Please apply as suggested at https://csip.zohorecruit.in/jobs/Careers/25889000000312001/Research-Director

About us

The Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (CSIP) at Ashoka University is India’s first academic centre focused on enabling strategic and robust philanthropy for social impact. It strives to provide civil society with evidence-based research and knowledge products to grow scale and impact, convening platforms for norm-setting and collaborative learning, and leadership development programmes that strengthen capability and sustainability.

Job Description

Centre of Social Impact and Philanthropy is looking for a Research Director with the vision to strengthen CSIP’s contribution as  thought shaper and leading voice in the space of philanthropy and social impact.

The ideal candidate will have exceptional ability to grasp the complexity of social issues, with a strong focus on philanthropy, development, and civil society. S/he should be able to draw upon multi-disciplinary themes and topics to lend richness to the research and teaching agenda of the Centre.The candidate should have the flexibility to work on multiple projects, ability to work in a fast moving and dynamic environment, display a natural aptitude for primary and secondary research, and be excited to join a young and dynamic team. The role will be split between conceptualising and leading in-house research, managing commissioned external research projects and building academic programs for the centre. The candidate should have experience in building and managing research teams and external partners .

The Research Director should have an advanced degree in social sciences with 10-15 years of experience, preferably in both academic and applied contexts. The candidate should have experience working with large datasets, be comfortable undertaking large-scale primary surveys, and be able to creatively consider novel sources of data in philanthropy and giving - an area of research with limited availability of data.

The candidate should have excellent written communication skills required for high quality research reports, academic papers and other publications, as well as be a confident verbal communicator.

Key Responsibilities

The office of the Research Director will

• Shape the research agenda of CSIP by identifying relevant contextual issues within India and across the globe

• Conceptualize and implement teaching programs for students at Ashoka and other initiatives led by the centre.

• Co-create, design and lead in-house research projects from start to finish as well as commission, manage and deliver external research projects in a timely manner

• Leverage current partnerships and find opportunities for new partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders across various constituencies in India and internationally, including academia, civil society, donor organisations, research partners, government etc.

• Manage relationships with independent contractors, consultants and research partners

• Write reports, research papers and long form articles

• Represent CSIP in local and global fora

• Make CSIP a rich curator of knowledge, data and research and engrain the culture for scientific research rigour at the Centre

Education & Experience

• A Post-Graduate degree from a reputed university in  Development studies or related field.

• 10-15 years of relevant work experience in research with an exposure to evolving the research strategy, managing teams, multiple external research partners and donor relationships.

• Deep understanding of the development sector and its challenges in India

• Significant experience in undertaking qualitative and quantitative research

• Ability to work remotely and manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.

• Enjoys work in a dynamic and expanding team

• Right to work in India

Compensation: Competitive, based on experience.

Location: Based in NCR, or elsewhere with travel to Sonepat 3-4 days a week. Regular travel to partner locations and workshops.