Lead Research Innovation Specialist at Youth Development Labs

Lead Research Innovation Specialist

ABOUT YLABS

YLabs is a leading global design and research organization designing technologies that amplify youth power, agency, and opportunity. Founded in 2014 at the Harvard Innovation Lab, YLabs partners with young people to co-create inclusive digital products and services that improve their lives. Our design process opens spaces where young people’s ideas can become a reality – where they are the architects of the solutions to their most pressing challenges.

YLabs multidisciplinary team delivers youth-driven innovation and impact at scale. Our team combines expertise in youth-driven design with adolescent health, climate, livelihoods, digital product design, behavioral science, and epidemiology. Based in Rwanda and the USA, we’ve worked in 18 countries to date on projects spanning three focus areas: optimum health and wellness, improved economic opportunity, and increased climate resilience.

Find out more about our projects here: https://www.ylabsglobal.org/work

JOB TYPE

This is a 9-month contract position (extendable based on performance). The position is based in Kigali, Rwanda, but it could also be in East Africa or the surrounding region. If the candidate is not based in Kigali, they should be flexible and willing to travel 50% of the time.

PAY RATE

The pay range for this position is RWF 193,846.15 - RWF 223,846.15 gross per day commensurate with experience. This range is regionally benchmarked for a lead-level position in the Kigali area.

JOB OVERVIEW

The Lead Research Innovation and Impact Specialist will lead research initiatives for a YLabs project. This individual will drive high-impact research, innovation, and strategic decision-making using cutting-edge research methodologies and frameworks. The ideal candidate must be able to operate independently, navigate ambiguity, and manage research and innovation projects with minimal supervision. They will be responsible for generating actionable insights that influence strategic initiatives and innovation across sectors like education, youth entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion.

Research Strategy and Leadership

• Lead the design, execution, and management of large-scale, high-impact research projects.
• Develop innovative, adaptable research methodologies and tools to address project challenges and promote best practices in thematic areas such as economic development, health economics, and youth employment.
• Foster collaboration with cross-functional teams, including stakeholders, funders, and regional partners, to ensure research initiatives align with the broader impact goals.
• Build the capacity of regional teams to conduct high-quality research and innovation activities by leading training and knowledge transfer sessions.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

• Conduct qualitative and quantitative research, including interviews, focus groups, stakeholder engagements, and data analysis (trend forecasting, predictive analysis, etc.).
• Utilize quantitative methods to analyze large datasets and predict future trends in key areas, providing data-driven recommendations for program improvements.
•  Perform qualitative analysis to identify patterns in user behaviour and project outcomes that can inform future innovations.

Innovation and Insight Development

•  Use innovative frameworks like Human-Centered Design, Participatory Action Research, and Disruptive Innovation Theory to inform user-centric, actionable solutions for complex development issues.
• Identify emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges across sectors like education, youth entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion and translate these findings into strategic insights that inform broader efforts.

Strategic Knowledge Management

Capture and synthesize research findings into comprehensive reports, policy briefs, and presentations for internal and external stakeholders, ensuring insights are actionable and aligned with strategic goals.

Facilitate knowledge-sharing and capacity-building sessions to ensure insights are embedded across teams and projects.

Manage the collection, storage, and dissemination of research outputs, ensuring they contribute to an institutional knowledge base.

Stakeholder and Partnership Engagement

• Engage with key stakeholders within YLabs and partner organizations to understand research needs and priorities.
• Actively build and maintain relationships with research institutions, academic partners, and sector experts to ensure research outputs are innovative and aligned with best practices.
• Provide high-quality data, insights, and narratives that demonstrate the impact of the research and innovation initiatives to support donor reporting.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Integration

• Collaborate with MEL teams to ensure research outputs are effectively integrated into the project’s monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
•  Contribute to the iterative improvement of research processes and MEL frameworks to continuously apply learnings from innovation.

Project Management

•  Manage project timelines and deliverables, ensuring research initiatives are completed on time and within scope.
•  Provide regular updates and reporting on project progress, challenges, and recommendations to senior leadership.

Application Link