OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
Senior Research Officer- Equity and Social Policy, EdTech Hub
Contract: Open Ended
Salary: £34,988-£41,574 per annum
Ref.: EdTech/05/20
Location: London
** An independent, global think tank, working for a sustainable
and peaceful world in which every person thrives.**
About ODI
ODI is an independent, global think tank, working for a sustainable and peaceful world in which every person thrives (odi.org). ODI has been at the forefront of producing evidence, convening debate and promoting ideas to address global challenges for 60 years. We have been thought leaders, critical friends and policy advisers to governments, heads of state and international agencies, and agenda setters for global processes and changemakers.
This is an opportunity to join the EdTech Hub, a flagship programme addressing the global learning crisis (edtechhub.org). The EdTech Hub are looking for a Senior Research Officer to support the activities of research of the EdTech Hub Programme. This role is critical to help us develop and deliver research outputs.
About the EdTech Hub
The EdTech Hub is a consortium-based project, currently funded by the UK government (DFID) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and with technical support from the World Bank. With a budget envelope of £20m plus spread across 8 years until 2027, the programme aims to establish a platform for research on innovation and application of technologies to close the gap in provision of education worldwide.
The EdTech Hub has adopted an experimental and adaptive approach to generating knowledge and evidence about EdTech solutions that meet the needs and demands of the most marginalised students and support their learning outcomes. The Hub is structured around three spheres: research, innovation, and engagement. ODI serves as lead of the EdTech Hub consortium and hosts its Secretariat. The core partners in the consortium include University of Cambridge (UoC), Jigsaw, Brink, Open Development for Education (ODE), and Results for Development, along with Afrilabs, eLearning Africa and BRAC.
The EdTech Hub completed its Inception Phase in January 2020, during which it designed its theory of change, thematic focus and research approach. As part of the Research sphere, the SRO will be closely working with the ODI research team and colleagues from UoC, Jigsaw, and ODE to address the following research questions:
● How can education technology help to accelerate, spread and scale interventions which can deliver better learning outcomes for all children, including children in marginalised areas in low-income countries as well as the most marginalised children within those community?
● Which education technology interventions present the greatest value for money and social return on investment?
About you
You will contribute to the high-quality delivery and innovative research, policy advice and public affairs, focused on the EdTech and broadly within the Institute’s overall strategy and with the aim of inspiring and informing policy. You will contribute to large-scale mixed methods research and evaluation as well as to innovate methodologies for the new EdTech Hub.
You will both work with a multi-disciplinary group of internationally recognised research within the Edtech Hub consortium and with the team of the Equity and Social Policy programme at ODI. You will work with organisations based in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. You will contribute to supporting the broad research needs of the programme, from literature reviews, mixed methods design, analysis of secondary and primary data, preparation of presentations, drafting of blog posts, policy briefs and academic papers.
You will have:
· Experience and interest in relation to Edtech or digital technology for development
· Experience and interest in political economy analysis and in one or more of the following : education system and reform, equity and ‘leave no one behind’, girls education and gender, school to work transitions, education in emergencies and crises
· A degree and post-graduate qualification in education or in a related discipline;
· Strong analytical skills, a capacity to write clearly, and excellent organisational and oral communication skills
· Capacity for policy advisory or public-affairs work, based on an analytical approach, and an innovative and creative communications ability.
· Experience of research or development in low-income countries and the international development context;
· Interest in At-scale research (ASR) or design experiments and design-based research (DBR, EBR, DBIR, etc) and adaptive research (e.g. “nimble” approaches);
· Fluency in English, and preferably a good command of at least one other language.
Closing date: Thursday, 03 September 2020
Interview date: Week Commencing Monday, 07 September 2020
For more information, download an application pack here. If you are experiencing difficulties downloading, phone +44 (0)20 7922 8234 / 0351 or email humanresources@odi.org.
How to apply:
For more information, download an application pack here. If you are experiencing difficulties downloading, phone +44 (0)20 7922 8234 / 0351 or email humanresources@odi.org.