We are looking for a research manager and a research assistant for an exciting new project: a randomized controlled trial of two policy interventions in the Sierra Leone public health sector. I’ve been working on this for the last few months alongside Oeindrila Dube from NYU, Vivek Maru from the World Bank, Rachel Glennerster from MIT-JPAL, and several others; and we are finally ready to roll.
So what’s the project, and who are we looking for? We are evaluating the impact of two interventions in the health sector: community monitoring, and non-financial award competitions. The idea is that each intervention will motivate health workers to perform better; we’re ‘testing’ that through a randomized controlled trial.
An evaluation at this scale needs people to run it more or less full-time in-country. We’re looking for a research manager to take over general responsibility for the project, managing big picture stuff as well as day-to-day; and one or more research assistant(s) to provide support. The job advert below has all the details.
Freetown is beautiful, and nothing quite beats running a survey in Salone.
Research Manager and Research Assistant(s), Sierra Leone Health Sector Evaluation
The Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford University (CSAE) [1], seeks a Research Manager (RM) and one or more Research Assistants (RAs) to organize and manage a randomized controlled trial of two health sector interventions in Sierra Leone. The research project is being conducted in partnership with the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL), the World Bank, the International Growth Centre (IGC), and New York University (NYU).
Research description
The research project investigates the role of two interventions, non-financial incentives and community monitoring, in improving health service delivery. Both interventions will be will be rigorously evaluated by our research team over an 18-month period in selected districts and chiefdoms across Sierra Leone. The method of impact evaluation will be a randomized controlled trial (RCT), wherein facilities and chiefdoms will be randomly allocated to ‘treatment’ and ‘control’ groups, and the interventions piloted in the ‘treatment’ group only. Large-scale surveys of households and health facilities will measure health and service delivery outcomes, both before and after the pilot. The impact of each intervention on health outcomes will be estimated by comparing ‘treatment’ and ‘control’ groups. Results will inform the GoSL and other policymakers about the impact and cost-effectiveness of each intervention, as well as the prospects for national scaling-up.
The lead researchers for the project are Oeindrila Dube (NYU & IPA), Bilal Siddiqi (Oxford-CSAE), and Vivek Maru (World Bank), with input and support from the IGC-Sierra Leone Lead Academic, Rachel Glennerster (MIT-JPAL).
Roles and responsibilities
The RM would take overall responsibility for the successful implementation of the research project. S/he would be supported in this effort by one or more full-time RAs. The division of labor between the RM and RAs (henceforth, the ‘Research Team’) will depend on the skill sets of the successful candidates and the needs of the project.
1. Design and manage two national surveys
The primary task of the Research Team will be to organize and manage two nationwide household and health facility surveys: the National Public Services (NPS) survey and the Peripheral Health Unit (PHU) survey. The surveys will be run in partnership with the Decentralization Secretariat of the GoSL. Baseline surveys are scheduled to launch in May 2010, and follow-up surveys are scheduled for 2011. The Research Team would:
- assist with the design of survey instruments, including reviews of the literature and existing instruments;
- program survey instruments into PocketSurvey™ software;
- provide input into research design, including sampling and logistical strategy
- recruit and train enumerators;
- pilot and field test survey instruments;
- manage survey teams in the field;
- manage, verify, clean and analyze survey data.
2. Interface with government and other local partners
The Research Team will need to interact regularly with our local partners – the World Bank, the MoHS, the Decentralization Secretariat, and partner NGOs. Duties will involve attending relevant meetings in the Bank and the MoHS, building and maintaining consensus on research design, and keeping track of policy decisions that might affect the intervention and research. The RM will be expected to take the lead in this area.
3. Help launch and monitor the interventions
The Research Team will need to regularly monitor the progress of the interventions once they are launched. Duties would involve regular site visits to ensure that the design is being adhered to, anticipate problems in implementation and provide support and advice to implementing partners.
Qualifications
Research Assistant(s)
- Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree that includes training in microeconomics, development economics, econometrics and statistics;
- Interest in field research and data gathering;
- Excellent organizational, communication, and writing skills, along with strong quantitative skills;
- Excellent computer and data management skills;
- Prior experience living or working in a developing country, preferably in sub-Saharan Africa;
- Experience with data management, econometrics, and knowledge of Stata and ArcGIS;
- Managerial experience of any kind.
Research Manager
All qualifications listed above, plus:
- Masters and/or Ph.D.-level degree in development economics, health policy, international public policy, or other field related to international economic development;
- Prior experience in field research in developing countries, preferably in sub-Saharan Africa;
- Prior experience in economics or social science research, impact evaluation, quantitative surveys;
- Demonstrated experience in managing large teams, and the ability to present positions to and negotiate with senior officials
Terms of employment
The individuals will contract with the CSAE. The preferred contract time is a minimum of 12 months, with a probationary trial period of 60 days. Exceptional candidates interested in a shorter-term contract will also be considered. Members of the Research Team would be expected to reside in Sierra Leone throughout the term of the contract.
Pay is commensurate on qualifications and experience, but will be in the range of USD 1,500-2,000 per month (RM) and USD 1,000-1,500 per month (RAs); this will cover living costs. In addition, all project-related expenses (local travel, accommodation outside Freetown, cellphone & internet) are covered, as well as standard travel and health insurance, visa expenses, etc. Return airfare to Sierra Leone will be provided. One additional return flight home for up to 3 weeks will be included for those with a contract length of 12 months or longer.
How to apply
Please submit a cover letter, resume, academic transcripts and the names of two referees, to Bilal Siddiqi (bilal.siddiqi@economics.ox.ac.uk) and Oeindrila Dube (odube@nyu.edu). In the cover letter, please include your earliest possible start date, your preferred term of employment, and the main reasons you chose to apply.
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Only candidates shortlisted for an interview will be contacted.
[Back to top] The Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) is one of the largest concentrations of economists and political scientists working on Africa outside the continent itself. The CSAE is housed in the Department of Economics at Oxford University, and is funded by the Gates Foundation, the Soros Foundation, the ESRC, DfID, the International Growth Centre, and the World Bank.
