Head of Zambia Evidence Lab – Zambia Lusaka

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The International Growth Centre (IGC) works with policymakers in developing countries to promote inclusive and sustainable growth through path-breaking research.  The IGC combines a set of programme teams across Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East with a network of world-leading researchers backed by a global hub at the London School of Economics in partnership with the University of Oxford. IGC partner countries currently include Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Jordan, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia. The IGC is majority funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

We have a fast-growing engagement with the Government of Zambia to support economic development by producing data, actionable research, strategy, and economic policy advice focusing on natural resource governance, public-sector effectiveness, agriculture, and firm productivity, with a cross-cutting focus on climate adaptation and poverty reduction. Since the engagement’s start in 2021, we have helped inform multiple policy decisions and supported numerous dialogues with key policy stakeholders, helping make data and evidence a more central part of the policy lifecycle.

To expand our impact and institutionalise the use of evidence in policy, IGC seeks a Head of Zambia Evidence Lab (ZEL), an innovative collaboration between IGC Zambia and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. ZEL will provide first-of-its-kind analytical expertise within the Zambian government to produce data-driven policy outputs and open pathways to more policy-relevant research in Zambia.

Reporting to the IGC Director of Programmes and Impact, with day-to-day supervision from the IGC Zambia Country Manager, the Head of the Evidence Lab will lead a team of economists and data experts to establish and deliver the Lab’s strategy, based full-time within the Ministry of Finance in Lusaka. The Head of ZEL will lead the development of all data-driven policy outputs (including cost-benefit, econometric, policy diagnostic, data illustrations, and live data dashboards) throughout the analytical processes, manage relationships, and maximise methodological rigour and impact across all outputs.

The successful candidate will have a combination of the following experiences and qualifications:

• Master’s level degree qualification in economics or closely related with significant training in econometrics.
• Using quantitative analytical methods, particularly those applicable to non-experimental observational data.
• Precedence of successful project management in complex agile settings.
• Working with large datasets, ideally public-sector administrative datasets.
• Engaging closely with policymakers, ideally in a developing country.
• Leading a team.

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification

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Should you have any queries about the role, please email:
Shahrukh Wani at [email protected]   

To find out more about the position and International Growth Centre, please go to https://www.theigc.org/about/careers/

The closing date for receipt of applications is 14 August 2024 (23.59 UK time).

Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.