Manager, Research and Data

Job Summary

The Accelerating Financial Resilience & Insurance for Young African Women in Agrifood Systems (AFIYA) program is a multi-country initiative that seeks to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable young women smallholder farmers and agri-preneurs across eight African countries. AFIYA complements and amplifies existing Mastercard Foundation country programs by embedding innovative insurance and financial inclusion solutions within established initiatives and trusted delivery channels. AFIYA’s core ambition is to enhance the financial security, climate resilience, and entrepreneurial capacity of young women in agriculture, enabling them to sustainably participate in and benefit from agrifood systems.

Job Details

The Manager, Research & Data leads AFIYA’s research and data ecosystem strategy, driving the generation of robust evidence, influencing policy development, and unlocking critical climate and agricultural risk data to support the design and delivery of inclusive, innovative insurance solutions that enhance resilience and financial inclusion.

S/he will contribute to the implementation of the programme by leading key activities which include ensuring workplan execution; budget management; tracking achievement of project milestones and logframe indicators; providing technical supervision of consultants and quality control of outputs; liaising with implementing partners to support effective delivery of projects.

Reports directly to - Principal, Innovation for Resilience

Reports indirectly to - Head of Delivery, AFIYA

Direct reports - Analyst Data, Consultants engaged on projects

Contract Type - Full-time, Permanent

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ROLE REQUIREMENTS

1. Strategy and Programming 

Work with the Principal, Innovation for Resilience within the context of FSD Africa’s strategy and the Adaptation & Resilience Pillar’s focus, ensuring that the programme results in meaningful real-sector outcomes:

• Lead in scoping research market studies, and user research in each country to inform value chain prioritisation and programme targeting.
• Design and implement strategies to map, access, and optimize national agricultural, climate, and demographic datasets relevant to AFIYA.
• Share learnings associated with strategy development and programming with the broader FSD Africa organisation and partners.
• Work collaboratively with the Development Impact team to devise and manage results measurement and learning frameworks that will yield important insights.
• Participate actively in strategy formulation sessions, contributing technical expertise and innovative solutions.
• Responsible for translating ecosystem gaps into actionable research programs and data partnerships.
• Identify and prioritise research agendas aligned to insurance innovation, climate resilience, and agricultural risk transfer.

2. Research Management 

• Coordinate development of data sharing agreements, APIs, and batch repositories with government data owners and implementing partners.
• Identify and prioritise use cases for data-driven product design, risk pricing, and regulatory reporting.
• Work with technical teams to strengthen sex-disaggregated data collection, access, and sustainability through partner capacity-building. 
• Develop results measurement frameworks to track research and data ecosystem progress and influence.
• Contribute to organisational learning by synthesizing research outcomes and translating them into strategic recommendation.
• Prepare partner reports, internal briefs, and presentations for board or external stakeholders.
• Prepare briefing documents and data-driven reports for leadership and key stakeholders.
• Identify trends, capture lessons learned and recommend course corrections to optimise implementation outcomes.

3. Influencing and Communicating for Impact

Actively participate in development, and lead implementation, of advocacy and communications plans on research.

• Map stakeholders and devise strategic communication plans to influence key actors and advance project goals.
• Create visualisations (e.g., dashboards, charts, graphs) to clearly communicate key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Partner with the Communications team to integrate advocacy into project plans, driving stakeholder engagement effectively.
• Develop impactful content and materials for advocacy efforts, supporting visibility and strategic communication objectives.
• Represent FSD Africa professionally in public forums, enhancing its credibility and influence among stakeholders.
• Monitor communication efforts, adjusting strategies based on effectiveness and stakeholder responses.

4. Relationship Management

Take initiative to build relationships and ensure effective collaboration with and between all project stakeholders and FSD Africa colleagues; includes managing any consultants deployed to the projects being managed:

• Manage multi-stakeholder workshops and stakeholder consultations to synthesize insights across insurers, regulators, fintechs, aggregators, and young women Smallholder Farmers (SHFs).
• Foster collaboration across organisational pillars, identifying opportunities for synergy and coordinated actions.
• Respond effectively to stakeholder information needs, organising targeted capacity-building events or knowledge dissemination.
• Manage consultants and teams through motivational leadership, ensuring high performance and effective project outcomes.
• Engage continuously with stakeholders to nurture relationships, ensuring ongoing collaboration and support for projects.

5. Risks & Resources Management 

Ensure effective management of resources/budget for projects under management, aiming to optimise the impact that is achieved with resources and ensuring compliance with FSD Africa and partner policies:

• Develop project plans, budgets, and forecasts to ensure optimal resource utilisation and compliance with organisational policies.
• Ensure rigorous due diligence and risk assessments are conducted, ensuring thorough analysis without impeding partner operations.
• Liaise internally to manage financial resources effectively, ensuring compliance with statutory and partner regulations.
• Regularly analyse portfolio performance for value-for-money, adjusting strategies to enhance development impact.

Carry out any other duties or special assignments as assigned by the Management.

COMPETENCIES
Competencies describe the key behaviours that drive success in all of FSD Africa’s roles, regardless of technical specialism. They have been derived from systematic research correlating performance with personal attributes. 

Competency Levels 

• Level 1: Basic
• Level 2: Foundation   
• Level 3: Specialist
• Level 4: Senior Specialist      
• Level 5: Leading Expert          
• Level 6: Executive

This position requires competency at Specialist Level for all the competencies listed below:

ESSENTIAL FOUNDATIONS
Commitment & Alignment
Demonstrates commitment to serving our partners and alignment with the values and vision of FSD Africa
Change & Challenge
Has a strong sense of ownership that leads to learning, self-starting, taking initiative, driving change and leading development
 

ACHIEVEMENT COMPETENCIES
Situational Awareness & Thinking
Thinks clearly and intentionally, analysing information objectively, understanding issues, solving problems, and making decisions
Drive for results
Is keenly motivated to achieve goals & act with accountability to deliver quality results
 

PEOPLE COMPETENCIES
Relationships & Collaboration
Discerns and appreciates the values, viewpoints, or abilities of others; effectively reconciles different interests and displays emotional intelligence
Communication & Influencing
Deliberately adjusts behaviour to accommodate others; communicates clearly, confidently, and appropriately to influence others
 

Requirements

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

Qualifications and Education

• Master’s degree and 6 years of experience or Bachelor’s Degree and 8 years of experience in Actuarial Science, Data Science, Research, Statistics, Computer Science.
• Relevant postgraduate qualifications preferred.
• Excellent skills in written and spoken English.

Essential Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• At least 6 years of professional experience in leading research-driven ecosystem development initiatives to promote sustainable finance and climate resilience across multiple countries and financial institutions in Africa.
• Experience working in a complex and pioneering environment.
• Track record of managing relationships and influencing stakeholders in the financial sector in Africa; good influencing/ interpersonal skills.
• Excellent grasp of key principles of Project Cycle Management; proven track record of adaptive management.
• Track record of effectively managing people; including ability to motivate and coordinate teams.
• Ability to engage & influence convincingly at a senior management level. 
• Ability to manage a project using digital platforms or tools to communicate; ability to manage data/ documentation electronically.
• Ability to manage project portfolio with middle-level budget.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a multi-cultural environment
• Experience working with donors, including knowledge of donor policies and procedures.
• Previous experience of working in FCDO-funded projects 
• Knowledge and conceptual understanding of environmental risks (and associated topics) & application to international development / financial market systems development
• Languages: French, local African languages

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity: 

FSDAi is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of equity and inclusivity.  We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer: 

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. We will ensure that all applicants are provided a fair chance to compete for available job opportunities.

About Company

FSD Africa

https://fsdafrica.org/

FSD Africa is a specialist development agency working to help make finance work for Africa’s future. Based in Nairobi, FSD Africa’s team of financial sector experts work alongside governments, business leaders, regulators, and policymakers to design and build ambitious programmes that make financial markets work better for everyone. FSD Africa Investments, provides early-stage, risk-bearing, catalytic and patient capital to inventive commercial organisations in order to stimulate capital flows in support of green economic growth benefiting people and planet. Established in 2012, FSD Africa is incorporated as a non-profit company limited by guarantee in Kenya. It is funded by UK aid from the UK government.