Research Manager at Peace Building Development Consult (PBDC)

The Peace Building Development Consult (PBDC) was established to advocate for, develop, and promote a deeper understanding of peace and reconciliation in our world. We started operations in 2004 as a research group that seeks to explore a wide range of conflict and peace-related matters with specific reference to Africa and Africans in Diaspora. Our work started in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, and since then, we have developed ten main arms of operation to help achieve this vision.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Research Manager

Location: Asokoro, Abuja (FCT) 
Employment Type: Full-time

About the Role

• A vital part of PBDC is research, which provides the information and data required to create training guidelines, enhance on-the-ground practices, and successfully lobby for change.
• We do desk-based and primary research, with a significant portion of our primary work centred on collaborative efforts with security agencies, commercial enterprises, and non-governmental groups.
• This position presents a stimulating prospect to spearhead the scientific agenda of PBDC and facilitate its broader dissemination. In order to ensure that violence is not used in the rebuilding process, you will oversee ongoing research initiatives on education, security, and peacebuilding. Along with producing desk-based research, you will also create and produce brief policy papers.
• In order to enable partners to share research expertise, you will be in charge of fostering a community of practice for research and enhancing member research capability.
• You will create project ideas connected to research, evaluate them for potential financing, offer follow-up assistance, and serve as the main contact for PBDC about research-based projects.

Duties

• Arrange, plan, and carry out the given research tasks.
• Daily oversee team members to ensure research tasks meet deadlines.
• Regularly monitor project progress and inform management on it.
• Determine areas in need of improvement and create fresh approaches to reach deadlines.
• Communicate study findings to management in a way that is clear and concise.
• Assist management in creating the project’s budget and timeline.
• Keep an eye on and manage spending within the allocated budget.
• Adhere to and implement federal, state, and local laws.
• Communicate with the accounting department to approve grants and execute payments.
• Keep up with the most recent advancements in research instruments and methodologies.
• Evaluate and precisely address research-related problems.
• Manage schedules, finances, and costs via negotiation.
• Work together with management to establish a research plan and establish research priorities.
• Identify key challenges and develop appropriate solutions.
• Ensure that research deliverables meet quality standards and business requirements.

Scope and Limit of Authority

• Significant budgetary responsibility for overseeing grant fund allocation and delegated spend authority for the department
• Line management of the Research department
• Responsible for adapting and delivering the research components of Technical Support team and organisational strategic plan
• Managing all research outputs, journals and books

Key Responsibilities

• Oversight of the research components of the PBDC strategy, contributing to any reviews of this strategy as it relates to research.
• Managing primary research projects, facilitating team members to determine research topics, questions, and methods, and working with members to ensure the timely delivery of research projects.
• Designing research tools, building capacity of members as needed, and providing distance and hands­on support to data collection, analysis and report writing in collaboration with members.
• Identifying consultants or research institutes, liaising between consultants and members, quality controlling outputs.
• Liaising closely with the advocacy team to ensure that research is useful and will lead to policy change.
• Carrying out desk­-based research or commissioning and managing others in desk-­based research.
• Identifying potential research partners, building strategic partnerships with research institutes and support scoping of affiliate partners.
• Ensuring that all research supported by PBDC is carried out in an ethical manner, and adheres to international Standards for Consultation and Research with peacebuilding; developing and promoting tools to support implementation of the standards.
• Overseeing the monitoring and evaluation of research projects and reporting on research internally and when necessary to external donors.

Personal Specification

• Postgraduate Degree with a strong understanding of different social research concepts and approaches
• Sound knowledge of national security and peacebuilding processes
• Sound project management skills and experience e.g. developing work­plans and budgets, budget forecasting, onward granting, monitoring progress and spend etc.
• Range of participatory tools / theoretical justifications for participatory research
• Ability to carry out desk-­based research
• Basic understanding of quantitative methods / approaches
• Sound understanding of research ethics, particularly as they relate to vulnerable children
• Basic knowledge of means of evaluating and learning from research processes
• Excellent written and spoken English and ability to write clearly and concisely.

Experience:

• Must have publish articles and/or books in approved journals.
• Making presentations at national and international conferences and similar events.

Skills:

• Respectful, empathetic and supportive approach to work with PBDC partners
• Experience of working in a multicultural setting, ideally in more than one language, demonstrating understanding of working internationally
• Humility to embrace the rich heritage whilst driving a process of continuous improvement.
• Flexible, willing to contribute to other streams of work (as is frequently required in a small organisation) and adaptable; able to tolerate delays, problem solving
• Able to negotiate and achieve positive outcomes when difficulties arise
• Reflective, and willing to learn from experience
• Willing to travel as at when required.

Values:

• Strong commitment to PBDC’s cause and values
• Highly motivated self-starter
• Intercultural sensitivity and awareness.

Application Closing Date
8th January, 2024.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their a two-page cover letter stating why they are interested in this position, what they would bring to the role, and how they fit the personal specification to: info@pbdc.org.ng and pbdfafrica@gmail.com  using “Program Officer” as the subject of the mail.

Note

• Applicants must be able to live and work in the FCT and any part of the country.
• PBDC is an equal opportunity employer, and any form of canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification.