Helen Keller Intl Job Announcement
Gender Research Lead, Transforming Lives through Nutrition
Any country where Helen Keller has a presence will be considered; Africa preferred

Guided by the remarkable legacy of its co-founder, Helen Keller, Helen Keller Intl partners with
communities that are striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the
essential building blocks of good health, sound nutrition, and clear vision, we help millions of
people create lasting change in their own lives. Working in 20 countries – across Africa, Asia,
Europe, and the United States – and together with a global community of supporters, we ensure every
person has the opportunity – as Helen did – to reach their truepotential.

We are seeking a Gender Research Lead to design and oversee the implementation and analysis of
mixed methods participatory research studies to understand the range of barriers women face in
seeking and accessing five lifesaving health services (prenatal supplements, support for optimal
breastfeeding and complementary feeding, vitamin A supplementation of children 6-59 months, and the
early detection and treatment of acute malnutrition in children under five) to inform improved
delivery models.

We envision designing the research to engage local women in formulating research questions and
testing the identified solutions for more gender-responsive service delivery. The Research Lead
will engage with governments and communities to reflect on the implications of key findings and
determine how best to apply them to inform policies and learning materials to overcome the barriers
identified by the research. They will then help consolidate learnings to strengthen the delivery of
these five nutrition services by the respective health systems.

Functional Relationships
Reporting to the Program Director, the Gender Research Lead will be a member of the central
Project Management Team (PMT) for Transforming Lives through Nutrition. To ensure congruity and
consistency of technical approaches and cross-organizational learning, the position will also have
a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Monitoring Evaluation & Research Advisor for Africa and
will be a key resource person for the global nutrition team.

The Research Lead and other members of the PMT provide oversight and guidance to country office
teams. They liaise with Country Directors, and Project Managers and their teams to facilitate the
integration of all facets of the program work with the common goal of ensuring that project
objectives are met. The position will also serve as a co-manager of the research leads in
implementing country offices.

Helen Keller has a matrixed reporting structure. Regular communication and a spirit of
teamwork are essential to make this structure thrive.

Helen Keller’s programs require close relations with governments, partner NGOs, and donors,
including UN agencies. The Research Lead will contribute to nurturing and overseeing some of these
cooperative relationships and will represent Helen Keller to donors and the international
community, as needed.

Key Responsibilities
Overall Management and Leadership
• As a member of the PMT, participate in strategic planning and direction setting and the
development of a growth strategy for the multi-country portfolio, lending you’re their unique
perspective and expertise to the process.
• Collaborate with relevant colleagues to develop and guide high-quality research planning,
management, execution and analysis, including oversight of program activities in the assigned
portfolio.
• Provide regular updates on the research and learning to the PMT and make recommendations based
on analysis of progress to date and challenges encountered.
• Review and assess the status of the portfolio research, tools, procedures, and workflows,
identify gaps or outdated approaches, and prioritize improvements.
• Participate in work groups, as assigned, to develop global policies and approaches and/or
optimize systems, procedures, global indicators, training modules, etc.
Manage Research Portfolio; Disseminate Findings
• Collaborate and coordinate with relevant colleagues to define the research design for the
assigned portfolio.
• Draft research protocols for identified research questions to include: objectives, methods
(study population, sample size, study procedures, data collection, entry and management, ethical
approval), analysis and reporting plan, and budgeting.
• Align design with donor requirements such as the gender-responsive strategies and
interventions with the Global Affairs Canada Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) key
performance indicators (KPIs).
• Integrate safeguarding protocols.
• Coordinate and guide the implementation of research in the assigned portfolio:
o Develop and/or adapt data collection tools.
o Develop and roll out training.
o Oversee work of local managers to ensure gender equality indicators and outcomes are accurately
reported and inform the project's logframe and performance management framework.
o Conduct regular analyses of the performance of the assigned research portfolio.
• Aggregate and synthesize data for analysis and/or reporting for assigned portfolio.
• Conduct and/or review data analysis in partnership with country teams.
• Write and/or edit donor reports, lessons-learned reports, policy briefs for government
partners, and manuscripts for peer-reviewed publications.
• Draw from findings to identify indicators that can be integrated into organization-wide
tools.

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• Based on research findings and in collaboration with the program MERL team, lead the
creation, testing, adaptation, and dissemination of training materials and counseling tools for
health and community workers, policy guidelines for health managers, and other relevant solutions
to reduce gender-related barriers to Transforming Lives program activities.
• Develop tools for monitoring the impact of these interventions on women’s receipt of the key
lifesaving services.
• Review and contribute to writing all Transforming Lives reports, internal and external, their
quality and timeliness.
• Upon request, provide technical advice and guidance to other teams on approaches to reduce
gender-related barriers.
• Collaborate with country office and Transforming Lives leadership to:
• Contribute to the development of country-specific budgets, procurement plans, and financial
monitoring tools linked to activities, implementation plans, and donor requirements.
• Review work planning tools and financial reports to monitor the project budgeting and
activities and course correct, as needed.

Human Resources Management
• Collaborate with program office leadership to build highly effective research teams to carry
out studies. Delegate authority, consult with and guide staff to achieve goals, and contribute to
an atmosphere conducive to professional growth and development of team members.
• Model collaboration for your matrixed team. Consult with and inform colleagues to maximize
efficiency and knowledge sharing and integrate guidance and direction from subject matter experts
in each country team and elsewhere in the global organization to optimize performance.
• Provide ongoing feedback in a context of mutual respect to ensure accountability to clients,
partners, colleagues, and donors.

Required Qualifications/Competencies
• Demonstrated experience in:
o Designing and conducting operational research, including use of both qualitative and quantitative
methods;
o Implementing surveys and research protocols that integrate safeguarding measures and training and
supervising survey and/or research teams in Africa or Asia;
o Conducting gender analyses, applying participatory methods, and utilizing data for program
improvement;
o Developing and implementing gender-responsive strategies and interventions; and
o Undertaking both local and high-level representation and advocacy to strengthen the delivery of
services within health systems.
• Track record in publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
• Experience working in Africa and/or Cambodia, with a deep understanding of the cultural and
gender dynamics in at least one of the priority countries.

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• Very good oral and written English language skills, including the ability to quickly
synthesize complex technical and programmatic issues into concise communications.
• Ability to communicate in French.
• Well-established and practiced organizational and planning skills.
• Experience collaborating across departments to contribute to fulfilling the finance and
administration requirements in project implementation.
o Examples include: preparing budgets and procurement plans; reviewing work plans and program and
donor deliverables; and monitoring budget vs. actuals.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including an ability to lead multicultural teams, communicate
a vision, make timely and transparent decisions, and manage conflict.
• Collaborative, flexible and solution-oriented. An ability to maintain balance when under
stress.
• High computer literacy including:
o Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite or equivalent;
o Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables; and
o Proficiency in statistical analysis using Stata.
• Prior experience developing and delivering training in data collection methods is strongly
preferred, alongwith demonstrated knowledge of effective adult learning techniques.
• Ability and willingness to:
o Flex schedule to accommodate the availability of colleagues in other time zones;
o Travel at least 20% to project country offices and/or to meetings and conferences.
o NOTE: All staff must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to travel internationally.
• Demonstrable respect for all persons regardless of religion, ethnicity, class or gender, with
a high comfort level working in a diverse environment with a demonstrated commitment to high
professional ethical standards.
• Personal commitment to Helen Keller’s mission and the values embodied by our namesake and
co-founder: courage, integrity, rigor, and compassion.

Qualifications
• Master's degree or higher in Gender Studies, Public Health, Nutrition, Epidemiology,
Statistics or a related field, plus
• A minimum of 8 years of experience in gender analysis, gender-responsive programming, and
research design and management, preferably in the context of nutrition or public health, or an
equivalent combination of education andexperience.

To Apply
Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to hki.recruitment@hki.org.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

In the s r is
dedicated to building an
here diversity in all its forms is fully valued.