Precision Agriculture for Development

* Please submit all application materials in English.

PAD is a fast-growing global non-profit start-up that uses tech, data science, and behavioral economics to provide targeted information to farmers in developing countries. Providing the right information to the right people, in the right way and at the right time, increases incomes, protects the environment, and improves well-being. We are evidence-based: we test our interventions with randomized control trials to prove our impact and cost-effectiveness, to simultaneously learn from and improve our service, and also to demonstrate our value to funders and partners. There are few programs in international development that are as demonstrably cost-effective as ours. We currently work in eight countries in Africa and Asia, and we are expanding as more governments and organizations look for innovative ways to use new technologies to get information to people across the developing world.

We are looking for a driven, creative and independent person to join a high-performing, flexible team as a Research and Operations Associate to support PAD’s new operations in Colombia - our first program in Latin America. You will work in a non-hierarchical team and have opportunities to work closely with the Country Launch Manager and Regional Director and substantially contribute to PAD’s programs that test new ideas, measure their impacts, and scale them up.  

We strongly encourage applications from women and Colombian nationals. 

Responsibilities

The Research and Operations Associate will support research, operations, and the scaling of activities in Colombia by overseeing the implementation of operations on the ground, including project management, data collection, monitoring and analysis of service usage, user database management, external relations, human resources & administrative tasks. The Research Associate will report to the Colombia Country Launch  Manager and will work closely with the Regional Director and Global Directors. The base location of this position will be determined soon (tentatively in Bogota), and will temporarily be a work-from-home position due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. When it is safe to do so, this position will be based out of the project’s office and will require frequent travel to field locations in Colombia. PAD is a start-up organization and will require flexibility from all staff with regards to roles and responsibilities.

The Colombia Research and Operations Associate will be responsible for the following main tasks:

• Work closely with PAD team members and partner organizations to implement projects;
• Provide support to project research and operations staff and provide overall backstopping;
• Work closely with Country Launch Manager to track deliverables across projects, and contribute to the effective implementation of activities;
• Plan and execute program activities, including identifying priorities, creating timelines, meeting with stakeholders, monitoring project implementation, and maintaining project files on shared drives;
• Supervise and coordinate qualitative and quantitative data collection (including farmer focus groups, interviews, surveys); 
• Lead data management activities, monitor usage of the PAD products, clean and analyze data, support complementary monitoring and evaluation efforts, and report writing;
• Oversee the implementation of research projects and A/B tests, including the development of research design and proposals;
• Assist in managing partner relations, and working with external stakeholders for the implementation of field operations.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications and Experience:

• A Bachelor's degree in economics, agricultural economics, public policy, statistics, or a closely related field.
• Good understanding of economics and familiarity with randomized evaluations.
• Fluency in English and Spanish. Demonstrated strong oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent management and organizational skills, detail-oriented, and ability to work independently and be supervised remotely.
• 1-2 years' work experience running or managing projects in the development sector.
• Excellent knowledge of Stata or R or similar software for data analysis.
• Ability to work under time pressure and solve problems in the field.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% to project areas nationally.

Desired Qualifications and Experience: Our preferred candidates are likely to have some, but not all, of the following qualifications:

• Master's degree in economics, agricultural economics, public policy, statistics, or a closely related field.
• Proficient in using SurveyCTO or a similar program for survey design.
• Experience working on randomized evaluations.
• Experience working on agricultural programs.
• Experience managing teams and working in groups.
• Previous work experience in Colombia or other Latin American countries.

Position details

• Full time
• Start date: As soon as possible
• Location: TBD, tentatively in Bogota, Colombia (temporarily work-from-home due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, until it is safe to work from PAD’s office)
• Compensation: Commensurate with experience
• Work authorization: This position is contingent upon the candidate being able to get work authorization in Colombia 

To apply, please visit the PAD website and use the online application form. The job position will be reviewed on a rolling basis and open until the position is filled.