skills who thrives in a fast-paced environment where timelines can be unpredictable

What’s in it for you?

Laterite offers a competitive remuneration package, including medical insurance and 25 days of annual leave. We are also committed to supporting our staff’s learning, providing an annual learning budget of up to $1,000 per person and 10 days of time off for professional learning each year. We also provide remote work options in accordance with Laterite's remote work policy. The starting salary for this role is $4,725.36 gross per month. The exact salary grade will be determined based on the selected candidate’s experience and performance in interviews.

What next?

1.     Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Assessment

The first step is to complete a 20-minute numeracy and literacy assessment for which no special preparation is needed. The assessment contains a total of 5 multiple choice questions.

Link to the assessment: https://form.jotform.com/242803466199566

2.     Submit the application

Successful candidates will then be invited to upload their CVs and cover letter via our online application system.

3.     Analytical assessment

Candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be invited to complete an analytical assessment to gauge their capacity to perform statistical analysis on a dataset and present the findings in a short document (using STATA, R, or Python).

4.     Interviews

Successful candidates will then be invited to a first interview. The interview stage will consist of three rounds of interviews.

Deadline

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Details on rolling applications can be found on the website: https://www.laterite.com/vacancies/