Key Accountabilities\/Responsibilities:<\/p>\n
Senior Associates will work closely with Busara offices and\u00a0 directly with academic researchers and advisory clients to perform a variety of tasks, including, but not limited to:<\/p>\n
Client & Advisory Leadership<\/p>\n
\tOwn the client relationship across the full engagement lifecycle \u2014 from scoping and contracting through delivery and dissemination.
\n\tLead senior-level conversations with donors, implementing partners, ministries, and private sector clients; anticipate needs, navigate complexity, and manage expectations proactively.
\n\tTranslate client problems into well-defined research and advisory briefs; push back constructively when questions are ill-formed or scope is misaligned.
\n\tDevelop proposals, concept notes, and pitch decks; contribute to business development within the food systems and climate resilience space.
\n\tRepresent Busara at conferences, technical working groups, and client convenings \u2014 presenting findings with clarity and confidence to non-specialist and expert audiences alike.<\/p>\n
Qualitative Research & Technical Execution<\/p>\n
\tDesign and lead qualitative research components \u2014 including in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), ethnographic observation, and participatory methods \u2014 with rigor and cultural sensitivity.
\n\tSynthesize qualitative evidence into coherent, actionable narratives; identify behavioral drivers and barriers embedded in complex social and institutional contexts.
\n\tApply behavioral science frameworks (e.g., COM-B, dual process theory, social norms models) to agricultural and climate adaptation challenges.
\n\tOversee mixed-methods research design, ensuring qualitative and quantitative workstreams are well-integrated and mutually reinforcing.
\n\tMaintain quality control across all research outputs \u2014 guides, transcripts, codebooks, analysis memos, and final reports.<\/p>\n
Project & People Management<\/p>\n
\tOwn project timelines, budgets, deliverables, and staffing plans; escalate risks early and manage scope proactively.
\n\tDirectly manage and mentor Analysts and Project Leads embedded on your engagements; build their research and advisory skills through active coaching.
\n\tCoordinate across Busara’s Data, Programming, and Operations teams to ensure smooth execution of field and remote research activities.
\n\tContribute to onboarding and knowledge management so institutional learning is captured and usable.<\/p>\n
Organizational Contribution<\/p>\n
\tContribute to FaRM team strategy and knowledge development \u2014 including internal research, sector thought pieces, and methodology innovation.
\n\tParticipate in hiring, onboarding, and performance management of junior team members.
\n\tChampion a culture of intellectual rigor, constructive feedback, and psychological safety within your project teams.<\/p>\n
Knowledge, Skills and Experience<\/p>\n
Required<\/p>\n
\t5\u20138 years of experience in research, advisory, or program design roles with a meaningful focus on food systems, agriculture, or climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa or comparable contexts.
\n\tDeep expertise in qualitative research methods \u2014 IDIs, FGDs, thematic analysis, and synthesis with strong fieldwork experience in low-resource settings.
\n\tDemonstrated ability to manage senior client and partner relationships with confidence, clarity, and professional maturity.
\n\tProven track record leading complex, multi-stakeholder projects from inception to delivery.
\n\tStrong analytical and synthesis skills, you can turn messy qualitative data into a crisp, defensible argument.
\n\tExcellent written and verbal communication in English; able to write for both technical and non-technical audiences.
\n\tBachelor’s degree in a relevant field (Social Sciences, Development Studies, Agricultural Economics, Public Policy, or related).<\/p>\n
Apply Through:<\/p>\n
jobs.lever.co<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_promoted":"","_job_location":"","_application":"http:\/\/jobs.lever.co","_company_name":"Busara Center","_company_website":"http:\/\/www.busaracenter.org","_company_tagline":"The Busara Center for Behavioral Economics is an advisory and research organization focused on evaluation and implementation of behavioral interventions in understudied countries and populations. Busara's mission is to work with researchers and organizations to advance and apply behavioral science i... read moren pursuit of poverty alleviation. This involves the application of research and rigorous methods to enable partners to improve program design, evaluate existing programs, and optimize internal processes. To this end, Busara has worked with a variety of organizations in an advisory capacity to apply behavioral insights, build analytical models, and develop new products. In addition, in its research center capacity, Busara operates a Nairobi-based lab capable of implementing advanced experiments in psychology, behavioral economics and other academic disciplines.","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_filled":0,"_featured":0,"_remote_position":0,"_job_salary":"","_job_salary_currency":"","_job_salary_unit":""},"job_listing_region":[692],"job-categories":[759,731,693,703],"job-types":[687],"class_list":{"0":"post-93864","1":"job_listing","2":"type-job_listing","3":"status-publish","4":"hentry","5":"job_listing_region-nairobi","7":"job-type-full-time"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-listings\/93864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-listings"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/job_listing"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"job_listing_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_region?post=93864"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-categories?post=93864"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-types?post=93864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}