Manager, National Poverty Lab

Job title: Manager, National Poverty Lab

Job Summary

• IPA Nigeria is seeking a Manager to lead an embedded evidence lab established within a federal institution to strengthen evidence-and data-informed coordination of social protection programmes.
• The Manager will serve as the senior technical lead for the lab, driving a policy-relevant research agenda, strengthening the institution’s data and MEL systems, and building the institutional capacity needed for the sustainability of the lab.
• The role requires a practitioner with deep knowledge of Nigeria’s social protection landscape, strong analytical and research skills, and a proven ability to translate complex data and evidence into actionable policy insights.
• The ideal candidate is equally comfortable designing and conducting rigorous analysis, building data systems, facilitating capacity building with institutional staff, and presenting findings to senior decision-makers.
• The Manager may also be called upon to contribute to other IPA Nigeria embedded lab engagements as organizational needs evolve.

Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination:
• Position the lab as a credible, trusted technical partner supporting coordination and evidence-informed decision-making within the federal social protection ecosystem.
• Facilitate the development of inter-agency data sharing and coordination frameworks, and formalize institutional arrangements that improve the flow of programme data across federal and state levels.
• Represent IPA at federal-level policy forums, technical working groups, inter-ministerial coordination meetings, and external engagements, communicating the lab’s work and positioning IPA as a thought leader in social protection evidence and policy in Nigeria.
• Support IPA advocacy efforts aimed at reforming federal reporting frameworks to create institutional demand for outcome-oriented evidence, moving beyond compliance-driven reporting toward adaptive programme management.

Evidence Generation and Research:

• Lead the development of the embedded lab’s framework and operating model, including its mandate, objectives, governance structure, defined roles and responsibilities, decision-making processes, workflows, and engagement mechanisms with government partners.
• Develop and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for core lab functions such as data mapping, evidence intake, data analysis and reporting, research prioritisation, and learning cycles.
• Design and manage primary data collection activities and administrative data reviews, ensuring methodological rigor and direct alignment with the institution’s information and decision-making needs.
• Identify and develop opportunities to leverage large-scale administrative datasets, including state and national social registries and programme management information systems, for generating policy-relevant insights.
• Lead the co-creation of embedded evaluations and research studies that generate rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of social protection programmes.
• Produce high-quality technical outputs including analytical reports, policy briefs, evidence syntheses, and lessons learned documents that communicate findings to decision-makers and the broader social protection ecosystem.

Lab Management and MEL Systems Strengthening:

• Develop and implement a MEL framework for the lab’s operations, including a work plan, results framework, and reporting protocols that enable transparent tracking of lab activities and outcomes against agreed objectives.
• Support the partner institution in strengthening its central data infrastructure, working with technical staff to operationalize existing data systems, automate data flows between programme units and central repositories, in line with data governance protocols.
• Co-create standard operating procedures, guidelines, and quality assurance protocols for sustainable data management within the institution.
• Manage lab administrative and operational requirements including work planning, procurement, financial tracking, documentation, and internal and donor reporting, in coordination with IPA Nigeria’s operations team.

Data Analytics and Reporting:

• Lead hands-on quantitative and qualitative analysis of social protection programme data, translating findings into clear and decision-relevant insights.
• Design and build data dashboards, scorecards, and visualization tools that enable institutional leadership and programme managers to monitor performance against key indicators, using platforms such as Power BI, Tableau, or Excel-based solutions appropriate to the institution’s infrastructure.
• Develop and institutionalize reproducible analytical workflows, documentation standards, and data systems that can be independently maintained, updated, and scaled over time.
• Support the institution’s external reporting obligations to leadership, donors, and development partners, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with reporting requirements.
• Contribute to IPA Nigeria’s broader policy communications outputs, including co-authoring blog posts, policy briefs, and presentations that draw on evidence generated through the lab.

Capacity Building and Technical Support:

• Design and deliver targeted capacity building interventions for institutional staff on social protection MEL, data analysis, evidence interpretation, and evidence-to-policy translation, adapting content and delivery modalities to different staff levels and learning needs.
• Provide ongoing on-the-job coaching and technical mentoring to M&E officers, programme managers, and data analysts, building their ability to independently generate and use evidence for programme adaptation and policy decisions.
• Facilitate structured learning events including data review meetings, evidence-to-action workshops, and cross-programme learning sessions that promote a culture of continuous learning and evidence-informed adaptation within the institution.
• Develop training materials, guidance notes, and job aids that create durable institutional knowledge resources, enabling the partner to sustain evidence use practices beyond the life of the lab engagement.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy, Statistics, Data Science, Social Sciences, or a re