Director of Research and Evidence

WAM Foundation; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Job summary

Weiss Asset Management Foundation seeks a Director of Research and Evidence to build and lead the Research & Evidence Team. The role develops analytical frameworks to evaluate funding opportunities and assess grant impact, guiding strategic philanthropy with rigorous cost-effectiveness analysis.

The position reports to the Managing Director, based in Boston, with occasional domestic and international travel.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s in economics, public policy, international development or a related field.
• Experience building analytical functions and leading teams.
• Strong analytical and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Research & Evidence Team, establishing standards, workflows, and quality control.
• Oversee cost-effectiveness analyses of grant proposals and portfolio impact assessments.
• Build relationships with academia and funders to advance evidence-based practice.
• Measure outcomes, synthesize findings across grants, and inform future grantmaking.

Skills

Economic evaluation

Research leadership

Quantitative analysis

Qualitative analysis

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

PhD or MSc in economics

Job description

Director of Research and Evidence

Weiss Asset Management Foundation is seeking a Director of Research and Evidence to build and lead our Research & Evidence Team, a core function of our Foundation. The Director will be responsible for developing and leading the Foundation team and function that develops rigorous analytical frameworks for evaluating funding opportunities under consideration and assessing the impact of grants across our grant portfolio. The Director will also be responsible for developing strong relationships with leading academic researchers and like-minded thought partners to support the research and evidence function. Through this work, the Director will play a central role in ensuring that the Foundation's philanthropic resources are directed toward the research opportunities and programs that can deliver the greatest social returns.

The Director of Research and Evidence will report to the Managing Director. This position is based in Boston.

About Weiss Asset Management Foundation

The mission of Weiss Asset Management Foundation is to alleviate human suffering globally. We seek to improve lives by identifying and funding research and programs that we believe will yield high, risk-adjusted social returns across low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). We identify funding opportunities through our rolling Request for Proposals, managed by the Foundation’s Program Team, and evaluate proposals on the expected cost-effectiveness of the proposed interventions.

With guidance from an Allocation Committee composed of leading development economists and practitioners, the Foundation supports evidence-based, cost-effective, and scalable programs as well as research that contributes to the global evidence base.

Our expanding grant portfolio supports research and programs across a wide range of sectors, including, for example, research on expanding access to secondary education, evidence-based nutrition programming for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, research on innovative training models to improve maternal and newborn health, and catalytic initiatives to improve the livelihoods of tens of millions of smallholder farmers.

Weiss Asset Management Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Weiss Asset Management.

The Role

We are seeking an exceptional analytical leader to build and lead the Foundation's Research & Evidence Team. This is a senior role with responsibility for establishing the Foundation’s analytical capabilities, recruiting and managing a team of analysts, and overseeing the rigorous evaluation of both prospective and existing grants. The Foundation prioritizes expected cost-effectiveness, while maintaining a broad lens through which to consider cost-effectiveness, including the expected value of research and learning to the global evidence base and the likelihood of adoption by government actors, multilateral development banks, and others. The Director will be responsible for developing the methodologies and analytical frameworks that guide the Foundation’s work to ensure that our analyses are rigorous, consistent, and useful for decision-making.

This Boston-based position requires occasional domestic and international travel. The position requires permanent work authorization in the United States. The Foundation is unable to provide visa sponsorship or STEM OPT certification.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities below are indicative rather than exhaustive. Weiss Asset Management Foundation is a small organization, and we expect our team to embrace and grow from a wide range of responsibilities.

Team Leadership and Development

• Build and lead a high-performing Research & Evidence Team of analysts responsible for evaluating prospective funding opportunities and assessing the impact of the Foundation's existing grants.
• Establish the team's analytical standards, methodologies, workflows, and quality-control processes to ensure consistent, rigorous, and decision-useful analysis.
• Set priorities, allocate analytical resources, mentor team members, and foster a culture of intellectual rigor, curiosity, and continuous improvement.

Evaluation of Prospective Funding Opportunities

• Oversee the development and application of quantitative models and analytical frameworks to forecast the expected cost-effectiveness of proposals under consideration.
• Conduct and oversee the team's detailed cost-effectiveness analyses of proposed interventions, including assessments of the evidence base, expected impact, implementation considerations, key uncertainties, and costs.
• Work with the Program Team to incorporate cost-effectiveness analysis into our RFP program cycle of grant evaluation and funding decisions.

Development of Relationships with Academia and Like-Minded Thought Partners

• Build and maintain productive working relationships with leading academic experts to strengthen and inform the Foundation’s Research & Evidence function.
• Cultivate relationships with like-minded funders and thought partners to identify opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing.
• Leverage these relationships to engage with emerging research, exchange insights and best practices, and identify opportunities to advance the Foundation’s strategic priorities.

Assessment of Grant Portfolio

• Lead efforts to estimate the impact and cost-effectiveness of grants across the Foundation's existing portfolio, developing frameworks for measuring outcomes and assessing program performance against original expectations.
• Work with the Program Team and grantees to establish appropriate indicators, data collection processes, and reporting structures. Analyze results, assess the extent to which funded interventions achieve their intended outcomes, and identify opportunities to improve program effectiveness.
• Synthesize findings across the portfolio to generate insights that inform future grantmaking.

Strategic Support and Communication

• Present analytical findings and cost-effectiveness analyses to Foundation leadership and the Allocation Committee.
• Produce reports, analytical presentations, and other materials for internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Stay current with developments in economic evaluation, impact measurement, and cost-effectiveness analysis, including methodologies and best practices of leading academic researchers and peer organizations.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

• Deep expertise in economic evaluation, ideally including experience modeling the expected impact and effectiveness of proposed interventions. Experience evaluating program outcomes and impact, ideally including work with grantees, implementing organizations, or other development-sector partners.
• Demonstrated management experience, ideally including experience building and managing analytical professionals. A track record of establishing analytical functions, setting standards, and overseeing complex analytical work is particularly valuable.
• Exceptional quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, including proficiency in relevant software and tools and the ability and willingness to personally conduct sophisticated analyses.
• A strong academic background in economics, public policy, international development, or a related field (PhD or Master's degree strongly preferred).
• Intellectual curiosity, sound judgment, attention to detail, and a collaborative, mission-oriented approach.

Compensation

Compensation will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. We expect the base salary to be in the range of $180,000–$230,000. Weiss Asset Management Foundation offers a competitive benefits package, including a 100% match on 401(k) contributions.