Job offer: Research Program Manager

Job Type: Full-time. Flexible working options include flexible start and finish times, work-from-home, and compressed hours.

Workspace: Hybrid - work-from-home and on-site days.

Do you want to use your scientific mindset and experience to help donors do the most good? If so, we want to hear from you: we are looking for a Research Program Manager to join our Team.

This position is very impactful. The effectiveness of actions is one of the most important criteria for French donors (France Générosités, 2022), who collectively give about 9b€/year. Yet there are few organizations that help us prioritize the most effective charitable programs. Don Efficace aims to facilitate donations to highly effective programs addressing world issues including climate change, global health and poverty, and animal welfare.

Our first aim is to conduct solid research in order to discover France’s relative advantages for addressing these issues, and to find out which NGOs are leveraging those advantages, eventually helping them estimate their cost-effectiveness. The costs of this research project are funded by private donors.

As part of it, we are hiring one Research Associate and, later, several part- and full-time interns, who will collaborate with researchers in France and beyond.

What does a Research Program Manager do at Don Efficace?

We are looking for a quantitative researcher to join our team. In our work, we try to understand and address challenges like:

• What could French NGOs do to do the most good?

• How can we best address global warming through our donations?

• Which NGOs implement the best strategies to reduce animal farm suffering?

Becoming a Research Program Manager means you will be involved in things like:

• Playing a fundamental role in DE’s development work, focusing mainly on quantitative research;

• Lead the definition of the research agenda, keeping in mind that our research ultimately aims to inform philanthropic French donors;

• Work with scientific partners (both international evaluators, such as Giving Green, and French researchers), a range of stakeholders, students, interns and other members of the team;

• Lead the research, including performing the following and/or supervising students/interns/young researchers to do the following:

• Conduct literature reviews, quantitative estimations, and expert interviews to identify  France’s relative advantages for addressing the world’s most pressing problems;

• Conduct literature reviews, quantitative estimations, and expert interviews to potentially effective programs leveraging those relative advantages;

• Employ quantitative and qualitative approaches to estimate the likely cost-effectiveness of different programs NGOs are currently running. The most appropriate evaluation technique can vary across projects, including: randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental research designs, pilots, mixed method evaluations and implementation and process evaluations;

• Work on several projects in parallel to deliver high standard work while respecting deadlines;

• Write scientific articles for peer-reviewed conferences and/or journals (as appropriate to the topic at hand);

• Engage in outreach (<10%), representing our research to journalists and the public, and reviewing communications to make sure they reflect findings accurately; as well as communicate methods and results with technical and policy audiences.

What makes a great Research Program Manager at Don Efficace?

We are looking for candidates with the skills listed below. Please do not feel discouraged if you do not meet all of the criteria. We are ultimately looking for exceptional people who want to have an impact on real-world outcomes and create environments where everyone can thrive.

So whatever background you bring with you, please apply if the prospect of this role excites you. We expect to provide training and development support in some of the areas.

• Publications. PhD degree and experience with scientific publishing.

• A solid understanding of ‘causality’ and reasoning. You have experience with quantitative research methods, such as design and analysis of complex field experiments.

• Scientific background in one of the following: climate change, global health and poverty, animal welfare; we will also consider other backgrounds, if the case for their relevance is convincingly made.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills. You are aware of the impact that your actions and words have on those around you.

• Language. English that is sufficient for scientific research (including for publishing in peer-reviewed journals). French that is sufficient for informal written and spoken communication

• Alignment with the values of Don Efficace: transparency, efficiency, and using evidence and reason to do the most good.

• Managing projects in a small and growing structure. You can manage your own time and objectives, and where appropriate that of your colleagues/partners, to produce high quality work within a reasonable time frame.

Who are we and what we can offer you?

Don Efficace is a new fund dedicated to help donors based in France discover and support highly effective programs addressing world issues, and to help NGOs measure and improve their impact.

We are looking for a passionate and imaginative individual who is determined to use science to help others do the most good they can through their donations.

We are looking for a person who is available full-time, with a few days/week on-site to liaise with the rest of the research team, which is located at 29, rue d’Ulm, 75005, Paris. The position requires infrequent participation in meetings compatible with different time zones (approximately 2x/month).

Don Efficace really is a great place to work:

• We encourage flexible working and have a culture which enables it; for example, flexible start and finish times, and an IT set up which allows for easy working from home options

• We have a generous pension scheme (mutuelle)

• We have regular meetings  with inspirational guests

• We make accommodations for family and life commitments

• We have a great office located at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, in the center of Paris (29, rue d’Ulm, 75005)

• We offer salary range from 26,000 to 50,000 euros net per year, according to previous experience

Please do not feel discouraged if you do not meet all of the criteria. We are ultimately looking for exceptional people who want to have an impact on real-world outcomes and create environments where everyone can thrive.

So, whatever background you bring with you, please apply if the prospect of this role excites you.

How to apply?

Send us these documents through the form below:

• CV

• Your Publications in PDF

• Cover letter explaining how your background and interests align with the job description

• 1-page Research statement outlining your planned research agenda for the coming years at Don Efficace

We will consider applications as we receive them, with priority given to those received by June 20, 2024. We would prefer to find someone able to start by June 2024 but can be flexible.

Selected candidates will be invited to a structured interview where you get to meet some of the team. At the interview stage you will be asked questions that reflect the role and also to complete a work-based task, so you have the chance to demonstrate your skills.

We always give all applicants feedback, no matter what stage your application reaches.

Please note that you will need to have the right to work in France in order to be able to undertake this role. During the recruitment process, we will ask short-listed applicants  to provide evidence of their right to work.  If you do not have the right to work for Don Efficace but are the most suitable person for the role we will explore with you options to make it possible. However, this is not guaranteed.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. We are happy to make any reasonable accommodations necessary to welcome all to our workplace. Please contact us to discuss adjustments to the application process.

Apply here!