Project Manager

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead Applied Research Delivery
   

• Research Design: Coordinate development of research protocols, survey instruments, qualitative tools, sampling plans and analytical frameworks.
  
• Data Collection & Analysis: Lead or support mixed-methods data collection, analysis and synthesis in collaboration with the technical team.
  
• Fieldwork Supervision: Supervise fieldwork preparation, enumerator training, data-quality checks and documentation.
  
• Ethics & Compliance: Ensure compliance with approved ethics, safeguarding and data-protection procedures.
  
• Reporting & Publications: Draft and coordinate technical reports, country analyses, comparative studies and manuscripts
  

1. Coordinate Project Implementation
   

• Workplan Coordination: Coordinate day-to-day implementation of the approved project workplan and deliverables schedule.
  
• Planning & Tracking: Develop detailed activity plans, implementation trackers and inputs for annual workplans and budgets.
  
• Team & Partner Coordination: Coordinate staff, partners, consultants and country-level collaborators.
  
• Risk Monitoring: Monitor progress, risks and dependencies and escalate strategic or material issues to the leadership.
  
• Meeting Management: Organise project management, technical and partner meetings and maintain action trackers.
  

1. Support Policy Engagement & Evidence Uptake
   

• Engagement Strategy: Work with the project team to implement the policy engagement and evidence uptake strategy.
  
• Policy Materials: Develop stakeholder maps, policy briefs, technical presentations and briefing materials.
  
• Stakeholder Convening: Coordinate consultations, validation workshops, policy dialogues and regional learning activities.
  
• Stakeholder Relations: Maintain relationships with technical officers, implementing partners, youth organisations and other project stakeholders.
  
• Evidence Tracking: Track evidence use, policy influence, stakeholder commitments and follow-up actions.
  

1. Manage Monitoring, Learning & Reporting
   

• Monitoring Data: Maintain project monitoring data and coordinate routine reporting against indicators, milestones and deliverables.
  
• Donor Reporting: Develop quarterly, annual and donor narrative reports for review
  
• Learning & Adaptation: Support annual learning reviews, outcome harvesting and adaptive management processes.
  
• Documentation: Document implementation lessons, challenges, decisions and corrective actions.
  
• Reporting Coordination: Coordinate inputs from partners and project staff to ensure complete and timely reporting.
  

1. Contribute to Knowledge Products & Communications
   

• Knowledge Products: Develop policy briefs, research summaries, practice notes, presentations and other knowledge products.
  
• Communications Packaging: Work with AFIDEP communications colleagues to package findings for policy and public audiences.
  
• Representation: Present project work at technical meetings and selected conferences, as delegated.
  
• Dissemination: Support publication planning, peer review and dissemination of project outputs.
  

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential

• PhD in Migration Studies, Development Studies, Public Policy, Demography, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, International Development, Population Studies, Labour Economics or a closely related social science discipline.
  
• Demonstrated training in quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods research.
  
• At least five years of relevant post-PhD or equivalent progressively responsible experience in applied research, policy analysis or research programme implementation.
  
• Demonstrated experience coordinating a substantial research or policy project, preferably involving multiple partners or countries.
  
• Experience in at least one relevant area, such as migration and displacement, refugee inclusion, labour mobility, youth employment, livelihoods, economic inclusion, human capital development or public policy.
  
• Practical experience developing research protocols and tools, coordinating data collection, analysing evidence and preparing high-quality reports.
  
• Experience engaging government technical officers, civil society, development partners, research organisations or regional stakeholders.
  
• Evidence of translating research into policy briefs, presentations, recommendations or stakeholder engagement products.
  
• Experience contributing to donor-funded project workplans, budgets, monitoring and narrative reporting.
  
• A record of relevant peer-reviewed publications, technical reports or policy products.
  

Desirable

• Migration & Displacement Expertise: Research or programme experience relating directly to migration governance, forced displacement, refugee policy or labour mobility in Africa.
  
• Regional Experience: Experience working across more than one African country or with regional policy institutions.
  
• Language Skills: Working knowledge of French or another language relevant to the project contexts.
  
• Evidence Uptake: Experience with evidence uptake, outcome harvesting or policy-influence tracking.