If you are looking for a position that allows you to work closely with policymakers and implementers, to inform more effective policy making, and to have an impact, this position is for you!

IPA Ghana is seeking an Advisor in the Right-Fit Evidence Unit (Advisor, RFE) to support IPA Ghana’s provision of evidence and data-driven technical assistance to policy and implementation partners for early childhood education policy implementation and differentiated learning (DL) scale-up in Ghana. This is an exciting opportunity to drive effective education policy in Ghana, by providing evidence-based support to the Ministry of Education and key partners for two key projects:

• Scale up the evidenced, play-based teacher training package for Early Childhood Education and;
• Scale-up of Differentiated Learning Pedagogy in 10,000 Primary Schools under the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project. Teaching at the Right Level (TARL) is one of the most evidence-based, cost-effective education programs that have been implemented in various contexts and is now being scaled in Ghana.

Responsibilities

The Advisor will lead the execution of IPA’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) advisory services and technical assistance for education partners in Ghana. The RFE Advisor will report to the RFE manager in Ghana in the IPA Ghana Country Office and will work closely with the Policy managers in-country as well as with the Global RFE and Policy team. This is a unique opportunity to learn from skill sets across IPA teams.

• Professional deliverables: Own the preparation and presentation of various types of advisory and analytical deliverables, often in slides or well-structured and engaging reports, maintaining the highest standards of communication efficiency
• Provide technical assistance to implementing partners: Prepare and facilitate training sessions to build and strengthen the capacity of implementing partners in MEL.
• Build capacity to refine and test data collection tools in classrooms with government agencies: Provide technical Monitoring and Evaluation expertise to develop and refine monitoring tools that inform local and national decision-makers on key aspects of the education policy. Support

the institutionalization of existing tools and inform strategy of how they can use resulting data to inform program insights for better implementation of the education policy.

• Facilitate data-driven workshops with key-level stakeholders: Liaise with key policymakers and implementers, and academics to plan and facilitate capacity-building workshops such as evidence-sharing workshop and MEL-related workshops
• Workshop design and implementation: Design and facilitate various kinds of external MEL-related workshops, improving the capacity and ownership of partners around long-term MEL practices
• Project management: lead work planning and project management for the MEL technical assistance to ensure effective and timely implementation of our work. Contribute to financial management through strategic prioritization of activities within the given budget.
• Represent IPA Ghana in all engagements and cultivate existing and new stakeholder partnerships: Represent IPA Ghana in stakeholder meetings, host regular check-in meetings with key stakeholders (virtually and in-person in stakeholder offices), and actively seek new partnership opportunities with relevant stakeholders. This includes sourcing relevant contacts, arranging meetings, developing partnership collaboration concept notes/presentations, and any regular upkeep/communication required to move partnerships forward.
• Develop ideas for new IPA partnerships to support the use of right-fit evidence: Contribute to any relevant business development of future IPA and RFE partnerships by identifying and understanding open challenges for potential partner organizations (policymakers, implementers, funders) and working with an internal team to develop solutions that IPA could provide in partnership. Attend and contribute to business development meetings and prepare concept notes or proposals.

The role is open to both Ghanaian and international applicants. IPA Ghana will sponsor work permits/visas for international applicants if hired. We also encourage those with the following profiles to apply as these skills and interests are a particularly strong fit:

• Management consultants with some international development experience who would be excited in a career shift to an entrepreneurial and impact-focused environment leveraging their skillset
• Education/early childhood development project managers who have experience managing large-scale education programs in developing countries, particularly in collaboration with government partners, interested in a role that focuses on innovation/early piloting/large-scale monitoring and evaluation for quality assurance in education
• M&E practitioners who are interested in broadening their scope and impact in the field by advising organizations on state-of-the-art M&E practices
• Research professionals in international development who enjoy working closely with practitioners and are interested in broadening their scope to all the types of data and evidence that can inform decisions

Irrespective of their background, RFE staff tend to learn through their work, and this position is a great fit for anyone with a growth-oriented mindset.

Education and Experience:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in economics, public policy, education, early childhood development, international development, or related fields and; 2-5 years of relevant work experience, including experience in M&E (public sector), education policy or program management (public/non-profit/private sectors), organizational performance/R&D/operational research (private sector), or experience in management consulting/other professional services. Exceptions may be made for excellent candidates who do not meet this criterion.
• Technical Skills:
• Superior analytical and conceptual thinking skills
• Familiarity with statistics and data analysis (including a strong command of Excel)
• Strong client-facing and presentation skills. Ability to present information in a structured and insightful way, both in writing and orally.
• Stakeholder Management Skills:
• Demonstrated ability to manage relationships with partner organizations;
• Self-starter, entrepreneurial mindset, versatility, and ability to learn at a fast pace.
• Project Management Skills:
• Project/budget management skills; attention to detail;
• Ability to manage and organize various work streams efficiently.
• Other:
• Willingness to travel within Ghana;
• Passion for making data-driven decisions a reality in international development sector

Preferred Additional Qualifications

• Master’s degree in education, economics, public policy, social science, or a related field
• Experience working with national government partners on large-scale programs
• Experience living and working in developing countries, particularly Ghana
• Familiarity with the concepts surrounding the Theory of Change and the core tools of M&E (both quantitative and qualitative research methods)
• Familiarity with key global education indicators, particularly for early childhood development
• Familiarity with the global literature in early childhood education
• Familiarity with SurveyCTO, Open Data Kit or similar survey software
• Ability to use Stata, R or similar statistical software
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials;
• Preparing narratives for donor/external stakeholders;