(Assoc) Program Manager, Human Trafficking Research Initiative job at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)

Job Summary

The (Associate) Program Manager leads the day-to-day management of IPA's Human Trafficking Research Initiative (HTRI), an eight-year U.S. Department of State-funded program that builds the evidence base on interventions to reduce human trafficking and protect victims and survivors. The role sits within HTRI's small core team — alongside an Associate Director and Senior Program Associate — and is responsible for managing a portfolio of 15–20 active research sub-awards, leading donor reporting and financial oversight, and supporting fundraising and proposal development. A central part of the position involves synthesizing and disseminating lessons from HTRI-funded research: the (Associate) Program Manager will produce evidence reports and policy briefs, present findings at conferences and policy convenings, and work closely with IPA country offices, research teams, and external partners to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and in alignment with IPA's policies and HTRI's research and policy objectives.

Responsibilities

Grants Management, Financial Tracking, and Donor Reporting

• Manage the full lifecycle of 15–20 active research sub-awards, including competitive selection, development of grant agreements and amendments, and ongoing tracking of project progress, deliverables, and finances.
• Lead the drafting of quarterly donor reports to JTIP by coordinating inputs from grantees, IPA country offices, and internal staff, and working with the Director on review and submission.
• Oversee budget reviews and program financial tracking, with support from IPA's Grants Finance team, and flag financial risks or variances to the Director.
• Liaise with IPA's Grants, Legal, and Finance teams to ensure sub-award compliance with donor requirements and IPA policies.

Project Coordination and Administration

• Serve as the primary point of coordination for HTRI's day-to-day operations, ensuring that workstreams are on track and that the team is meeting deadlines.
• Maintain and improve internal systems (Airtable, Asana, Salesforce) for tracking projects, partners, donors, and researcher records.
• Coordinate across IPA departments and country offices to ensure HTRI's procedures are aligned with IPA's general guidelines and policies.
• Conduct regular site visits to monitor the implementation of HTRI-funded research projects and provide updates to the Associate Director and Director.
• Provide rapid responses to information requests relevant to project development, donor reporting, and policy engagement from country office and senior IPA staff.

Evidence Synthesis and Communications

• Stay current on the human trafficking research literature and maintain an up-to-date understanding of the evidence base, including findings from HTRI-funded and relevant external projects.
• Lead the production and updating of evidence reports, research summaries, and evidence overviews on key human trafficking topics, working closely with the Senior Program Associate on research and drafting support.
• Author and contribute to policy briefs, program overview documents, blog posts, newsletters, and other written products that translate HTRI research findings for policymakers, practitioners, and donors.
• Coordinate and contribute to annual updates to HTRI's Learning and Research Agenda.
• Present HTRI findings and lessons learned at conferences, webinars, policy convenings, and other external forums.
• Coordinate logistics and content development for HTRI-hosted webinars, research convenings, and other events focused on human trafficking research and practice.

Policy Engagement and Relationship Building

• Support the Director and Associate Director in building and maintaining a network of affiliated researchers who can identify and develop research opportunities that answer key questions in the sector.
• Work with IPA country office staff to develop new studies and implement the Initiative's research and policy objectives in IPA presence countries.
• Develop and maintain key relationships with donors, sectoral partners, internal research and policy leadership, and senior academics.
• Engage in stakeholder mapping and interviews to help HTRI develop and support new lines of research.
• Represent IPA at external policy and research functions.

Project Development and Fundraising

• Track funding opportunities and contribute to project development and fundraising activities alongside the Director and Associate Director, including the development of concept notes, evidence reviews, and draft presentations.
• Contribute to the development of proposals for new funding, including support for methodological approaches beyond RCTs (such as RCT readiness assessments, process evaluations, and standalone learning projects).
• Coordinate matchmaking events between researchers and implementing organizations.
• Liaise with IPA country offices to identify and support project development efforts.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant social science field, such as economics, public policy, political science, international development, or a related discipline.
• At least four years of work experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, program management, or international development.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects, including grants management, budgets, and reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to engage with research findings and communicate them clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce polished, policy-facing written products such as evidence briefs, research summaries, and presentations.
• Experience presenting research or policy findings to external audiences, including at conferences, webinars, or stakeholder convenings.
• Strong interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity to work effectively with global teams across cultures, work styles, and time zones.
• Experience working or living in low- or middle-income countries.
• Experience in the human trafficking, migration, forced labor, or criminal justice sector.
• Experience conducting literature reviews, evidence syntheses, or systematic reviews of research evidence. (preferred)
• Experience managing or supporting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or other rigorous evaluation methodologies. (preferred)
• Familiarity with U.S. government grant reporting and compliance requirements, especially ethical human subjects research standards. (preferred)
• Experience with project management and CRM tools such as Airtable, Asana, and Salesforce. (preferred)
• Familiarity with quantitative research methods and the ability to interpret regression outputs or engage critically with quantitative research findings. (preferred)
• Professional proficiency in French or Spanish. (preferred)

Location

This position is based in the United States (preference for New York City or Washington, DC), or at IPA country offices in Bogotá, Colombia; Mexico City, Mexico; or Lima, Peru. Regular international travel of up to 15% is required, including site visits to HTRI-funded research projects, attendance at research convenings and policy events, and meetings with donors and partners.

About IPA

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and advances what works to improve the lives of people living in poverty. IPA brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine these solutions and their applications, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of people living in poverty. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence of which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to a tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 1,000 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.

• Manage the full lifecycle of 15–20 active research sub-awards, including competitive selection, development of grant agreements and amendments, and ongoing tracking of project progress, deliverables, and finances.
• Lead the drafting of quarterly donor reports to JTIP by coordinating inputs from grantees, IPA country offices, and internal staff, and working with the Director on review and submission.
• Oversee budget reviews and program financial tracking, with support from IPA's Grants Finance team, and flag financial risks or variances to the Director.
• Liaise with IPA's Grants, Legal, and Finance teams to ensure sub-award compliance with donor requirements and IPA policies.
• Serve as the primary point of coordination for HTRI's day-to-day operations, ensuring that workstreams are on track and that the team is meeting deadlines.
• Maintain and improve internal systems (Airtable, Asana, Salesforce) for tracking projects, partners, donors, and researcher records.
• Coordinate across IPA departments and country offices to ensure HTRI's procedures are aligned with IPA's general guidelines and policies.
• Conduct regular site visits to monitor the implementation of HTRI-funded research projects and provide updates to the Associate Director and Director.
• Provide rapid responses to information requests relevant to project development, donor reporting, and policy engagement from country office and senior IPA staff.
• Stay current on the human trafficking research literature and maintain an up-to-date understanding of the evidence base, including findings from HTRI-funded and relevant external projects.
• Lead the production and updating of evidence reports, research summaries, and evidence overviews on key human trafficking topics, working closely with the Senior Program Associate on research and drafting support.
• Author and contribute to policy briefs, program overview documents, blog posts, newsletters, and other written products that translate HTRI research findings for policymakers, practitioners, and donors.
• Coordinate and contribute to annual updates to HTRI's Learning and Research Agenda.
• Present HTRI findings and lessons learned at conferences, webinars, policy convenings, and other external forums.
• Coordinate logistics and content development for HTRI-hosted webinars, research convenings, and other events focused on human trafficking research and practice.
• Support the Director and Associate Director in building and maintaining a network of affiliated researchers who can identify and develop research opportunities that answer key questions in the sector.
• Work with IPA country office staff to develop new studies and implement the Initiative's research and policy objectives in IPA presence countries.
• Develop and maintain key relationships with donors, sectoral partners, internal research and policy leadership, and senior academics.
• Engage in stakeholder mapping and interviews to help HTRI develop and support new lines of research.
• Represent IPA at external policy and research functions.
• Track funding opportunities and contribute to project development and fundraising activities alongside the Director and Associate Director, including the development of concept notes, evidence reviews, and draft presentations.
• Contribute to the development of proposals for new funding, including support for methodological approaches beyond RCTs (such as RCT readiness assessments, process evaluations, and standalone learning projects).
• Coordinate matchmaking events between researchers and implementing organizations.
• Liaise with IPA country offices to identify and support project development efforts.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity
• Experience with project management and CRM tools such as Airtable, Asana, and Salesforce (preferred)
• Familiarity with quantitative research methods (preferred)
• Professional proficiency in French or Spanish (preferred)

• Master's degree in a relevant social science field, such as economics, public policy, political science, international development, or a related discipline.
• At least four years of work experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, program management, or international development.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects, including grants management, budgets, and reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to engage with research findings and communicate them clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Experience presenting research or policy findings to external audiences, including at conferences, webinars, or stakeholder convenings.
• Experience working or living in low- or middle-income countries.
• Experience in the human trafficking, migration, forced labor, or criminal justice sector.
• Experience conducting literature reviews, evidence syntheses, or systematic reviews of research evidence. (preferred)
• Experience managing or supporting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or other rigorous evaluation methodologies. (preferred)
• Familiarity with U.S. government grant reporting and compliance requirements, especially ethical human subjects research standards. (preferred)