Research Associate (kenya)

About the Role:

• Precision Development (PxD) is seeking a motivated Research Associate to support rigorous research and impact evaluations in Kenya. The Research Associate will work closely with the research and field teams on quantitative research activities, focusing on data management, quality assurance, survey programming, and statistical analysis. The role requires strong technical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage data workflows independently, proactively resolve challenges, and contribute to high-quality research outputs.

Responsibilities:

These will evolve as the role develops; key initial areas are outlined below.

• Support the design, programming, testing, and deployment of electronic surveys using SurveyCTO or similar platforms.
• Contribute to survey piloting, enumerator training, and research planning.
• Monitor data collection progress and enumerator performance, working with field teams to address issues as they arise.
• Develop and implement data quality assurance procedures, including automated high-frequency checks that flag inconsistencies and ensure timely resolution.
• Manage, clean, merge, and process quantitative datasets using reproducible, well-documented code.
• Develop and maintain data management systems and protocols that ensure data integrity, consistency, and security.
• Conduct quantitative analysis and produce summary statistics, tables, graphs, and other research outputs.
• Support the preparation of research reports, presentations, and other analytical deliverables.
• Collaborate with researchers and project teams to improve data collection and management processes.

What you'll Bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Agricultural Economics, or a related quantitative field.
• At least two years of relevant experience in quantitative research, data management, or impact evaluation, ideally including randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or other rigorous evaluations.
• Advanced proficiency in Stata, including independently writing, debugging, and maintaining code for data cleaning, management, and analysis.
• Strong experience with SurveyCTO, including XLSForm programming, testing, deployment, and troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated experience building automated high-frequency data quality checks to identify inconsistencies, outliers, and missing data.
• Experience managing, cleaning, merging, and validating large, complex datasets using reproducible workflows.
• Solid understanding of quantitative research methods and statistical analysis.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with close attention to detail and the ability to work independently.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and collaborate with research and field teams.

Nice to Have:

• Proficiency in R or Python for data processing, analysis, or automation.
• Master's degree in Economics, Statistics, Data Science, or a related quantitative discipline.
• Familiarity with Git/GitHub and version control.
• Experience developing automated dashboards and data visualization tools.
• Experience conducting quantitative research in low- and middle-income countries, particularly on agricultural or development economics projects in Kenya or similar contexts.
• Familiarity with research ethics, data protection, and secure handling of personally identifiable information.