Consultant - PlayMatters Ethiopia Implementation Research Principal Investigator

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The IRC has a focus on narrowing the gender gap in humanitarian aid and ensuring that we contribute to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in both our programs and operations by working to establish a context where our clients (including those from minority groups) enjoy the same rights and opportunities as well as an equal access to services. The IRC also has a strong commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive culture, where safeguarding is upheld in our workplace and programs. We are determined to protect our clients and staff from safeguarding violations through prevention and, where misconduct is alleged, to address it without fear or favor.

Job Overview/Summary:

PlayMatters (PM) is a four-year education initiative running from July 2026 to June 2030, designed to improve the well-being and holistic learning outcomes of Pre-primary and Primary school-aged children (ages 3–12+). The program focuses particularly on children affected by conflict and crisis in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda. Its central strategy is to strengthen education system so they can deliver quality services through active teaching and learning methods rooted in play. PM emphasizes resilience and sustainability by working with and through existing systems to scale impact.

The initiative is structured around three main outcomes. Outcome 1 aims to increase the capacity, uptake, and coordination of Learning through Play (LtP) as a recognized teaching method within education systems. Outcome 2 focuses on ensuring that school-aged children in refugee-hosting and post-crisis recovery zones have greater access to quality learning opportunities in safe environments. A core component of this outcome is assessing the quality and fidelity of implementation, as well as monitoring changes in target outcomes, to refine program delivery and strengthen advocacy for Outcome 1. Finally, Outcome 3 seeks to protect children’s holistic development during times of acute crisis, ensuring that their learning and well-being are safeguarded even in the most challenging circumstances. By prioritizing system resilience, fidelity of implementation, and evidence-driven advocacy, PlayMatters positions itself as a transformative initiative that not only improves immediate learning outcomes but also builds long-term capacity for education systems in crisis-affected regions.

Under the supervision of the Senior RMEAL Manager, PlayMatters, in collaboration with IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab’s Director of Education Research and with technical support from the Regional Research & Learning Coordinator for PlayMatters and Plan International Ethiopia’s MEAL Manager, the Principal Investigator will co-lead an implementation research study with the IRC’s Director of Education Research. The role involves securing ethical approvals, conducting research, managing research partnerships, analyzing data, and disseminating findings nationally. The successful candidate should have over a decade of experience conducting implementation research on education programs in challenging contexts with a track record of national and subnational policy influencing, strong statistical analysis skills, and good command of the written English language.

This role will be based in Addis Ababa with travel requirements to field for data collection.

Major Responsibilities:

• Lead the national-level implementation research study.
• Obtain national IRB approval.
• Build and maintain key relationships for ethical research.
• Oversee data collection, quality assurance, and longitudinal analysis.
• Produce baseline, midline, and endline reports with cleaned datasets.
• Develop manuscripts for peer-reviewed journal submission.
• Disseminate findings at local and national levels.

Key Deliverables

• National IRB Approval
• Baseline Report along with Cleaned Baseline dataset
• Midline Report along with Cleaned Midline dataset
• Endline Report along with Cleaned Endline dataset and combined dataset
• Develop manuscript for journal submission

Safeguarding Responsibilities: -

• Promote and actively participate in initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion and cohesion in IRC [team/office]
• Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue and reflection to strengthen safeguarding and to promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies

Requirements:

Educational Requirements:

• Doctorate degree (PhD/EdD) in education, child psychology, statistics, or related field

Preferred experience & skills:

• At least 10 years of experience in conducting research on education, foundational learning, girls’ education, and education in emergencies programs
• Experience with mixed-methods implementation research and qualitative research methods is a plus.
• Strong statistical skills is a must, including use of multi-level modeling, causal inference methods such as experimental and quasi-experimental designs. Knowledge of psychometrics is highly desirable.
• Experience with Stata, preferred
• Experience with Dedoose, a plus
• Proven track record of publication in peer reviewed journals.

Language Skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication in English.

Certificate and License

Renewed business license.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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