Job particulars
- Job title
- Director, Strategic Research & Evidence
- Hiring organisation
- s Expand Recruitment Services
- Location
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Employment type
- Full-time
- Work arrangement
- On-site
- Industry
- Project Management
- Level
- Director
- Experience
- 12+ years
- Posted
- 30 Sept 2026
- Closing date
- 11 Oct 2026
Key responsibilities
- Applied Research, Evidence Synthesis & Child Data Insights.
- Lead applied research and evidence synthesis using child data from AIM/AIM+, programme monitoring, evaluations, operational research, commissioned studies and other evidence sources.
- Deliver the annual AIM/AIM+ insight narrative as a research/learning product, translating WVI’s Global Strategy – Our Promise, Phase 3 (OP3) and senior-leadership questions into answerable research questions, data stories and decision-use products.
- Commission and/or lead secondary analyses of the 400,000+ household AIM data set and other datasets to generate cross-country insights across child wellbeing, resilience, vulnerability, equity and integrated sector outcomes.
- Set interpretation standards for child-data research, including methods, uncertainty, claim boundaries, reproducibility and responsible use of sensitive data.
- Coordinate with Design Monitoring Evidence Accountability and Learning (DMEAL) and data governance on data availability, quality, extracts and analytical constraints.
- OP3 Applied Research Portfolio & Commissioned Studies.
- Translate the OP3 research agenda into a sequenced portfolio of studies across Integrated Child Wellbeing Pathways, Christian Faith/Spiritual Nurture/Child Flourishing, Climate Stress and Child Resilience, Long-Term Community Transformation, and Local-to-Global Systems Transformation.
- Commission, scope, lead and quality assure research studies, evidence syntheses, secondary analyses, mixed-methods, ex-post/longitudinal and quasi-experimental or comparative designs.
- Ensure research designs address cross-sector programming questions across health, nutrition, WASH, livelihoods, child protection, resilience, climate, faith and development, systems transformation, and humanitarian/nexus contexts.
- Develop or approve research questions, theories of change, protocols, TORs/RFPs, analysis plans, sampling approaches, ethics/IRB pathways, data-use agreements, publication plans, technical review processes and acceptance criteria.
- Coordinate with Field Office and Regional Office (FO/RO) teams, Support Offices, sector leads, Grants Acquisition and Management (GAM), Advocacy and External Engagement (A&EE), Disaster Management (DM), universities and external researchers so commissioned studies are rigorous, feasible, field-grounded and operationally usable.
- External Research Partnerships, Publications & Funding.
- Develop university and research-institution partnerships that strengthen methodology, credibility, peer review, publication potential and access to specialists.
- Shape joint research through co-PI models, advisory groups, fellowship/student pipelines, data access protocols, authorship plans, dissemination and workplans.
- Build publication and dissemination pathways, including peer-reviewed outputs, working papers, evidence briefs, donor-facing research products and public learning products.
- Agree partnership scope, deliverables, data-use arrangements, ethical requirements, acceptance criteria and dissemination expectations with legal, data governance, safeguarding and line management as needed.
- Mobilise technical and funding leverage by matching WV data assets, field presence and OP3 priorities with external expertise in child wellbeing, faith and development, health/nutrition, climate, systems and longitudinal research.
- Represent WV research and evidence agenda with academic partners, donors, Support Offices, foundations and external evidence networks.
- Learning Translation, Influence & Research Uptake.
- Translate research findings and child-data findings into leadership-ready insight products, Research Board materials, executive briefs, donor-facing narratives, programme design implications, influence products and practical learning tools.
- Define an evidence-to-decision pathway for each major research product, identifying the decision owner, intended use, audience, timing, format and measure of uptake before products are commissioned or produced.
- Facilitate interpretation and uptake with programme, sector, FO/RO, Support Offices (SO), GAM, advocacy, communications and senior leadership teams so findings inform design, adaptation, fundraising, policy influence and external positioning.
- Track whether research improves decisions, is used by external actors, or contributes to resource mobilisation, aligned with the OP3 success metrics of impact, influence and income.
- Ensure public-facing and donor-facing evidence claims are accurate, proportionate and defensible.
- Research Governance, Team Leadership & Capability Building.
- Lead a leveraged research and learning platform that includes core researchers, Health/Nutrition and Faith/Development research capabilities, commissioned researchers, university partners, sector specialists and time-bound working groups.
- Set the annual workplan, quality standards, technical review cadence, escalation process and product standards for applied research, evidence synthesis, AIM/AIM+ insight narratives and OP3 research outputs.
- Line-manage and/or matrix-manage research staff and consultants as assigned, setting priorities, coaching technical quality, managing delivery and ensuring accountability for outputs.
- Build organisational capability in research commissioning, analysis interpretation, responsible data use, research ethics, evidence translation and use of child data insights for decision-making.
Candidate requirements
- Master’s degree or equivalent in Statistics, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Public Health, Data Science, Economics, Social Sciences, International Development, Evaluation, Implementation Science, or a related research-intensive discipline.
- Formal training in quantitative methods, research design, evaluation, data analysis, or equivalent professional experience.
- At least 12 years of progressive experience in applied research, evidence synthesis, impact evaluation, statistics/biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, economics, data science, or development/humanitarian evidence roles, including senior multi-country leadership responsibilities.
- Demonstrated ability to lead a research and evidence agenda or portfolio across multiple countries, sectors, stakeholders and evidence products.
- Proven technical expertise in quantitative and/or mixed-methods research using large household survey or programme datasets, including sampling, weighting, variance estimation, subgroup/equity analysis, trend or change analysis, and clear articulation of what claims evidence can and cannot support.
- Experience synthesising evidence across multiple data sources, including AIM/AIM+, programme monitoring, evaluations, operational research, grant/sponsorship evidence, external datasets and commissioned studies.
- Experience commissioning and overseeing external research studies, including research questions, TORs/RFPs, protocols, analysis plans, quality assurance, ethical review, data-use agreements, publication plans and dissemination plans.
- Demonstrated experience translating evidence for senior leaders, programme teams, donors, boards and external audiences, including technical writing for non-technical decision-makers.
- Proven ability to work across sectors such as health, nutrition, WASH, livelihoods, child protection, climate/resilience, fragile contexts, humanitarian programming, and faith and development, drawing on sector specialists where required.
- Experience building or managing partnerships with universities, research institutes, donors, foundations or external technical partners.
- Strong applied skills in statistical software and/or data pipelines such as R, Python, Stata, SPSS or equivalent; familiarity with business intelligence tools such as Power BI or equivalent.
- Proven experience leading virtual, matrixed and cross-cultural teams and influencing senior stakeholders without relying solely on direct line authority.
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Hiring organisation
s Expand Recruitment Services