Director, Strategic Research & Evidence

JOB PURPOSE.

Lead World Vision's applied research, evidence generation and learning translation function, using child data across the partnership - Annual Impact Measurement (AIM/AIM+), programme monitoring, evaluations, operational research and commissioned studies - to produce decision-useful, externally credible evidence. The role commissions and leads applied research, evidence synthesis and university partnerships; translates findings into actionable learning and strategic insight; and ensures evidence informs programme quality, fundraising, policy influence and senior leadership decisions. Child Data Analytics & Insights retains ownership of analytics, dashboards, data products and analytical services.

KEY RESPONSIBILITES

Applied Research, Evidence Synthesis & Child Data Insights

• Lead applied research and evidence synthesis using child data from AIM/AIM+, programme monitoring, evaluations, operational research, commissioned studies and other evidence sources.
• Deliver the annual AIM/AIM+ insight narrative as a research/learning product, translating WVI’s Global Strategy - Our Promise, Phase 3 (OP3) and senior-leadership questions into answerable research questions, data stories and decision-use products.
• Commission and/or lead secondary analyses of the 400,000+ household AIM data set and other datasets to generate cross-country insights across child wellbeing, resilience, vulnerability, equity and integrated sector outcomes.
• Set interpretation standards for child-data research, including methods, uncertainty, claim boundaries, reproducibility and responsible use of sensitive data.
• Coordinate with Design Monitoring Evidence Accountability and Learning (DMEAL) and data governance on data availability, quality, extracts and analytical constraints.

OP3 Applied Research Portfolio & Commissioned Studies

• Translate the OP3 research agenda into a sequenced portfolio of studies across Integrated Child Wellbeing Pathways, Christian Faith/Spiritual Nurture/Child Flourishing, Climate Stress and Child Resilience, Long-Term Community Transformation, and Local-to-Global Systems Transformation.
• Commission, scope, lead and quality assure research studies, evidence syntheses, secondary analyses, mixed-methods, ex-post/longitudinal and quasi-experimental or comparative designs.
• Ensure research designs address cross-sector programming questions across health, nutrition, WASH, livelihoods, child protection, resilience, climate, faith and development, systems transformation, and humanitarian/nexus contexts.
• Develop or approve research questions, theories of change, protocols, TORs/RFPs, analysis plans, sampling approaches, ethics/IRB pathways, data-use agreements, publication plans, technical review processes and acceptance criteria.
• Coordinate with Field Office and Regional Office (FO/RO) teams, Support Offices, sector leads, Grants Acquisition and Management (GAM), Advocacy and External Engagement (A&EE), Disaster Management (DM), universities and external researchers so commissioned studies are rigorous, feasible, field-grounded and operationally usable.

External Research Partnerships, Publications & Funding

• Develop university and research-institution partnerships that strengthen methodology, credibility, peer review, publication potential and access to specialists.
• Shape joint research through co-PI models, advisory groups, fellowship/student pipelines, data access protocols, authorship plans, dissemination and workplans.
• Build publication and dissemination pathways, including peer-reviewed outputs, working papers, evidence briefs, donor-facing research products and public learning products.
• Agree partnership scope, deliverables, data-use arrangements, ethical requirements, acceptance criteria and dissemination expectations with legal, data governance, safeguarding and line management as needed.
• Mobilise technical and funding leverage by matching WV data assets, field presence and OP3 priorities with external expertise in child wellbeing, faith and development, health/nutrition, climate, systems and longitudinal research.
• Represent WV research and evidence agenda with academic partners, donors, Support Offices, foundations and external evidence networks.

Learning Translation, Influence & Research Uptake

• Translate research findings and child-data findings into leadership-ready insight products, Research Board materials, executive briefs, donor-facing narratives, programme design implications, influence products and practical learning tools.
• Define an evidence-to-decision pathway for each major research product, identifying the decision owner, intended use, audience, timing, format and measure of uptake before products are commissioned or produced.
• Facilitate interpretation and uptake with programme, sector, FO/RO, Support Offices (SO), GAM, advocacy, communications and senior leadership teams so findings inform design, adaptation, fundraising, policy influence and external positioning.
• Track whether research improves decisions, is used by external actors, or contributes to resource mobilisation, aligned with the OP3 success metrics of impact, influence and income.
• Ensure public-facing and donor-facing evidence claims are accurate, proportionate and defensible.

Research Governance, Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead a leveraged research and learning platform that includes core researchers, Health/Nutrition and Faith/Development research capabilities, commissioned researchers, university partners, sector specialists and time-bound working groups.
• Set the annual workplan, quality standards, technical review cadence, escalation process and product standards for applied research, evidence synthesis, AIM/AIM+ insight narratives and OP3 research outputs.
• Line-manage and/or matrix-manage research staff and consultants as assigned, setting priorities, coaching technical quality, managing delivery and ensuring accountability