Job Position for Embedded Lab Manager
Job Opportunity: Embedded Lab Manager
Organization: Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
Location: Abuja, Nigeria (with up to 10% travel within Nigeria)
Job Category: Programmes
Requisition ID: 1828
Experience Required: Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience
Qualifications: Master’s degree preferred, or equivalent additional experience
About Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting effective solutions to global poverty through rigorous research and evidence-based decision-making. Established in 2002, IPA collaborates with hundreds of academic researchers to conduct impact evaluations across multiple countries, empowering governments and development partners to leverage evidence to enhance policies and programs that affect millions of lives.
About the Role
IPA Nigeria is seeking an experienced and dynamic Embedded Lab Manager to collaborate closely with government institutions and key sector stakeholders. In this role, you will strengthen institutional capacity to generate, interpret, and apply evidence for superior policymaking and program delivery.
You will lead a dedicated team supporting government partners to improve Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) systems, strengthen data infrastructure, and institutionalize evidence-informed decision-making.
Key Responsibilities
Workplan Management and Stakeholder Engagement: Develop and manage project workplans, monitor progress, provide financial oversight and reporting, and maintain strong relationships with government partners and senior decision-makers.
Research and Evidence Generation: Lead the development of policy-driven research agendas, coordinate research projects, identify opportunities to use administrative and survey datasets, and ensure rigorous analytical methods and reliable data quality.
Data Management and Analytics: Provide technical leadership in data collection, cleaning, integration, and analysis. Build dynamic dashboards, automated reporting systems, and compelling data visualizations utilizing tools such as Power BI, Tableau, Stata, R, or Python.
Capacity Building: Design and deliver practical, hands-on training for government partners in data engineering, statistical analysis, data management, research methods, and dashboard development.
Policy Communication and Advocacy: Translate complex research findings into accessible policy briefs, presentations, visualisations, and reports. Support strategic workshops, conferences, policy discussions, and stakeholder engagements.
Institutionalization and Sustainability: Partner with government leadership to establish standard operating procedures, reproducible analytical workflows, and sustainable frameworks that empower partners to independently maintain and expand their data capabilities.
Qualifications & Experience
Applicants must demonstrate the following:
Experience: At least 5 years of relevant experience analyzing and communicating complex research findings to diverse audiences.
Sector Experience: At least 1 year of experience working closely with government institutions or large NGOs in a low- or middle-income country.
Contextual Knowledge: Familiarity with Nigeria’s policymaking processes and government structures, or a proven ability to develop this knowledge quickly.
Analytical Skills: Strong quantitative and analytical capabilities, including the ability to interpret academic research and assess evidence.
Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex findings in clear, accessible language.
Project Management: Proven ability to manage multiple projects, meet tight deadlines, and work with limited supervision.
Leadership: Experience supervising staff and coordinating multiple engagements.
Interpersonal Skills: Strong collaboration and stakeholder management skills.
Language: Professional working proficiency in English.
Preferred Qualifications
A Master’s degree in Economics, Development Studies, International Relations, Public Administration, Public Policy, or a closely related field (additional relevant experience may be accepted in place of a Master’s degree).
Experience working with IPA or its partner institutions.
Background in government, research, or Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL).
Domain expertise in agriculture, education, financial inclusion, or social protection.
Reporting Line
The Embedded Lab Manager will report to the Associate Director, Policy at IPA Nigeria, with additional oversight from IPA’s Global Policy team and Financial Inclusion Program.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should review the full vacancy details and submit their applications through the official IPA recruitment portal referencing Requisition ID: 1828.
