Country Lead And Director Of Policy

Job Summary

The Country Lead and Director of Policy holds complete institutional accountability for IPA Rwanda's strategic vision, financial sustainability, and research impact. The position involves overseeing embedded institutional labs, coordinating with global policy squads, driving high-value business development, ensuring operational risk compliance, and advising senior state ministers on program scaling options. The role reports directly to the Regional Director, East Africa and Asia.

Required Qualifications

Candidates must fully meet the following mandatory benchmarks to be considered for this senior leadership role:

• Experience: Seven (7) or more years of relevant experience in public policy or applied research within the development sector.
• Education: Master's degree in development economics, international affairs, international public policy, or a closely related field.
• Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated success managing teams and complex stakeholder relationships, particularly with senior government officials and donors.
• Research Background: Direct experience working on both quantitative and qualitative research projects.
• Strategy & Setting: Proven experience in strategy design and implementation, particularly within government or multilateral settings.
• Sector Familiarity: Explicit experience working within the education and/or social protection sectors.
• Business Development: Demonstrated experience leading business development and fundraising opportunities.
• Language: Professional fluency in written and spoken English.

Preferred Qualifications & Attributes

The following qualifications are highly desirable and will give candidates a distinct competitive advantage:

• Evidence Translation: Experience working on evidence-to-policy translation, embedded technical assistance, or institutional capacity building.
• Team & Project Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead large teams and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Quantitative Mastery: Strong quantitative skills and practical familiarity with randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
• Research Passion: A true passion for connecting rigorous research to policymakers and practitioners and communicating what works in development.
• Multicultural Commitment: Deep commitment to leading a diverse team in a multicultural environment and building internal staff capacity.
• Cross-Cultural Communication: Ability to communicate effectively across cultures with multiple stakeholders, including academic researchers, government officials, NGO partners, and study participants.
• Management Excellence: Excellent management and organizational skills; ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks efficiently.
• Communication Skills: Strong oral and written communication skills.

Key Responsibilities

Policy Leadership & Embedded Evidence Labs Management (30%)

• Lead IPA Rwanda's overall policy impact strategy, creating frameworks to connect empirical research data with national regulatory development.
• Provide strategic vision and oversight for all active Embedded Evidence Labs, including the Ministry of Education Lab and the Graduation Embedded Lab within the Ministry of Local Government.
• Oversee regional program scaling initiatives, specifically focusing on programs like STARS (an evidence-based program that incentivizes public school teachers using performance-based bonuses).
• Represent IPA formally at high-level policy forums, international conferences, and in direct conversations with senior government officials, donors, and partner networks.
• Engage government and development stakeholders proactively to identify urgent, priority research questions and translate empirical findings into concrete policy adjustments.

Strategic Leadership, Research & Fundraising (70%)

• Establish the country office's strategic direction, securing long-term financial sustainability and aligning office targets with IPA's global policy goals.
• Provide comprehensive research oversight, ensuring that data collection methodologies, project implementations, and final publications meet top-tier quality rules.
• Drive business development and fundraising, designing project proposals, pitching research insights to donors, and securing grants to expand the Rwanda portfolio.
• Supervise country office operations, finance, and risk, managing operational budgets, enforcing internal control routines, and minimizing organizational exposure.

Skills & Competencies

Technical & Policy Competencies

• Policy Translation: Advanced ability to translate complex statistical datasets into clear, actionable, and persuasive policy recommendations for non-technical government leaders.
• Institutional Governance: Deep understanding of public administration operations, ministry workflows, and international donor funding regulations.
• Strategic Vision: Ability to identify emerging developmental gaps, turn those gaps into research concepts, and secure funding through targeted business development.

Communication & Relationship Profiles

• High-Level Representation: Exceptional diplomatic and interpersonal skills suitable for building trust with senior government ministers, ambassadors, and donor executives.
• Team Management: Ability to manage, mentor, and inspire a large country team, fostering an office culture focused on empirical accuracy and professional growth.
• Proactive Adaptability: Self-motivated mindset with the ability to handle multiple tasks under pressure while maintaining tight data-integrity controls.

Skills Required:

• Education / Teaching / Training
• Political / Science / Ir
• Social / Science / Project / Management / Development