Regional Senior Research and Learning Manager – IRC | Jordan or Lebanon
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is inviting applications for a Regional Senior Research and Learning Manager position supporting its Early Childhood Development (ECD) portfolio across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The position is open to remote work and may be based in Amman, Jordan, or Beirut, Lebanon.
The application deadline is 27 November 2026.
About the International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee is a global humanitarian organization responding to some of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. The organization works across more than 40 countries, supporting people affected by conflict and disaster through programmes focused on health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and community empowerment.
In the MENA region, IRC operates across Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the occupied Palestinian territory, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
About the Role
The Regional Senior Research and Learning Manager will coordinate, design, manage, implement and disseminate research and learning activities related to Early Childhood Development across the MENA region.
The position will work closely with IRC’s global research teams, regional ECD team and country programmes to strengthen evidence generation and ensure that research findings are translated into practical learning.
The successful candidate will also serve as an important coordination point between IRC teams, external research partners, donors and evaluators.
IRC’s MENA ECD portfolio has developed over several years through initiatives including Ahlan Simsim and Play to Learn. The portfolio supports young children and caregivers affected by crisis and conflict while strengthening ECD workforces, national systems, policy and digital solutions.
Key Responsibilities
A major responsibility will be leading and coordinating the organization’s research and evaluation agenda.
The Regional Senior Research and Learning Manager will contribute to research agenda development and support the preparation of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) across countries. This includes assisting with study design, path-to-scale planning, timelines, data collection strategies and logistics.
The role will also oversee research and evaluation studies using quantitative and qualitative methods. Responsibilities include coordinating study design, data management, budgets, quality assurance and research implementation.
The postholder will ensure that research instruments are appropriately adapted and contextualized across different languages and cultures. They will also support enumerator recruitment and training and oversee field data collection to ensure information is accurate, standardized, complete and timely.
Data cleaning and analysis, research ethics, data protection and research standards will also form part of the position.
Another important responsibility will be translating research findings into accessible products such as reports, briefs and presentations for programme teams, policymakers and other non-research audiences.
Leading the Regional Learning Agenda
The successful candidate will co-design and lead implementation of the Regional ECD Learning Agenda and Learning and Reflection Cycle.
This includes supporting country teams with learning questions, data collection tools, training, analysis and reporting.
The manager will also facilitate learning and reflection meetings, workshops, presentations and webinars while contributing to reports, blogs, briefs and other learning products.
The role is intended to strengthen a culture of learning across IRC and ensure that evidence is used to influence programme practice and policy.
Qualifications and Experience
Applicants should have a university degree in public health, public administration, international relief and development, statistics, applied statistics, social sciences, education, early childhood development or a related field.
Candidates should have at least four years of experience implementing mixed-method research or evaluation studies in humanitarian, emergency or development settings.
Experience conducting randomized impact evaluations or RCTs is required, along with experience coordinating research activities involving multiple institutional partners.
Applicants should have experience managing large-scale quantitative and qualitative data collection and using relevant analytical software such as Dedoose, NVivo, SPSS or Stata.
At least three years of training and facilitation experience is also required.
Excellent written and oral English and Arabic skills are required, together with experience working in the MENA region.
A master’s degree and experience in education or ECD research in low-resource environments are desirable.
Location, Remote Work and Deadline
The position may be based in Jordan or Lebanon, with partial remote work possible. Approximately 15% travel is required.
The role reports to the Regional Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Lead within the MENA Regional ECD Team.
Application deadline: 27 November 2026.
This opportunity is particularly suited to research, evaluation and learning professionals interested in humanitarian programming, early childhood development and evidence-based policy and programme design.
The vacancy information confirms that the role is open to remote work, is full time, and may be based in Amman or Beirut.
