Research Partnership Manager

Position description

The Research Partnership Manager is responsible for identifying, cultivating, and managing strategic partnerships with academic institutions, research organizations, think tanks, and research consortia to enhance CARE’s evidence-based programming and policy advocacy. This position will play a key role in bridging research and practice by facilitating collaborative research projects, promoting a culture of learning, and ensuring the use of evidence to maximize programmatic impact. The manager will support the development of innovative, evidence-driven initiatives that align with CARE’s mission to fight global poverty and social injustice. He/She will support funding mobilization, research integrity, capacity sharing, and the translation of findings into policy and practice to maximize program learning, scaling, and impact.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Partnership Development and Management

The Research Partnership Manager will identify and cultivate a network of strategic research partners to advance CARE’s strategic evidence agenda. This involves mapping potential partners, conducting due diligence, negotiating agreements, provide strategic communications, matching research interests, and managing research students/interns/fellows engagement. By building and maintaining strong relationships with universities, research centers, the manager will help grow CARE’s research footprint and visibility and contribute to the organization’s capacity to design and implement programs with the highest value for money.

Collaborative Research and Evidence Generation

The Research Partnership Manager will spearhead the co-creation of research projects with external partners and CARE country offices. This involves overseeing the entire partnership initiative’s lifecycle—from initial due diligence and negotiating agreements to joint implementation, quality assurance, strategic communications, and final close-out. A key part of this process is the co-design of rigorous and ethically sound research and evaluations that are contextually relevant. The manager’s support will extend to providing technical assistance on research methodologies and co-developing training and capacity-sharing initiatives for both CARE staff and partners. This responsibility is critical for ensuring that findings are accessible and actionable, generating credible evidence on the effectiveness of CARE’s interventions, and contributing to global development knowledge.

Knowledge Management and Learning

The Research Partnership Manager will play a vital role in ensuring that evidence and learning from research partnerships are systematically captured, synthesized, and shared across the organization. This includes developing learning briefs, organizing dissemination events, and contributing to communities of practice. By championing the use of evidence in decision-making, this role helps to foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning, ensuring that CARE’s programs are informed by the latest research.

Research Fundraising and Grant Coordination

The Manager will proactively identify and track funding opportunities from foundations, governments, and other donors to secure resources for CARE’s collaborative research partnerships. Working closely with internal program, finance, and fundraising teams, they will lead the co-development of compelling research proposals with external research partners. This includes guiding the creation of integrated proposal narratives and detailed joint budgets that accurately reflect the scope of work for both CARE and its partners, ensuring alignment with donor expectations. By securing funding for these partnerships, this responsibility is crucial for resourcing CARE’s learning agenda, fostering innovation, and enhancing the impact

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in International Development, (Applied) Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• 3-5 years of experience in a research, evidence, or partnership role within the international development sector.
• Demonstrated experience in building and managing partnerships with academic or research institutions.
• Strong understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex research findings for non-technical audiences.
• Proven project management skills, including planning, budgeting, and reporting.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD or additional specialized training in research methods, statistics, or evaluation.
• Experience working with research institutions
• Experience with fundraising for research projects
• Proficiency in Spanish or French
• Proficiency with CARE’s preferred digital tools for data collection, analysis and visualization (e.g., Power BI, DHIS2, KoboToolBox, Dioptra, R)

Application instructions

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