Well Told Story Knowledge and Learning Research Manager Job in Kenya

Research Manager for Knowledge and Learning

Well

Told Story is a socially-oriented media research and production company

based in Kenya and focused on creating social and economic value for

young people in Africa.

Since we were established in 2009, Well

Told Story has developed a set of interlinked and evolving proprietary

media all intended to reach and engage young people with important ideas

that can benefit their lives. 

 

This

is centered on Shujaaz, an on-going multi-media communications platform

encompassing monthly comic books, daily syndicated radio shows, SMS,

online, video, national TV and activations that has reached more than

69% of Kenyans aged 15-24, won two International Emmy Awards, and has

recently launched across Tanzania.

Our success comes from deep, insightful research informing brilliant media. 

Our

in-house research team provides a deep understanding of our audience

and clear strategies to address what hinders and motivates them. 

The

same team designs and applies a set of highly innovative parallel

research activities to track, understand and document the effects that

our media help to create.

Well Told Story is a hybrid sitting between commerce and international development. 

Our

media is all free to the audience and financed by a combination of

corporations and development agencies who share our aim to transform the

lives of young people for the better.

 Partners

presently include Coca-Cola, Vodafone, The Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation, UK’s Department for International Development, The World

Bank, and others.

Knowledge & Learning at Well Told Story

The task fields for the K&L department are:

• K&L
  
  Innovation Lab: generating continuous new insights and developing
  
  appropriate cutting edge methodologies and interventions for Well Told
  
  Story’s GroundTruth formative research, Media Production and Monitoring,
  
  and Measuring & Evaluation;


• Generating
  
  deep qualitative information and insights, and maintaining profound
  
  understanding of the target audiences as part of strategy development,
  
  GroundTruth & Monitoring & Evaluation;


• Generating deep quantitative insight and analysis as part of strategy development, Monitoring & Evaluation;


• Co-creating, along with Creative Director, the creative strategies that inform WTS media outputs;


• Ensuring the timely and effective sharing of insights, information, ideas and reports with relevant teams within WTS;


• Ensuring the timely and effective sharing of insights, information, ideas and reports with WTS partners.

Key Tasks of a Research Manager, Knowledge & Learning

K&L

Research Manager ensures that K&L team adheres to the department

procedures and timelines, it is progressing along key milestones as a

team and is linked to other department through timely and purposeful

communication.

K&L HoD and RM co-management strategy:

• There are two levels of K&L staff reporting: strategic and project-related.


• The
  
  strategic level includes K&L strategy, methodological issues,
  
  K&L annual budget and HR/administrative issues (performance reviews,
  
  KPIs, and grading). At this level, the entire team reports to HoD.


• The
  
  project-related level includes coordination of specific MEL strands and
  
  partner-specific projects, including but not limited to milestones,
  
  budgets, and reporting. At this level, team members report to HoD at the
  
  stages of the Concept Note development, data analysis, reporting and
  
  dissemination. The team reports to RM at the stages of timeline/activity
  
  planning, fieldwork, post-field follow-ups, quality-control issues and
  
  data cleaning/processing.


• Regardless of the reporting line, the emails on major project milestones have to have both RM and HoD on copy.


• Reviews
  
  and approvals of the documents: budgets, time plans, project teams and
  
  reports should be done by a project lead, reviewed by RM and signed-off
  
  by HoD.

Leadership and management:
 

In

collaboration with HoD, RM supervises all full- and part-time K&L

teams in Kenya, Tanzania & elsewhere, including the following:

• Manages
  
  K&L projects financial efficiency through close tracking of K&L
  
  project budgets and activity plans; sets up monthly reviews of the
  
  budget with HoD and Finance team;


• Ensures
  
  K&L team follows operational plans and planning processes: for each
  
  project each team member creates all required management/tracking
  
  documents (as per the Fieldwork check list) and have all the documents
  
  reviewed by RM and approved by HoD at least 10 working days before the
  
  start of the fieldwork.


• Ensures
  
  there is a kick-off meeting for each single research activity at which
  
  RC convenes the project team to talk about methodology,
  
  participants/recruitment, timelines, etc. The project plan resulting
  
  from the meeting should document project milestones and team
  
  responsibilities; the project plan then serves as a guide for the
  
  remainder of the project life-cycle; all changes should be agreed on by
  
  the team, project timeline should be updated within 2 days and all
  
  project staff should be updated within 1 day after the change was made.


• Ensures
  
  the team understands all project management procedures. Holds a
  
  refresher/review of all K&L procedures as necessary or at least
  
  twice a year.


• Champions
  
  innovative approach and excellence of internal working practices,
  
  including project management practices and tools (e.g., K&L dropbox)
  
  and rigorous quality control routines.


• Supports efforts in effective recruitment, retention and training of K&L staff;


• Manages the time and deliverables for K&L interns and temporary staff.

Communication and planning:

• Pro-active engagement in K&L activity planning through regular meetings with HoD;


• Daily
  
  check-ins with K&L team members on where they stand on various
  
  tasks against timelines and quality standards, what are the challenges
  
  in delivering against timelines/QC standards, and how additional value
  
  can be delivered on various client projects whether research or
  
  production related; discusses challenges and opportunities with HoD
  
  during scheduled meetings or convenes emergency meetings if necessary.


• For
  
  every in-person or phone with a client (e.g., monthly round tables,
  
  partner quarterly updates, etc.), puts together detailed notes go inform
  
  project teams and HoD on client concerns, follow up questions, program
  
  changes, etc.


• Immediately updates HoD on any changes in deadlines or format for deliverables.

Support to other WTS team and partners / clients:

• Supports client relationships team by negotiating terms of relevant third party contracts as related to K&L activities;


• Serves
  
  as a point-person for collecting WTS teams’ input for regular/progress
  
  client reports, including quarterly updates, mid-term and annual reports
  
  and program-end reports. Communicates to all teams when their input is
  
  required, the content and format of the input, reviews the input and
  
  requests additional information if necessary to deliver higher value to
  
  the client; compiles a draft report to be finalized by HoD;


• For
  
  each deliverable, ensures all clients’ questions/concerns were
  
  addressed before forwarding for the final approval for HoD, proactively
  
  suggests ways to improve deliverables;


• In
  
  collaboration with HoD and client services, follows up on deliverables
  
  to explore feedback and requests for additional information from the
  
  clients.


• Collaborates
  
  with HoD and strategy team members to create and share with internal
  
  teams and clients/partners on-going learning narratives to document the
  
  insights and discoveries emerging from K&L;

Additional responsibilities

• Collaborates
  
  with HoD on building reputation for Well Told Story as a trailblazer in
  
  understanding and engaging youths in East Africa by assisting in
  
  organizing WTS events, identifying venues for presenting WTS research
  
  (round tables, conferences, and similar research, academia and/or media
  
  gatherings);


• Keeps well-informed on the topics of strategic relevance to WTS, such as media, youth, digital informational resources, etc.;


• Might be directly assigned a Project Lead role on some projects depending on their complexity and/or urgency.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications and Experience required for this Role

• Master’s
  
  Degree in political or social sciences, market research, media or
  
  education with a minimum of 3 years of experience executing research in
  
  social sciences, media audience research or market research at a senior
  
  level positions;


• Exemplary project management skills with a proven track-record of successful delivery on client projects;


• Natural leadership skills with the ability to guide, mentor, educate and support direct reports;


• A
  
  good team player and a problem solver with the ability to recognize and
  
  mitigate internal conflicts and curate relationships with external
  
  partners and clients;


• Innovative
  
  thinker with strong analytical skills, curiosity and an interest in
  
  expanding his/her knowledge in the areas relevant for WTS success.


• Detail oriented, values quality and excellence;


• Excellent writing and presenting skills, a confident communicator.

Want to join our team?

Tell

us why you would make a great addition by emailing your application

together with your CV to jobs@wts.co.ke by 21st July 2016.  

Please note only successful applicants will be contacted.