Intern Research Associate

Seattle, Washington (Remote)

Sankofa Consulting is a boutique consulting firm that provides monitoring and evaluation (M&E) technical assistance and management support to philanthropic and not-for-profit entities. As a small business, Sankofa leverages a large global network of strategic partners to provide tailored expertise and effectively implement projects of various sizes and scopes across various geographic locations. Sankofa has deep evaluation expertise, and experience working with major foundations on new initiatives, and expertise in development projects that span agriculture, economic development, and global health, we will translate learnings and themes into tangible products for grantees and other partners. Sankofa does this work with a mission to reduce inequities and advance social justice for the poor and marginalized at the local, national, and global levels. The commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is reflected in the approach to our work with clients and in our internal culture and management practices.

Sankofa’s high caliber client support focuses on maximizing data to inform strategy development, business process improvement, and project development and management. Sankofa specifically helps clients to:

  • Identify, develop, and “right-size” internal M&E infrastructure/systems

  • Problem-solve, coordinate, and manage implementation of M&E projects

  • Mentor and guide M&E staff to build/upgrade their M&E skills, capacities, and systems

  • Conduct systematic reviews and ex-ante analytics to inform strategy/program design

  • Provide thought partnership and support on M&E, knowledge management, and learning

  • Diagnose M&E needs, develop scopes of work/RFPs, and provide technical oversight and quality control for large evaluations and studies.

Intern – Research Associate - Responsibilities and Functions

Sankofa offers highly motivated individuals an opportunity to be exposed to a wide range of evaluation missions for public and non-profit organizations. It presents several professional learning opportunities in advancing racial equity and social justice, especially for place-based initiatives transforming communities.

The Intern – Research Associate will have responsibility for supporting and learning from the full range of tasks and activities involved in the design and implementation of Sankofa’s strategy, measurement, evaluation, and learning projects. The Intern – Research Associate will focus on supporting Sankofa’s Program Managers/Evaluation Officers who are leading projects with a range of different clients. He/she/they will assist with activities primarily focused on researching, collecting (using a variety of methodologies including desk reviews, web scans, key informant interviews, etc) and synthesizing data and information to inform documentation of lessons learned that will enable the development and production of products and reports for Sankofa’s clients. In addition, the Intern – Research Associate will work as part of Sankofa’s project teams to contribute to the development of proposals in response to solicitations from potential clients. They will work with the Program Managers/Evaluation Officers and the leadership team to support external communications with clients and partners, ensuring that discrete tasks and activities of Sankofa’s programs, learnings and results are broadly shared to relevant stakeholders. They will engage in a variety of projects at different stages of M&E and they will contribute as a thought partner with project teams to generate new perspectives and innovative ideas.

The ideal Intern – Research Associate will possess a deep desire to learn and grow their knowledge and skills in social science research, monitoring & evaluation, and project management. They will likewise be strong team player, communicator, and problem solver.

This position will report to one of Sankofa’s Evaluation Officers and Program Officers.

Major Responsibilities

  • Support PMs/EOs on client relationships, tracking project deliverables against deadlines and pulling the pieces together

  • Support analyzing grant information: finding common successes and obstacles, distilling themes, participating in conversations with Sankofa’s clients, contributing to constructing frameworks to organize themes, synthesizing lessons learned, and evaluating how grants can have maximum impact in their issue area

  • Contribute to drafting actionable knowledge products (e.g., reports, rubrics, slide decks)

Key Functions

  • Support the conduct tasks and activities in support of the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation projects, including conducting background research, literature reviews, key informant interviews, and review secondary data and information analysis

  • Assist with the preparation of written products, including reports and presentations

  • Contribute to reviews, analysis and preparation of written responses to requests for proposals

  • Participate in arranging, managing/facilitating online meetings, including Sankofa team calls, client meetings, trainings and seminars as needed

  • Assist with a range of other project management and project coordination related tasks

  • Potentially, traveling on behalf of Sankofa business to deliver services under existing contract or for other business purposes.

Experience

  • Experience supporting or contributing to evaluation design/implementation

  • Experience working in social science research and evaluation projects and topics in various areas, including community development, economic development, healthcare, social justice and equity, youth development, international development, etc

  • Experience with Microsoft suite of tools critical, skilled in using PowerPoint to produce final slide decks

  • Familiarity with data analysis software (e.g., SPSS or equivalent) an asset

  • Fluency in Spanish or French a plus

Competencies

  • Ability to thrive in a fast-moving, start-up environment, with an emphasis on high performance, teamwork, accountability, and results.

  • Natural ability to synergize, integrate and coordinate across a system comprised of different activities. Orientation towards learning and sharing knowledge.

  • Highly collaborative working style

  • Excellent adaptive problem solver in challenging environment

  • Excellent analytical and written skills

  • Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty, and desire to be of service.

Salary

• Hourly rate: $20 - $25/hour

Expected Start Date

• As soon as possible

To apply: Please send a cover letter and resume to Selena Fraser at s.fraser@sankofaconsulting.com by 5:00pm PT on Friday April 12th, 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.