Associate Director, Human Trafficking Research Initiative

Position Summary

The Human Trafficking Research Initiative (HTRI) is U.S. Department of State-funded project that brings together implementing organizations, policymakers, and researchers to build the body of evidence on interventions to reduce human trafficking and protect victims and survivors of trafficking. HTRI fosters partnerships between researchers and practitioners; innovates on and improves the research methods for studying human trafficking; initiates formative pilot testing of programs; and conducts large-scale studies on the efforts to prevent trafficking, prosecute crimes, and protect trafficked persons. Cecilia Hyunjung Mo (UC Berkeley) and Guy Grossman (University of Pennsylvania) serve as scientific advisors for HTRI.

Responsibilities

40% - Lead the delivery of day-to-day project management, outreach, and communications for HTRI  

• Oversee grant reporting (including technical updates, financial reporting, and updates to the project research and monitoring plan)

• Keep abreast of academic literature in human trafficking and work with team members to produce research and policy outputs relevant to communicate IPA’s work in this space

• Develop new relationships and communicate with key research and policy  stakeholders

• Build HTRI’s researcher network, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, to include and represent researchers from countries where human trafficking research takes place

• Develop new and update existing presentations, webinars, policy briefs, research and learning agendas, white papers, project one-pagers, website content, blog posts, and other content to improve the use of rigorous research methods in human trafficking programs

• Work with team members to plan and carry out dissemination events, and present results to policymakers

40% - Lead the solicitation, award, monitoring, and close-out of subawards under HTRI’s Competitive Research Fund 

• Oversee drafting and donor approval of new and updated solicitation documents

• Recruit and convene a selection panel for each round of requests for proposals

• Provide support to researchers, NGOs, and other prospective grantees through emails, scheduled calls, and website resources, enabling teams to provide strong, relevant, and responsive applications to the HTRI Competitive Fund

• Work closely with other HTRI staff and IPA’s Grants and Legal teams to follow IPA’s subward poilcies and procedures in drafting and executing subawards to selected research teams

• Provide ongoing monitoring and support to grantees during the term of their subawards, closely monitoring their research progress and spending rates,

and work with HTRI staff and the Grants and Grants Finance Management teams to process invoices and draft and execute subaward extensions/amendments as needed

• Close out subawards on time and on budget

20% - Provide technical leadership on human trafficking internally and externally

• Serve as one of IPA’s in-house experts on human trafficking, working externally at a global level as well as internally with IPA’s Policy, Communications, and Right-Fit Evidence teams and country offices to develop a robust body of policy-relevant evidence on human trafficking.

• Develop and maintain relationships with key partners in the sector, including HTRI’s scientific advisors and other academics, funders, governments, NGOs, and policy partners.

• Represent IPA and share evidence at high-level external policy and research functions

• Lead new project development efforts, including fundraising efforts to support core HTRI activities as well as new research studies in topics adjacent to human trafficking

Qualifications

Required

• At least five years of relevant work experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, public policy, or international development

• Expertise in human trafficking, migration and displacement, worker rights, or relevant field

• Experience implementing research or programs in low or middle-income countries

• Demonstrated project management skills, including strong attention to detail and ability to prioritize and manage multiple

assignments simultaneously with minimal supervision

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to express ideas clearly and effectively communicate w