The Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) is the leading think tank in Zambia, with a distinctly international character. The think tank provides an environment for creative thinking and conducting policy analysis and research, promotes dialogue and advocacy and delivers capacity building and training. Overtime, the Institute has transformed to become a critical reference in the social and economic policy discourse in Zambia.

To support the Executive Director to effectively engage with stakeholders to promote evidence-based policies in a sustainable manner, ZIPAR seeks a dynamic and experienced person to fill the position of Associate Researcher – Human Development.

Job Purpose

Under the supervision of the Research Fellow II, the job holder will work to support Unit operations on a broad spectrum of policy analysis and research projects. She/he will also work to build competence in a specialized area of operation to support the provision of evidence-based policy advice.

The job holder will thus, support the production of quality and timely research reports and policy commentaries and will, as may be assigned, use appropriate platforms to effectively disseminate evidence-based policy advice. She/he will be expected develop skills and experience in conducting policy analysis and research and be able to transfer the skills and experience to both internal and external stakeholders through training. Furthermore, she/he will be expected to contribute to the financial sustainability goals of ZIPAR.

Duties and Responsibilities

•  Undertaking literature reviews to support conceptualization of research;
•  Contributing to research design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination of the results of desk reviews, surveys, interviews and focus groups to support studies and projects;
•  Data verification in both digital and written form, ensuring that any errors that may occur during transcription are eliminated;
•  Designing spreadsheets, statistical tables, and associated graphs using appropriate computer software;
•  Designing and preparing a variety of written and statistical reports in a timely manner and in a variety of presentation formats including posters, infographics, power point presentations, consultancy reports, policy briefs, commentaries, position papers;
• Handle necessary administrative paperwork and other documentation needed for project validation and research quality control;
•  Participating in the monitoring, evaluation and institutional learning activities including periodic management and project reporting;
• Keeping accurate records of work processes, finances and technical minutes of Unit, technical or project meetings;
• Assisting in the maintenance of data to support reports and publications, program reviews, and other institutional research reports, supporting model building and simulation activities;
• Supporting dissemination activities of ZIPAR outputs;
• Attending ZIPAR research meetings, seminars, workshops and other meetings as necessary;
• Reviewing and proof reading of reports and working papers;
• Participating regularly in professional development opportunities;
• Assisting other researchers with various tasks, including data entry, field research, statistical analysis and presentation preparation;
• Assist in the management of institutional networks;
• Assisting to maintain customer relations;
• Supporting development of business opportunities;
• Supervising data collectors and interns; and
• Responding to ad-hoc requests by the Executive Director or Departmental/Unit Head.

Required Attributes and Competences

• Good grasp of social development and economic theory;
• Fair knowledge of the Zambian economy and the contemporary environmental, social and economic policy issue;
• Good grasp of social development and economic theory;
• Fair knowledge of the Zambian economy and the contemporary environmental, social and economic policy issue;
• Willingness to acquire intermediate/advanced research skills including modelling/simulation;
• Good technical writing and analytical skills;
• Good IT skills including Microsoft Office, statistical packages i.e., SPSS, Stata, R, E-views, Python and internet search engines;
• Good team workmanship and interpersonal skills;
• Attention to detail;
• Willingness to work in a fast-paced work environment;
• Good communication skills, written and oral in English; and
• Self-motivated, self-directed, creative, organized, and deeply committed to personal and organizational excellence.

Qualifications and Experience

1. Grade 12 Certificate or equivalent;
2. Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, or statistics, or reasonably related coursework, from an accredited college or university;
3. Master’s degree in social sciences, or statistics, or reasonably related coursework, from an accredited college or university, will be an added advantage;
4. A non-academic publication attributed to the candidate is a further added advantage.