Manager & Senior Manager

Role Overview

This is a leadership position for someone who thrives at the intersection of rigorous research and real-world policy action. You will steer complex client engagements from start to finish, guiding teams that design evaluations, analyze data, and deliver evidence-based recommendations to decision-makers in governments, foundations, and NGOs. Your core mission is to ensure that high-quality technical work translates into decisions and programs that improve lives at scale, while also building the next generation of analysts and contributing to how our organization grows and adapts.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for senior clients, shaping project strategy, managing expectations, and ensuring that evidence and recommendations directly address their most pressing policy and programmatic questions.
• Lead the technical direction of projects, including selecting and overseeing rigorous evaluation designs, quantitative and qualitative methods, and data science approaches suited to each decision context.
• Own the full project lifecycle: planning workstreams, setting milestones, tracking budgets, allocating resources, and adapting course when field realities or client needs shift.
• Produce and review high-stakes deliverables—reports, policy briefs, presentations, and memos—translating nuanced findings into clear, actionable guidance for non-technical audiences.
• Coach and mentor Associates and Senior Associates, providing regular feedback, structured development opportunities, and hands-on guidance to build their analytical and client-facing capabilities.
• Contribute to business development by identifying new opportunities, drafting concept notes and proposals, and representing our work to potential partners and the broader development community.
• Strengthen internal systems and methodologies, piloting novel approaches, refining existing tools, and sharing lessons across teams to improve how we deliver impact.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A graduate degree (Master’s or PhD) in economics, statistics, public policy, international development, or a related quantitative social science field.
• Six to ten years of progressive professional experience in international development, research and evaluation, data analytics, consulting, or program management, including demonstrable leadership responsibility.
• Advanced expertise in econometrics, experimental and quasi-experimental methods, mixed-methods research, and the ability to design and oversee rigorous evaluation frameworks.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a proven record of converting complex technical analysis into clear strategic guidance for executive audiences, donors, and policymakers.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple workstreams at once, delegate effectively, and maintain high-quality deliverables under tight deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, especially experience navigating partnerships with government agencies, donor organizations, implementing partners, and senior leadership.
• A proactive, problem-solving mindset—able to anticipate obstacles, propose creative solutions, and drive initiatives forward independently.
• Deep commitment to poverty alleviation and improving the lives of disadvantaged populations around the world.

Additional preferred qualifications include fluency in the local language of the placement country, prior in-country management experience, a record of publication or policy influence, and experience managing grants, budgets, or donor relationships. Candidates will be assessed for a Manager or Senior Manager level based on experience and performance during the hiring process; other roles may be considered where a match exists.