Research Manager (Ethiopia)

Title: Research Manager 
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
Position: Full-time
Posted On: 24 September 2026
Application Deadline: 23 October 2026, 6 PM EAT (applications will be reviewed as they are submitted)

About This Role:

Precision Development (PxD) is seeking a dynamic, creative, and self-motivated Research Manager to join PxD’s Ethiopia team and work closely with a team embedded within an Ethiopian government office. This is an opportunity to combine rigorous research with real-world program delivery—designing, testing, and improving digital agriculture services that can reach farmers at scale.

The successful candidate will have a strong interest in and commitment to PxD’s mission to provide actionable information and other cost-effective, scalable services to individuals in poverty, enabling them to sustainably improve their incomes and well-being.

You will work across research, program design, data, and implementation, collaborating with government partners, researchers, and PxD colleagues to turn evidence into practical solutions.

About PxD:
Precision Development (PxD) is a global non-profit with the mission to scale innovations that millions of smallholder farmers in low and middle-income countries can use to improve their lives. PxD's primary approach is delivering timely, evidence-based digital information to farmers via basic mobile phones.

So far, PxD has scaled digital agriculture services to more than 46 million farmers across Africa and Asia. PxD scales these digital information services through three models: i) direct service delivery to farmers; ii) improvement of partners' existing services; and iii) strategic government advisory.
Responsibilities:

Will evolve as the role develops; key initial areas below.

• Identify opportunities to improve program impact and provide strategic input into the design of new research ideas and projects.
• Identify learning objectives and available resources across multiple projects and manage the implementation of research activities, ensuring appropriate rigor, policies, timelines, and budgets.
• Lead research projects from research questions and study design through implementation, analysis, and dissemination.
• Work with team leadership and colleagues to scope, design, pilot, and scale evidence-backed digital agriculture services.
• Interpret and contextualize external and internal evidence and translate findings into practical recommendations for PxD programs.
• Guide teams on the use of evidence-based approaches and help ensure that PxD maintains high standards of technical quality and rigor.
• Oversee data management and analysis for research projects, including survey design, A/B testing, and implementation.
• Oversee documentation of research activities, findings, and the rationale behind key decisions.
• Develop and maintain frameworks to identify and communicate program insights.
• Manage relationships with government, research, and other external partners and work with stakeholders to implement program activities.
• Develop and ensure compliance with IRB protocols and relevant in-country research permission requirements.
• Contribute to funding proposals, project reports, and other external deliverables.
• Contribute to strategic planning and the broader functioning of the organization.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to Associate and Manager-level staff.
• Support internal and external communications to disseminate project results and research findings through briefs, blogs, reports, presentations, and other formats.
• Contribute to PxD’s institutional knowledge management and internal learning efforts.
  
  

What You'll Bring:
The ideal candidate will have:

• A Master's degree or PhD in economics, agricultural economics, public policy, or a related field.
• Professional experience working on at least three large projects involving the design and management of rigorous research and evidence-based programs in low- and middle-income countries.
• Strong ability to draw inferences from data and apply findings to program design and decision-making.
• Experience consuming and synthesizing academic and scientific literature and other technical information and applying key findings to research and program design.
• A deep understanding of economics and randomized evaluations.
• Strong knowledge of Stata, R, or similar software for data analysis.
• Experience with survey design using SurveyCTO, ODK, or similar tools.
• A strong understanding of the research and program life cycle, including experience managing or supervising research activities in the field.
• Experience managing or mentoring researchers or other team members.
• Experience working with government agencies, research institutions, development organizations, or other external stakeholders.
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English, including the ability to communicate technical findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Fluency in Amharic would be an advantage.
• Willingness to travel to field sites in Ethiopia.
  

How to Apply:
To apply, please visit the PxD website and use the online application form to submit a CV, cover letter, and brief responses to the screening questions. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the application deadline of 23 October 2026, 6 pm EAT.

PxD is committed to building an inclusive and diverse organisation. We evaluate candidates on merit alone, without regard to gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, disability, caste, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law. 

Personal data provided is used for recruitment purposes only.