Senior Research Officer - Development Strategy and Finance
ODI is an independent, global think tank, working for a sustainable and peaceful world in which every person thrives. We harness the power of evidence and ideas through research and partnership to confront challenges, develop solutions and create change. (www.odi.org)
We are seeking to appoint a Research Officer or Senior Research Officer to join ODI’s Development Strategy & Finance (DSF) programme. Under the supervision of a Senior Research Fellow, the post holder will contribute to designing and delivering innovative, high-quality and policy-relevant research, policy advice and public-affairs initiatives. You will contribute to policy research and advisory projects, engage with policymakers in research and advisory processes, and disseminate results.
You will join a team of economists and political scientists focusing on major themes in global development.
The Development Strategy and Finance programme provides cutting-edge, policy-relevant research on development finance issues, bilateral and multilateral development agency strategy, and the international development finance landscape and architecture.
Senior Research Officer
- Excellent research skills and experience:
- Significant experience in an international policy development research environment, i.e. policy-oriented research, demonstrated by publications and reports
- A degree and post-graduate degree in relevant discipline
- Strong experience of data and statistical analysis and managing large datasets, as well as rigorous qualitative data analysis
- Experience in producing research outputs to tight deadlines and for different audiences
- Excellent understanding of current issues, actors and debates on development finance and international development finance architecture
- Excellent interpersonal skills:
- Presentation skills
- Networking skills
- Cultural awareness
- Ability to negotiate successfully
- Ability to work in a team
- Excellent analytical and writing skills
- Ability to work on own initiative and under minimal supervision, to accept responsibility and to respond with confidence to complex and evolving problems
- Excellent IT skills (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
- Willingness to travel
To learn more about the vacancy, Senior Research Officer, please follow the link.
Operations and Partnership Lead
In the final year of the programme, the Operations and Partnerships Lead for the BRACED Knowledge Manager consortium will be responsible for the smooth delivery and close-out of the project, drawing on an overall budget of more than £15million over the five-year period (and an annual budget of just under £4 million).
The job will involve complex consortium and stakeholder management, intensive work planning and delivery tracking, full oversight of and responsibility for the budget, external representation of ODI and the BRACED KM function with DFID and other key stakeholders and many other management aspects involved with an assignment of this size and complexity.
For further information about the position, Operations and Partnership Lead, please follow the link.
Senior Research Officer - ODI
ODI is seeking to appoint a Research Officer to join ODI’s Social Development Programme. Under the supervision of Research Fellows, the post holder will contribute to designing and delivering innovative, high-quality and policy-relevant research, policy advice and public-affairs initiatives. You will contribute to policy research and advisory projects, engage with policymakers in research and advisory processes, and disseminate results. The work will include: supporting the programme in identifying appropriate funding opportunities; contributing to the writing of proposals in the areas of interest to the programme which broadly focus on gender, social exclusion, social norms and intergenerational issues within a variety of thematic areas (including, for instance, gender based violence, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing, economic empowerment, health and education); carrying out literature reviews; developing research methodologies; analysing primary and secondary data; report and policy brief writing; and presenting findings both to internal ODI and external audiences.
For further information on the eligibility and application process of Senior Research Officer, please kindly follow the link.
Policy and Research Papers
Security Sector Financing and Fiscal Sustainability in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is emerging from decades of strife, and the new Government faces several challenges. Arguably the most daunting of these is to make Afghanistan secure, and establish the rule of law. Approximately $9 billion of foreign assistance has been spent on the security sector from 2003 to 2007, underscoring the important role the security sector plays in the wider reconstruction agenda. From 2007–10 a major scale-up to over $14 billion is planned, to be funded largely from external assistance. This resource expansion should be accompanied by heightened scrutiny of how foreign assistance is spent and whether it is delivering the desired outcomes of peace and a stronger, more accountable Afghan state. One important question to ask is whether the current financing model employed is the correct one, and how it affects the incentives around the reform process.
This paper takes an aid effectiveness approach to judge whether the financing model is appropriate for Afghanistan and it finds that the current financing model falls short of good aid effectiveness practice.
The Politics of Practice: Security and Justice Programming in FCAS
On 6-7 November 2012, the Politics and Governance Programme at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) hosted a two-day Expert Meeting on the Politics of Practice: Security and Justice Programming in Fragile and Conflict-affected States (FCAS).
The meeting drew together approximately 70 researchers, policymakers and practitioners from Europe, North America, Asia and the Pacific and Africa to discuss challenges and lessons learnt in translating improved policy thinking into practice.
This report draws out key themes and challenges in justice and security programming that featured in discussions. It also summarises emerging recommendations and lessons learnt, and signals areas where changes are important in order to improve results. Therefore, the objective of the report, as it was of the meeting, is to begin to set out avenues for operational and organisational changes and action-oriented research, and for revisiting some of the policy content in ways that can help relevant communities of practice grapple with the challenges of translating policy into practice.
Women and power: mediating community justice in rural Bangladesh
In rural Bangladesh, women have historically been excluded from participating in traditional justice, rarely even attending even their own hearings. The state, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and women leaders have been working towards changing this situation for the better.
This study in one of the poorest areas of the country suggests women’s participation as leaders in community dispute resolution has increased, although the authors remain doubtful as to whether they can influence what kind of justice is delivered. In-depth interviews with women leaders at the community level in Rangpur suggest their ability to participate depends on their family dynamics, political connections, house-hold economy, education and NGO networks. The personal stories of women show how these interrelate and interact with legal, institutional and social changes in Bangladesh.
The study concludes that progress on this front requires sustained engagement – from the state, NGOs and women leaders. International donors can continue to support progressive social change through providing careful, context-specific funding to grassroots organisations.
This case study is an output from the Women’s voice and leadership in decision-making project.