Summary
IPA seeks a Country Director to oversee Colombia Country Program. The Country Director will be based in Bogota with travel domestically and internationally (10-20% expected travel). The Country Director will work with the IPA Global leadership to design and lead the implementation of the Colombia country program strategy and provide oversight of the country program’s administrative (Finance, HR, and Operation functions), portfolio of projects (20 active), staff (50 full-time), and budget (3 million USD, annual). They will develop and cultivate relationships with a wide range of policy, academic, and private sector partners to create high-value opportunities to test and measure the impact of promising products, programs, and policies and to generate and share evidence aimed at improving decision making and impact across a variety of sectors (e.g. migration, health, education, and financial inclusion, among others). The Country Director will supervise, coach, and mentor the country program leadership team (consisting of 10 Manager-level staff), supporting them in setting and achieving professional performance goals and guiding their growth towards becoming more effective leaders and decision-makers.
Responsibilities
New project development
$ads={1}
- In dialogue with public, private, and academic partners, identify and develop projects with meaningful research, learning, and policy outcomes;
- Participate in project design, planning, and budgeting during the proposal stage to ensure projects meet the quality standards of IPA and partners/clients; and
- Coordinate fundraising for project proposals;
Policy impact and external relations
- Identify and prioritize policy needs among key stakeholders in Colombia and initiate and manage the development of corresponding project proposals;
- Develop and cultivate relationships with key partners in the government, academia, and the private sector leading to meaningful collaborations;
- Represent IPA Colombia - and more broadly IPA - in various forums with a wide range of stakeholders and partners in the public and private sectors;
- Oversee strategic communication of project results and policy messages and encourage the scale up of successful interventions;
Oversee the implementation of high-quality Policy, Research, and RFE projects/engagements
- Support Policy, Research, and RFE teams in the implementation of projects/engagements. In most cases, the Country Director will primarily act as a manager to the Associate Directors and Managers leading the project/engagement. The involvement may be more intense for particularly complex and/or strategic projects/engagements;
- Drive continuous improvement of Policy, Research, and RFE service offering towards high-quality and high-impact outcomes;
- Strengthen current systems and structures to ensure that the implementation of research activities follows IPA’s research quality standards and processes;
- Coordinate skills training and provide mentorship and coaching to staff, especially country program leadership staff;
- Work to incorporate best practices and lessons learned across the project portfolio and operations, within the country program and with other IPA offices regionally/globally;
- Facilitate the Colombia country program’s collaboration with IPA’s policy, RFE, and sector program teams in the development and implementation of cross-cutting projects/engagements;
- Provide inputs to IPA’s global strategic directions beyond the Colombia country program;
Ensure sound operations and finances
- Provide supervision and support to country program administrative staff, overseeing, finance and accounting, human resources, safety and security, IT, procurement and asset management and legal functions;
- With support from the Global Finance, Grants, and Grants Financial Management teams, ensure compliance with financial procedures, approve expenditures, make accurate spending projections, and ensure overall compliance;
- Oversee the management of project budgets and donor reporting, with support from the country office management and finance team and in coordination with IPA’s global Grants and Grants Financial Management teams;
- Coordinate office and country-wide meetings and trainings and oversee contracting, staff performance planning and review processes, and salary reviews, compensation and contracting for locally hired country program staff;
- Create and monitor an annual budget for the Country Office and ensure that country office structures are supported by incoming revenue through country office budget planning and management;
Mitigate and manage risks
- Take steps to mitigate risks and to safeguard the organization’s staff and reputation;
- Ensure CO compliance with government laws and regulations, including updated rules and regulations in the implementation of Labor laws and the Data Privacy Act, and work with the Operations team and Local Counsel to gather up to date information and guidance;
- In coordination with the Global Operations team and the country program leadership staff, set security standards and parameters for work to ensure staff safety and security; monitor security concerns for IPA operations in the countries, review project-specific security plans before the start of field work, and act as primary contact in crisis management;
- Communicate safety and security policies and wellness resources to country program staff;
- Ensure compliance with all IPA policies and procedures;
Qualifications
- 7+ years of work experience in the international development sector, including significant experience in management and externally-facing roles.
- Master’s degree with coursework in quantitative methods, development economics, international public policy or related fields. PhDs and MBAs also welcome.
- Expertise in the generation and use of evidence for improving policy, program, and product design and delivery. Good understanding of the landscape and key players in that space.
- Comfort in developing external relationships and leading project development discussions with funders and high-level stakeholders in general.
- Proactive and collaborative attitude, entrepreneurial mindset and versatility.
- Demonstrated leadership and management skills, including strong coaching skills. Exceptional communication skills in English and Spanish (written and oral). Experience in leading/managing administrative functions (finance, HR, procurement, legal, etc.).
- Experience living and working in Colombia/LAC.
- Ability to travel (10-20%).
- Passion for making data-driven decision making a reality in public policy, development, and social sectors.
- Experience in developing research projects, experience with budgeting and project planning.
- Experience in grants and contracts management, preferably in a research setting;
- Commitment to leading a diverse team in a multicultural environment and building staff capacity.
- Ability to communicate effectively across cultures with multiple stakeholders including international and local academic researchers, government officials, NGO partners, enumeration teams, and study participants.
Application Instructions
About IPA
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine these solutions and their applications, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of the world’s poor. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence on which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 900 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.
IPA's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
Disclaimers
Innovations for Poverty Action is an affirmative action equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected class. IPA will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business. If you believe you require such assistance to complete this form or to participate in an interview, please contact us at jobs@poverty-action.org or via phone at 1-202-386-6200. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed by the specified position. The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs@poverty-action.org.
** Please note that only qualified applicants will be contacted by the hiring manager.
Reports to
Regional Director
Desired start date
ASAP
City
Bogota
Country
Colombia
