Research Technical Lead (MEAL)

Base: Kyiv 

Line Manager: Head of Monitoring Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)

Starting date: ASAP

Contract duration: 12 months (4 months' probation period is included) with the possibility of extension 

About PIN Ukraine:

People in Need (PIN) has been active in Ukraine since early August 2014. Currently, PIN is one of the major humanitarian actors in Ukraine responding to the recent military escalation providing humanitarian aid to conflict-affected people across Ukraine. Since 2014, PIN has implemented emergency food and cash assistance, NFI, shelter, protection, livelihoods and WASH interventions supporting 3 million vulnerable IDPs, returnees and host communities in urban and rural areas. Since the escalation in February 2022, PIN has scaled up its response from working in 2 Oblasts to working in 23 of the 24 Oblasts in Ukraine, increasing its number of partners, staff, offices and budgets.

General information about the role of the person: 

PIN Ukraine is seeking a Research Technical Lead to join its Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) team. Research Technical Lead will focus primarily on project-based and strategic research (conducted both internally and by external contractors) as well as support the MEAL team on assessments and evaluations, including impact evaluation of PIN’s activities, especially of the projects contributing to resilience, social cohesion, youth empowerment and economic recovery. S/he will provide technical support to or lead the design of research activities, as well as conduct or support other Programme Quality (PQ) and Programme Implementation (PI) staff in data analysis and reporting based on secondary sources and primary data collected by the PIN and its partners’ MEAL and PI teams, as well as through Community Feedback and Response Mechanism (CFRM). 

Main duties and responsibilities: 

• Lead and coordinate research initiatives of the PIN Ukraine country programme (including internal and external evaluation and research), as well as support Programme Quality and Programme Implementation colleagues in designing and preparing assessments, evaluations and other research/studies, by providing technical expertise and inputs in development of methodological and analytical frameworks and tools as required.
• Conduct, lead or contribute to data collection, processing and analysis, and preparation of monitoring, evaluation, assessment and research reports based on primary data (both qualitative and quantitative) and secondary sources. 
• Participate in project proposal development, providing support to developing impact-oriented Logframes, Theories of Change and indicators for impact assessment. 
• Participate in data quality assessments; provide feedback on quality of data collected by MEAL team and support MEAL staff in addressing gaps in quality assurance.
• Support MEAL team in developing and maintaining MEAL data repository and in creating and updating automated data visualization and reporting platforms for analysis of achieved results and trends across interventions and for wider dissemination of assessment, monitoring and evaluation findings. 
• Support capacity building of the MEAL team through delivery of trainings on research design, data collection, data processing, analysis and reporting, as well as through review and feedback on monitoring tools and reports prepared by the team.
• Lead on or participate in developing presentations and facilitating discussions with Programme Quality, Programme Implementation and other staff on assessment, monitoring and evaluation findings to support learning. 

Required background and competences:

• Completed university degree in any Social Sciences discipline, Statistics or other relevant field 
• At least 7 years of experience in conducting research/assessments/evaluation including research design, tools development, data analysis and report writing
• Experience in leading or coordinating research projects and teams 
• Experience of applying quantitative and/or qualitative social research methods  
• Experience and interest in handling and analysing complex data sets, proficiency in application of statistical analysis methods and techniques
• High degree of familiarity with digital data gathering software packages (Kobo ToolBox, or similar), data visualization tools (Microsoft PowerBI, or similar), and quantitative and qualitative data analysis software (Stata, SPSS, R, NVivo or similar) 
• Excellent computer skills (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• High level of professional proficiency in spoken and written English and Ukrainian, including proven ability to write analytical reports/ articles
  

Preferred Skills/Experience:

• Prior work experience with an international NGO in a humanitarian and development contexts
• Prior work experience in monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian and development projects
• Experience in developing Theory of Change and Logical Frameworks and conducting impact assessments of recovery programmes  
• Knowledge of Data Protection regulations
• Experience in delivering trainings related to different aspects of research
• Experience in developing Terms of Reference for research services
• Experience with procurements of research services by external consultants 
• Prior experience with grant management and/or reporting

PIN OFFERS:

• Competitive salary as per PIN Salary Scale: 3144 – 3474  USD GROSS (+5% after probation period);
• Meaningful and positive working environment in a well-established and growing international humanitarian organization with career development opportunities;
• Reimbursement of travel expenses between offices and areas of intervention;
• Professional development opportunities through various capacity building events, such as trainings;
• 28 days of annual leave + 3 New Year bonus leave
• Health insurance.

Application procedure:

Please send clearly marked CV and Motivation letter in English. Please note only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Written test and interviews will be conducted on rolling basis and the vacancy will be closed when filled.

Please note that PIN does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process.