Senior Analyst Research & Insights

About Us

Karandaaz (KRN) believes that every Pakistani deserves to be Financially Included and Economically Empowered. Our mission at Karandaaz is to foster economic growth and create jobs through financial inclusion of unbanked individuals and unserved enterprises.

Karandaaz Pakistan is a not-for-profit organization, based out of Islamabad, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan under Section 42 of the Companies Act 2017. We are supported by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Karandaaz is governed by an eminent board who set the strategy of the organization and steer it towards achievement of its objectives.

The Research and Insights team is part of the Research, Marketing and Communications (RMC) vertical of Karandaaz Pakistan. Under the supervision of Director Research, Marketing and Communications (RMC), the Research and Insights team supports the company’s core financial inclusion goal by developing and disseminating evidence-based insights and solutions across all verticals of Karandaaz.

Position Summary

Senior Analyst in the Research & Insights (R&I) team will provide support in strengthening the organization’s knowledge in the domains of MSME Finance, Climate Finance and Digital Financial Services (DFS). The incumbent will be responsible for identifying and addressing information and data gaps to support KRN’s verticals – Corporate Investment and Credit (CIC), Innovation (ICF)/Women Ventures (WV) and Digital Financial Services (DFS) so that they are able to make informed investment decisions and design evidence-based interventions. In addition, the position will also involve interaction with external stakeholders – policy makers, financial institutions and regulators on knowledge sharing and dissemination.

Job Responsibilities

• Make efforts to build a thorough understanding of the core domains of the research function – MSME Finance, Climate Finance and Digital Financial Services; the regulatory landscape, players, opportunities and challenges.
• Liaison with KRN’s internal streams – CIC, ICF/WV and DFS to understand their research and knowledge requirements.
• Support the development and execution of research strategies based on identification of research gaps within Karandaaz’s focus areas. Remain abreast with global research relevant to the organization’s development agenda.
• Conduct primary and secondary research (individually or as part of a team), synthesize external research, and draw on international lessons to collate, consolidate and document findings into reports, blogs, presentations and research briefs.
• Manage research projects outsourced by the function, manage workplans of outsourced projects, maintain and update invoice trackers, coordinate with support teams (Admin, Procurement, Finance and Accounts) to ensure timely disbursement of funds.
• Work with internal teams to develop budget, workplans and undertake efficient and accurate donor reporting.
• Ensure accuracy of technical content, quality and timeliness across all research projects.
• Provide support on developing and executing dissemination strategies for knowledge products and coordinate with the Communications team on the same.
• Develop Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Terms of Reference (TOR) documents. Manage end to end procurement of outsourced initiatives.
• Contribute to development of web and social media content relevant to the KRN’s research mandate.
• Provide support in the maintenance, updation and visibility of KRN’s Flagship Data Portal. This would involve identifying datasets to expand the Portal’s offerings and use the existing data to provide insightful data and infographics to KRN’s stakeholders.
• Provide support to the Marketing and Communications team to publish and disseminate KRN’s knowledge products. This would also involve providing support in managing events (both physical and virtual) and associated logistics.
• Provide support to KRN’s board and senior management by drafting talking points and briefing documents.
• Any other task necessary to ensure the optimum performance of the RMC stream at Karandaaz.

Eligibility

Education & Experience

• Master’s degree in policy, business, economics or related field from an accredited institution.
• At least 5 years of public or private sector experience in KRN’s research domains. Experience of working in the development finance sector would be a plus.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of basic financial and economic concepts
• Strong command of oral and written English
• Strong command of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
• Experience of working with financial and economic data
• Ability to establish priorities and manage a complex workload in order to meet tight deadlines
• Ability to communicate large and complex ideas and recommendations to a diverse set of stakeholders ranging from highly technical to non-technical.
• Ability to work independently and with considerable discretion but to seek advice as required
• Attention to detail

Culture and Values at Karandaaz

Karandaaz Culture is guided by our values of Innovation, Collaboration, Accountability, Respect and Equity (ICARE). These values shape our choices on what we do and how we do it, both with colleagues internally and partners externally. We also believe that we are all responsible for creating a great place to work and are constantly looking to hire individuals who bring the same level of passion and commitment to the purpose of the organization.

If you believe in the Karandaaz vision and values and feel excited about the work we are offering, please send us your application for this position at careers@karandaaz.com.pk clearly mentioning the position title in the subject line.

Karandaaz is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications by all population groups