Senior Research Associate

Spark MicroGrants

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Spark Microgrants is seeking a Senior Research Associate to join its Research team. This role will work closely with the Senior Research Director and the Evidence and Strategy Manager. The Senior Research Associate will be responsible for designing, managing, and delivering high-quality research to support Spark’s research and learning priorities. This is a hands-on research position for an individual with strong quantitative and analytical skills who can independently manage all stages of a research project, from assessing operational feasibility and research design to analysis and dissemination. The role will contribute to rigorous evaluations and applied research, develop and maintain reproducible data management and analytical workflows, and translate findings into actionable insights for diverse audiences.

Requirements

Master’s degree in social sciences (economic, political science, sociology, social psychology), data science, evaluation, international development or related fields.
5-10 years’ relevant experience in conducting applied quantitative research, evaluation, or policy research in low- and middle-income country contexts, with demonstrated ability to independently manage substantial components of a research project.
Experience with randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental methods, or other applied evaluation approaches.
Strong quantitative skills, with demonstrated experience selecting, applying, and interpreting appropriate statistical concepts, including regression analysis, hypothesis testing, sampling, and statistical inference.
Demonstrated experience cleaning, managing, analyzing, and documenting complex research datasets.
Strong working knowledge of statistical analysis software like Stata or R, and digital data collection platforms like commcare or SurveyCTO.
Experience with version control systems such as Git and with reproducible, well-documented analytical workflows.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including demonstrated ability to explain technical methods and translate analytical findings into clear insights for non-technical audiences.
Strong writing skills and ability to write for multiple audiences, i.e. donor reports, proposals, blog posts, op-eds, etc.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams and with colleagues or partners with different levels of technical expertise.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with LaTeX for research documentation and reporting is preferred.
Some experience with qualitative research is preferred.

Responsibilities

Own assigned research projects or workstreams from initiation through delivery, including developing work plans and budgets, managing timelines, coordinating inputs and research activities, and ensuring timely completion of deliverables.
Lead quantitative research activities for assigned projects, from research design and measurement approaches through analysis and dissemination. Some experience with qualitative research is preferred.
Ensure that research activities and outputs meet organizational standards for rigor, quality, and research ethics.
Develop and maintain reproducible analytical workflows, including organized and well-documented code, version control, and research documentation, including records of key analytical decisions.
Develop, program, test, and deploy survey instruments and other research tools.
Prepare and maintain research datasets following reproducible data management practices.
Analyze and synthesize quantitative, qualitative, and, where relevant, geospatial data to answer research and programmatic questions.
Translate complex analytical findings into clear products for research and practitioner audiences, including data visualizations, briefs, reports, presentations, and technical documentation.
Develop a thorough understanding of Spark’s monitoring systems and how monitoring data can be used to further process evaluations and to generate learning for the organization.
Contribute to strengthening team-wide research systems, tools, templates, and quality standards.
Collaborate across research and program teams to ensure that research responds to organizational priorities and generates useful evidence for decision-making.