Senior Ecosystem & Inclusion Researcher

Role Overview

We are looking for a senior field researcher to lead a multi-country study on the barriers and enablers facing startups and MSMEs across East Africa, with particular attention to women-owned businesses and youth-led ventures. In this role, you will travel beyond Nairobi to engage with entrepreneurs, incubators, and grassroots financial service providers, turning their realities into rigorous evidence that informs programming and investor strategy. Your work will directly shape how we design support systems for businesses that typically remain invisible in national datasets.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and manage mixed-methods research protocols — including household surveys, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory workshops — tailored to the East African startup and MSME context.
• Identify and build relationships with regional innovation hubs, women’s business associations, and youth technology communities in secondary cities and rural areas outside Nairobi.
• Lead the development of sampling strategies that ensure representation across gender, age, sector, and geographic location, and document any limitations transparently.
• Coordinate a small team of enumerators and research assistants, including training on ethical data collection, informed consent, and safeguarding practices.
• Conduct quantitative analysis of survey data to identify patterns in business performance, access to credit, digital adoption, and market participation.
• Carry out systematic qualitative coding of interview and focus group transcripts to capture nuanced narratives around opportunity, risk, and resilience.
• Translate findings into policy briefs, practitioner reports, and practical recommendations for ecosystem actors, while maintaining accurate and audit-ready data files.
• Present results at stakeholder forums, workshops, and convenings attended by entrepreneurs, funders, and government representatives.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Development Studies, Statistics, Gender Studies, Economics, or a related social science field.
• Seven to ten years of hands-on experience conducting mixed-methods field research within East Africa’s startup or MSME ecosystems, including direct engagement with enterprise owners and local intermediaries.
• Established networks and a track record of working with regional innovation hubs, women’s entrepreneur associations, and youth tech communities beyond Nairobi — evidence of existing relationships or a clear plan to build them will be expected.
• Demonstrated proficiency in both quantitative data analysis (including statistical software such as Stata, R, or SPSS) and qualitative analysis (including thematic coding tools like NVivo or Dedoose).
• Experience managing field teams, designing questionnaires or interview guides, and ensuring data quality in challenging, low-resource settings.
• Excellent written and spoken English; working proficiency in Swahili or another regional language is a strong advantage.
• Ability to synthesise complex findings into plain-language reports and short presentations for non-specialist audiences.

Application Requirements

Interested candidates should submit:

• Updated CV/Resume
• Cover letter highlighting relevant assignment experience
• Proposed daily consultancy rate in KES/USD
• Samples of previous work, such as policy briefs, research reports, or event proceedings