OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
Senior Research Fellow or Research Fellow- EdTech Hub
Contract: Open Ended
Salary: SRF £51,467-£64,888 or RF £41,575-£51,466 per annum
Ref.: EdTech/04/20
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.
The EdTech Hub programme is looking for an exceptional individual to join as Senior Research Fellow /Research Fellow to play a role in overseeing large-scale mixed methods research and evaluation as well as to innovate methodologies for the new EdTech Hub.
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. ODI serves as lead of the EdTech Hub consortium and hosts its Secretariat. The core partners in the consortium include University of Cambridge, Jigsaw, Brink, Open Development for Education, and Results for Development, along with Afrilabs, eLearning Africa and BRAC.
The EdTech Hub completed its Inception Phase in January 2020, and now delivers through three spheres, including an active response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
· Research: performs at-scale research of EdTech programmes (conducting landscape reviews and at-scale research in selected countries)
· Innovation: accelerates the journey to scale for promising proof of concept stage EdTech ideas (conducting sandboxes; rapid research; horizon scans)
· Engagement: pioneers new approaches to support governments while fostering unprecedented global coordination, collaboration, and information sharing
Themes we explore in our research include the use of technology in education system governance, data management and accountability; teacher professional development, retention and attendance; adaptation for the needs of different learners; and measuring the impact and cost-effectiveness of Edtech within the sector. We run an active helpdesk and regularly publish blogs and host events as part of our engagement and uptake work.
About you
You will develop, conduct and manage high-quality and innovative research, policy advice and public affairs with the EdTech Hub and broadly within ODI’s overall strategy, with the aim of inspiring and informing policy and practice. You will play a role in overseeing large-scale mixed methods research and evaluation as well as to innovate methodologies for the new EdTech Hub.
You will be an education economist, or have a similar background, with previous experience and interest in EdTech or digital technology for development. Bringing strong quantitative methods to the table, you will also have a focus on one of the following technical areas: education financing, cost effectiveness, assessment of socio-economic impact, valuation and Value for Money (VFM), public sector management.
You will work collaboratively with a multi-disciplinary group of internationally recognised researchers, within the EdTech Hub consortium and other organisations based in low-income countries across Sub-Saharan across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. As part of this team, 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.
Within ODI, the role will be a part of the Equity and Social Policy programme and contribute to its overall research agenda, of which the EdTech Hub is a part. You will work with colleagues across the Institute to ensure expertise is used to strengthen our overall research portfolio in relation to education and technology for education.
You will have
· a degree and post-graduate qualification as an education economist or in a related discipline;
· previous experience and interest in relation to EdTech or digital technology for development
· experience in policy-oriented research (demonstrated by a track record of publications and reports), in one or more of the following education fields: education financing, cost effectiveness, assessment of socio-economic impact, valuation and/or VfM, public sector management
· background in quantitative analysis and Familiarity with cross-country datasets, household survey data and experience in using STATA
· extensive experience working in the Global South, preferably in Hub priority countries in Sub Saharan Africa and South and South East Asia;**
· strong analytical skills, a capacity to write clearly, and excellent organisational and oral communication skills
· experience of working with diverse, multidisciplinary teams, and the ability to collaborate remotely and in agile or adaptive programmes
· project management skills, and skills in negotiation, listening, communication of ideas, problem solving, decision making
· familiarity with 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.**
This role will either be recruited either as a Senior Research Fellow or Research Fellow, see our job description for more information.
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.