Research Coordinator

A research team comprising Antonella Bandiera (Assistant Professor, Political Science, ITAM), Horacio Larreguy (Associate Professor, Economics and Political Science, ITAM), and Mateo Vásquez-Cortes (Assistant Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy, UCSD) seeks qualified applicants for the position of Research Coordinator (RC). The team has been engaged by USAID/El Salvador-CAM and the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) to design and conduct randomized evaluation(s) of IRM programming in El Salvador and Panama.

The Research Coordinator will provide project, research, and data management services for the planned randomized evaluations in both countries. The RC will be embedded with the El Salvador IOM team and serve as the coordinator for the randomized evaluations, liaising between the Mexico- and US-based research team, El Salvador- and Panama-based teams of IOM, and El Salvador-based data collection firm to coordinate the randomized evaluation's execution.

The RC will work as a consultant between January 2025 and September 2026, with an expected 75% level of effort (approximately 30 hours/week). Travel within El Salvador and to Panama will be required, up to 30% of the time. The RC will need to provide a certificate of fiscal residence and must be able to submit monthly invoices for their time and expenses related to required travel.

Background on the Program Being Evaluated:

The Integrated Responses on Migration from Central America (IRM) program is funded by USAID/El Salvador-CAM and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama. The objective of the program is to contribute to safe, orderly, and regular migration in Central America with a goal of addressing gaps in fundamental aspects of sustainable reintegration and integration needs of migrants. Through IRM, USAID and IOM, in partnership with various local government and non-government institutions in these six countries, provide services to migrants and returnees to meet basic needs upon arrival and to aid integration in their host or home communities by providing livelihood support (programming to support employment and entrepreneurship). The program also prioritizes attention to psychosocial needs of migrants and returnees, integrating psychosocial assistance into its livelihoods programming and providing referrals to additional services.

Responsibilities:

1. Serve as the point of contact at IOM for the research team – receiving and directing communications and requests to the appropriate parties.

2. Backstop the IOM team with any IRM evaluation-related questions, data requests and troubleshooting.

3. Conduct training on running randomized evaluations, including data collection and management for IOM and local implementing partners.

4. Oversee the field research activities, including implementation of the intervention and survey data collection.

5. Liaise and coordinate with the data collection firm to ensure the data collection activities are progressing on track and adhering to research protocols.

6. Collaborate with the research team and the IOM team to implement the study design, ensuring its alignment with ongoing IOM monitoring and evaluation (M&E) mechanisms and reintegration and integration approaches in IOM, while also ensuring consistency with USAID and implementing partner objectives through practical protocols.

7. Conduct training workshops and on-the-job coaching sessions for local actors involved in data collection and evaluation activities, enhancing their understanding of evaluation methodologies and best practices.

8. Document the processes, lessons learned, and best practices used in this research for learning purposes.

9. Bench test the survey instruments in SurveyCTO or similar computer-assisted interview tool (to be specified).

10. Liaise with the data collection firm to test and refine data collection instruments.

11. Provide feedback on data collection training manuals and attend and provide feedback on enumerator training sessions.

12. Ensure that IOM data collection principles are incorporated into research protocols.

13. In accordance with an agreed-upon data quality control plan, observe data collection activities and assist the survey firm in implementing the appropriate quality checks.

14. Review daily and weekly progress reports submitted by the data collection firm, coordinate with the research team and data collection firm to document and address any issues that may affect data quality.

Qualifications:

1. A Master's degree in economics, political science, public policy, or related field OR currently pursuing a Master's degree or Ph.D.

2. Experience in the development of research studies will be an advantage.

3. At least two years of relevant experience conducting social science or economic field research and project management.

4. Excellent management and organizational skills, detail-oriented, and ability to work independently and be supervised remotely.

5. Demonstrated in-depth technical knowledge of RCTs, research and economic concepts, quantitative analysis are required.

6. Knowledge of R or STATA and digital data collection platforms is required.

7. Professional fluency in English and Spanish.

8. Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Reporting lines:

- The Research Coordinator will be employed by and will receive overall supervision from the research team based at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.

- The RC will work primarily from a home office and will have access to meeting rooms and IOM facilities, as needed. The RC will have a designated point of contact at IOM for coordinating the evaluation implementation and receiving support with logistical and other day-to-day matters.

- The RC will also take technical direction and receive tasks from the research team and report to the research team on at least a weekly basis. The research team and RC will develop a project workplan, in consultation with IOM.

- The RC may accompany IOM teams on site visits including in program vehicles as expedient, and may attend program and monitoring meetings as needed and with agreement of IOM El Salvador and Panama program leadership.