Manager, Capacity Building - J-PAL MENA

Reports to: Director, The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Policy and Training

Purpose: The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab’s Middle East and North Africa (J-PAL MENA) regional office is based at The American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Business. J-PAL is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 200 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL draws on results from randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.

The job holder will build, conceptualize and implement J-PAL MENA training efforts with partners—ultimately driving an important area of our work, fostering a culture of evidence use among policymakers in Egypt and across the MENA region. In addition, will be involved in supporting policy work in the region by contributing to the synthesis and dissemination of evidence from randomized evaluations for use by MENA policymakers, and building partnerships focused on evidence use with governments, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), private sector, and donors in the region. The job holder should be passionate about working with different stakeholders to inform development policy, leveraging rigorous evidence to inform recommendations, and will lead evidence dissemination efforts with key partners.

Responsibilities:

Develop materials for training:

• Create training material tailored to the needs of partners, including material in Arabic, adapting content prepared by J-PAL Global Training team at MIT
• Review, design, and deliver trainings on randomized evaluations that can engage diverse audiences without compromising on precision and accuracy
• Prepare presentations, manuals and knowledge products for capacity-building initiatives in the MENA region
• Research and design best practice guides, trainings for trainers, and information materials to facilitate the integration of new teaching technology and the use of innovative methods in our trainings
• Introduce and implement new tools and education technologies (flipped classrooms, clickers, online courses and so on) and carry out randomized evaluations to test the effectiveness of such innovations and the overall impact of training efforts
• Work with the research, education and training team at J-PAL Global, and create tailored training material, case studies as well as other high-level deliverables, as requested by J-PAL senior staff and affiliates
• Project manage all training course logistics, including securing lecturers, venue, catering, audio/video (A/V), invitations and participant communications, applications and screening, social media, and participant follow-up
• Deliver and coordinate custom courses, lectures, or workshops provided to policymakers or practitioners, and adapt J-PAL’s flagship Evaluating Social Programs course for MENA:
• Train partner institutions (such as ministries, departments, NGOs) to be strong partners on randomized evaluations and savvy consumers of evidence
• Lead small group workshops to develop knowledge on randomized evaluations, theories of change, and possible randomized designs with implementing partners
• Support senior staff and researchers in the successful implementation of training courses
• Conduct Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) training Needs Assessment for potential partner institutions and develop training calendars to address these needs
• Strategic partnership development and management with government and NGO partners:
• Anchor multi-year partnerships that include custom training and policy to strengthen organizations’ ability to commission and use evidence from randomized evaluations
• Manage relationships and partnerships with key organizations focused on capacity building by sharing periodic updates, presentations and so on
• Contribute to funding opportunities and development of proposals that have a training component, working closely with AUC.
• Coordinate J-PAL MENA Scholars Fellowship program, including admissions, building program calendar and delivering or coordinating delivery of all sessions for Fellows, and others as required by fellowship donor commitments
• Contribute to education partnerships:
• Assist with establishing and maintaining new partnerships with academic institutions
• Promote and educate individuals on the MicroMasters Program for the training needs of policy organizations and J-PAL’s academic partners
• Apply pedagogical expertise to internal training needs:
• Assess and enhance J-PAL’s internal training needs, integrate the latest research resources into staff trainings, and develop and maintain suitable distribution platforms
• Build the J-PAL MENA training team by identifying and training new members
• Support the organizational development of J-PAL MENA and contribute to tasks to support strategic goals
• Manage and coach officer-level staff in both training and policy teams
• Perform additional duties as assigned

Requirements:

Minimum Education Requirements:

• Minimum master’s degree in economics or related fields
• Advanced coursework in microeconomics, econometrics, and development economics

Experience:

• 8-10 years of relevant and substantial work experience, including work related to impact evaluations and evidence-informed policymaking
• Significant training in economics at the master’s level as well as prior professional experience working in policy design, implementation, or evaluation
• Prior capacity-building experience in the development sector and experience working on monitoring and evaluation, preferably with governments
• A successful track record of developing and managing external partnerships, and relevant experience in communication
• Experience in managing teams and experience with fundraising and donor relationship management preferred 

Skills:

• Effective at designing and delivering engaging training for public and NGO sector employees;
• Ability to communicate technical concepts about impact evaluation in a range of different ways—from highly technical for academic audiences, to more intuitive ways to foster comprehension among audiences of policymakers and practitioners
• Detail-oriented and have advanced writing and speaking skills
• Precise, clear, and creative
• Strategic thinker
• Ability to handle multiple projects at once with little supervision, meet deadlines, and effectively manage your time, as well as others’
• Proactively work with external partners and manage junior staff
• Willing to learn; self-motivated, work hard, and enjoy working in teams and managing others
• Passionate about international development policy and the rigorous research that informs it
• Fluent in both Arabic and English
• Comfortable to work with computer applications (such as Asana and SalesForce)

Placement is based on the candidate’s experience and skills. Only candidates who make it to the shortlist will be contacted.

The American University in Cairo is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.