Role Overview

Indus Action seeks a research professional to strengthen its evidence generation and impact measurement capabilities. As the organisation deepens its work across social protection systems, this role will anchor the impact and research function ensuring that programme decisions, external communications, and funder engagements are backed by rigorous, timely evidence.

The Sr. Manager/Executive - Research & Impact will manage the organisation's impact data pipeline, lead and support mixed-methods research projects, and translate complex data into accessible insights for diverse audiences. The role sits at the intersection of field research, data systems, and programme strategy, requiring equal comfort with quantitative analysis and qualitative inquiry.

This position is well-suited for a driven researcher and analyst who is comfortable with adaptive problem solving, thrives in field and programme environments, and is motivated by generating actionable evidence within complex, evolving social contexts.

Key Responsibilities

1. Impact Data Management

• Manage the impact data pipeline by:
  

• Ensuring timely, accurate, and automated data flow from zonal teams to centralised systems and dashboards, in close coordination with internal stakeholders
  

• Crafting baselines and developing new frameworks for measuring impact to strengthen evidence-based decision-making
  

• Create clear, actionable data visualisations for a range of internal and external stakeholders to support decision-making, storytelling, and funder reporting
  

• Respond to organisation-wide ad-hoc data needs in a timely and structured manner
  

2. Research Design & Execution
● Contribute to the organisation's research agenda by:

• Assisting in project execution, ensuring fidelity to research design and tracking of progress against milestones
  

• Managing research databases, including handling collected data and preparing summaries or visualisations for internal use
  

• Supporting data analysis at an organisational level
  

• Proposing ideas for new research studies based on programme learnings and emerging questions
  

3. Stakeholder Coordination & Knowledge Systems

● Coordinate cross-functionally with field teams, study participants, leadership, and partner organisations

● Report regularly on research progress, challenges, and findings to relevant internal and external stakeholders

● Contribute to process documentation and knowledge-sharing practices across the organisation

Requirements

Knowledge and Technical Skills

Education

● Bachelor's or Master's degree in Social Sciences, Public Policy, Statistics, Development Studies, or a related field (mandatory)

● Specialisation or coursework in research methods, development economics, or data analytics (preferred)

Experience

● Executive: 0-1 year of experience. Sr. Manager: 3-5 years of experience.

● The candidate must mandatorily demonstrate an understanding of the following, unless specified otherwise:

• Mixed-methods research — designing and executing studies using both qualitative (interviews, FGDs, ethnography) and quantitative (surveys, secondary data) approaches
  

• Field data collection, including survey design, sampling, and primary data gathering
  

• Basic to intermediate data cleaning, manipulation, and analysis using R and Google Sheets
  

• Social protection programme design, implementation, and monitoring
  

• Familiarity with tools such as Kobo ToolBox, ODK, or SurveyCTO (preferred but not mandatory)
  

• Spatial analysis using tools like QGIS (preferred but not mandatory)
  

• Governance structures and the policy landscape around settlements in India
  

Core Competencies

● Research Rigour with Programme Sensibility: Ability to design and execute studies with methodological integrity while remaining responsive to the realities of field and programme implementation.

● Data Fluency & Communication: Capable of translating complex data into strong written communication for academic audiences and the ability to present findings to non-technical and mixed stakeholder groups.

● Collaborative & Process-Oriented: Functions effectively in team-based, project-driven environments, with a strong orientation toward documentation and knowledge sharing.

● Analytical Depth: Brings rigour to both quantitative analysis and qualitative interpretation, with the ability to synthesise insights across methodologies.