OTT Research and Learning Officer

About OTT

OTT is a global consultancy and platform for change that supports and strengthens the work of research organisations, foundations, governments and others for better-informed decision-making. Through its consultancy work, OTT develops tailored solutions to specific challenges around evidence generation and communication, evidence use, and evidence-informed decision-making for funders. With services delivered to research, learning facilitation, strategy development and refresh, monitoring, learning, and evaluation, OTT partners with organisations to drive evidence-informed change.

In addition, OTT builds, nurtures, and supports the On Think Tanks platform, a global community of people working with and funding policy research. It is a space to learn, reflect, imagine, connect, and take action. Both OTT consulting and community work have public good at their heart.

OTT is a fully remote organisation. Its small team comprises around ten full-time staff and associates working across five continents.

About the role

OTT’s research and learning officer (RLO) will work for the Evidence Generation and Communication Component of OTT Consulting, primarily in the On Think Tanks programme. The RLO will work with the director of the On Think Tanks programme and lead the mentioned component and other team members. His or her role will be to support and coordinate activities part of key initiatives like the OTT School, The State of the Sector Report, The Open Think Tank Directory, and the OTT Conference.

Other activities include knowledge development, management, and communication, including webinars, resources, and publications. In addition, s/he could be involved in activities related to OTT consulting projects under the guidance of different senior associates within OTT. This will offer the opportunity to quickly gain experience and knowledge about multiple aspects of the evidence-informed policymaking field, but it requires the ability to multitask and self—organise.

The work will be done remotely (OTT does not have an office) and entails working with various actors in the evidence-informed policy world: audiences, including funders, research institutes, policymaking bodies, academics, civil society organisations and the private sector.

Key roles and responsibilities

The RLO will perform these tasks with the support of OTT’s Executive Director and other senior staff. S/he will have to work closely with OTT’s director of communications and engagement, the digital communications officer and OTT’s programme manager. S/he will be line-managed by the On Think Tanks programme director and lead of OTT’s Evidence Generation and
Communication component.

Knowledge development:

• Proactively contribute to generating original content drawing from across OTT’s
  work.
• Proactively seek to produce research/knowledge products (from OTT’s projects or other sources) as needed and indicated by the line manager. This may include articles, good practice documents, undertaking surveys and interviews, data analysis and preparing reports, annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, etc.
• Work on developing OTT resources (previous resources include Think Tank Organisational Health Check and Build a Think Tank).
• Write articles for On Think Tanks.

Portfolio projects

• The RLO is responsible for supporting or leading the delivery of projects within the Evidence Generation and Communication portfolio, as required by the Senior Associate.

Project delivery

• The RLO is responsible for the delivery of projects within the portfolio. This includes delivering on project objectives, proactively managing the budget, and conducting business development efforts in coordination with and support of the senior associate.

On Think Tanks programme support

• The RLO is responsible for supporting the delivery of the On Think Tanks programme and projects as requested by the On Think Tanks director. This includes research, coordination, logistic support, admin support and others as required, and
  precisely:
  • School of Thinktankers (you will lead the School for Thinktankers project)
    • Continuously innovate the school, which includes a competency /and or thematic framework and topics, sessions, and methodologies by day.
    • Develop a business development plan to fundraise the budget required to ensure a significant representation of the global south either in the agenda (speakers) or/and participants (fellowships).
    • Develop and agree on the necessary partnerships and sub-contracts to deliver the School for Thinktankers.
    • Ensure OTT comms develops and delivers a communications and marketing plan for the School for Thinktankers to secure between 25 and 30 participants.
    • Develop proposals for funders to cover the school’s expenditures and fellowships.
    • Develop a list of outcomes and impact indicators for the school and gather the corresponding information to measure them.
    • Develop and deliver an alumni network and maximise alumni involvement in On Think Tanks projects.
  • Learning 
    • Develop and deliver new learning opportunities for OTT’s audiences,
      including:
      • Multiple formats:
        • Paid-for email-based courses.
        • Stand-alone webinar-based courses (e.g. playlists).
        • Topic guides to complement the Build a Think Tank Guide
        • Others
      • Multiple topics – drawing from across OTT’s projects:
        • Think tanks and political parties.
        • Think tanks and evidence use.
        • Policy entrepreneurship.
        • Ed-labs: best practice.
        • Policy entrepreneurship for scientific advisers.
        • Others
  • Open Think Tank Directory
    • Responsible for updating the Open Think Tank Directory, reviewing and approving new submissions, promote its update by think tanks.
    • Coordinate the fieldwork for the yearly update of think tank data (planning fieldwork, hiring and supervising fieldworkers, data quality review).
    • Propose the continuous update of the directory in the technological aspects and in terms of services for users (funders and think tanks).
    • Develop new services and applications for the data
    • Seek partnerships with funders, networks, think tanks and others to facilitate this process.
    • Ensure OTT Comms develops and delivers a communications and marketing plan for the OTTD.
  • State of the Sector Report
    • Coordinate the design and implementation of the yearly survey, ensuring the maximum response rate. This might imply the supervision and coordination with external consultants.
    • Supervise and support the data analysis, ensuring the communication, articulation, and coordination between the quantitative and qualitative consultants.
    • Supervise and support the writing of the Think Tank State of the Sector publication (in close coordination with the director of the On Think Tanks Programme).
    • Support the development and follow-up of local partnerships for the 2024 State of the Sector Report. This responsibility includes the development of guidelines with the support of the consultants and the communication team so that partners can comply with their commitments.
    • Ensure OTT Comms develops and delivers a communications and marketing plan for the State of the Sector Report project.

Engagement and outreach

• Support the planning and development of the OTT Conference. This includes programmatic and logistic support.
• Work with the communications and engagement team for publishing and disseminating all research and resources.

General OTT and business development

• Contribute to developing proposals and participate in externally funded projects when needed and indicated by the line manager.
• The RLO is expected to proactively participate in OTT-wide activities, including team meetings, review processes, events, etc.

Experience and skills

Required

• Third-level degree in social subjects such as law, political science, international relations, and economics.
• At least four years of experience coordinating and delivering strands of work within a project setting. This could be from any
  sector but should involve coordinating the work of others, managing tight and shifting timelines, and experience with standard project management activities such as work planning, timekeeping, risk management, budgeting and reporting.
• At least two years of experience supporting managerial responsibilities and/or having been part of strategic processes within a project or organisation.
• Proven experience in capacity-building approaches, especially training (virtual and/or in person), designing workshops and other learning activities, peer learning and communities of practice.
• Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills gained through an academic and/or policy research, think tank or consulting background. We expect this to include quickly producing high-quality (consultancy style) research outputs for different audiences.
• Proven experience in fundraising, business development management, and/or proposal writing.
• Proven experience organising events, such as conferences, seminars, workshops, trainings, etc.
• At least two positions where the candidate handled alliances and collaborated with partners, funders, clients and/or other stakeholders in diverse contexts.
• Interest in the key issues and organisations related to evidence-informed policy and international development, with specific knowledge/experience in research production, research communication, knowledge translation, M&E, or evidence use.
• Exemplary writing skills in English, including capabilities with various formats and audiences (e.g., reports, presentations, literature reviews, briefs/summaries, communications products).
• Basic knowledge (or inclination to learn) of any data analytic software, whiteboard software such as Miro, WordPress websites, or design software.
• Exceptional time management and self-organisation skills in a remote/international team setting. We expect this to include
  communication within teams, planning and expectation setting to work within tight deadlines and report to senior positions, and coordination across multiple time zones.

Desirable

Experience in any/all of the following areas would be an asset:

• MEL, e.g., outcome mapping, theory of change, project-level M&E plans, and design of M&E tools.
• Communications, specific skill areas (design, editing, digital) or project level/general communications planning and delivery of activities such as blogs, events, or social media.
• Drafting Terms of References and managing contracts within teams.
• Experience designing and/or leading projects in a non-profit, consultancy, or think tank setting.
• Ability to work in languages other than English.
• Experience and networks in the following regional contexts: Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East and West Africa.
• Experience working in a ‘matrix management’ style setting (across multiple projects and reporting lines).

How to apply

Please upload a CV and cover letter by August 18, 2024, through the following form.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a test and attend an interview (expected at the end of August 2024) Final candidates may be invited to a follow-up conversation with the OTT Founder and Director.

Terms of employment

• Contract type: Fixed, 1 year, with the option to renew.
• Hours: Full-time with flexible working hours.
• Salary: Up to USD 30000 per year (depending on the experience)

Please note that OTT is a UK-based company. For UK residents, this would be a salaried position; for non-UK residents, the post may be in the form of a consultancy contract, depending on the legislation of your country of residence.

A note on diversity and inclusion: At OTT we value diversity. We are a Southern-led global initiative. We encourage applicants from all over the world and will not discriminate based on anything other than the candidate’s ability to do the job.