Product Research Manager

About the role

• Jacaranda Health is seeking a mid- to senior-level Product Research Manager with deep applied experience in user experience research and learning, including use of mixed-methods evaluation, a strong orientation toward impact and sustainability, and growing exposure to the application of research to digital health products. This role is ideal for a professional who excels at generating rapid, actionable learning from scaled product data, and translating evidence into programmatic and product design decisions.
• The Product Research Manager will play a leadership role in shaping how Jacaranda evaluates interventions across the full lifecycle—from early experimentation  and iteration to scale and long-term sustainability and impact. Working closely with Product, Data & Analytics, Tech, and Programs teams, the role will focus on understanding how, why, and for whom interventions work, with particular attention to context, equity, and impact.

Terms of Engagement:

• One-year contract, renewable

What You’ll Do:

Lead Product Learning

• Design and implement rapid user research, embedded within Product development lifecycles. This will involve using user data, conducting user research, product analytics, and experimentation to understand engagement, performance, user experience and health outcomes.
• Translate evidence into concrete strategies to improve product offerings and implementation. 

Lead Implementation Research & Learning

• Design and lead implementation research studies that optimize the scale and impact of the organization's solutions These will be mixed methods approaches to understand how product offerings and interventions operate in the real world. 
• Generate decision-ready insights from implementation research - translate evidence into strategies that inform iteration, adaptation, and scale. Own the Research team’s departmental strategy. 
• Lead the design of research projects that generate actionable insights and fit a rapid Technology-oriented pace of learning. 
• Oversee data gathering, analysis, and interpretation, ensuring quality at all levels. 
• Translate research findings into clear, decision-ready recommendations that guide product iteration, experimentation, partnership, and scale strategies.

Lead and coach teams  

• Lead and mentor research teams to understand departmental strategy, deliver quality research outputs, and understand how to apply research learnings to product and solution implementation. 
• Partner with other internal departments, both technical and non-technical,  to translate complex findings into action. Communicate complex findings with clarity and influence, translating evidence into compelling narratives for Product managers, Programs teams, senior leadership, donors, and government partners to inform decision-making.

What you bring

• Master’s degree in public health, social sciences, epidemiology, implementation science, or a related field, with 5–8+ years of experience conducting applied or product/UX-focused research; or a Bachelor’s degree with equivalent hands-on research experience.
• Demonstrated mid- to senior-level experience in product, implementation, or applied research, with strong use of qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to answer real-world product and program questions.
• Proven ability to design and lead studies that inform product iteration, scale-up, sustainability, and impact within complex health or digital systems.
• Strong experience translating research evidence into clear product, programmatic, or policy decisions, influencing roadmaps, feature prioritization, or implementation strategy.
• Proficiency in at least one statistical or analytical software package (e.g. STATA or R), with the ability to interpret and communicate quantitative findings for product decision-making.

Skills and Competencies:

• Experience conducting product or UX research within large-scale digital health platforms or technology-enabled services.
• Familiarity with user and product analytics, dashboards, or routine platform data, and using these data to complement qualitative or mixed-methods research.
• Hands-on experience with qualitative analysis tools (e.g. NVivo, Atlas.ti) and applied synthesis for product learning.
• Experience collaborating closely with product teams, governments, donors, or large-scale implementation partners to embed research into delivery and scale.
• Knowledge of basic statistics is a must.