Head of Policy & Research (Remote)

African Development Choices (ADC) is a UK-based Social Enterprise on a mission to reduce poverty by empowering communities to make informed development choices in the management of public finances and resources.

ADC’s purpose is to enable communities to independently meet their needs for essential services, such as clean water and safe sanitation and improve lives in Africa.

At ADC we encourage a working culture of seeking and giving input, showing and taking initiative, and commitment to the organisation and its purpose.

We now have an exciting opportunity for a volunteer Head of Policy & Research (Remote) to join ADC.

Main Purpose of Job: Lead the development of policy positions through research to strengthen our evidence base and help ADC act as a thought leader in shaping debate and dialogue around key policy issues relevant to ADC’s work

Division: Operations

Department: Policy & Research

Position Reports to: Chief Impact Officer

Who Reports to this Position: TBC

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop policy positions and commission new research and policy outputs and harness the data and stories from across ADC’s work to strengthen our evidence base
   
• Develop a stakeholder outreach strategy aimed at building key relationships with local and international stakeholders in parliament, civil service, think tanks, peer organisations, universities/colleges and research community
   
• Analyse data and put together detailed research reports, executive summaries, briefings, factsheets, white papers and policy papers for internal and external audiences
   
• Put together emotive case studies and stories which demonstrate positive impact on communities and ensure project data is gathered for impact reporting and creating infographics for business development
   
• Set up externally funded research projects and apply for funding
   
• Recruit additional volunteers for the Policy & Research team when needed

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience
 

Essential

• At least 5 years of experience in senior policy and research management
   
• Experience of strengthening evidence and influencing policy agendas
   
• Significant senior policy and research development experience, ideally in international development
   
• Background in policy and stakeholder relations with a good general understanding of the workings of government, parliament and civil service
   
• Significant experience in developing and implementing policy and research strategies
   
• A creative and strategic thinker, with the ability to develop innovative policy solutions to complex challenges
   
• Ability to actively take initiative and help set things up in a start-up environment
   
• Ability to actively seek and give input in a collaborative team environment  
   
• A committed team player with good communication skills  
  ​
• Available to volunteer at least 7-10 hours a week

Desirable
 

• Experience of influencing the formation or revision of international development policy at an institutional, national, or inter-governmental level
   
• Experience working in an early stage start-up and gone through a scaling phase
   
• Passion for the start-up life and comfortable in a role with a little ambiguity

What ADC Offers You

This is a volunteer, remote and unpaid position with the following benefits:

• Professional learning and career development opportunities
   
• An opportunity to build on your work experience within your profession
   
• An opportunity to be part of a diverse team representing different parts of the world that is helping to deliver systemic social change in Africa
   
• An opportunity to help shape a start-up social enterprise
   
• We provide work reference

This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

Here at African Development Choices, we celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our teams are made up of people from all over the world and we welcome all applications. If you are disabled or have a long-term health condition, and you require any reasonable adjustments for your application with us, please let us know by contacting recruitmentatafricandevelopmentchoicesdotorg