Senior Research Associate- Research Excellence & Programme Management

Senior Research Associate- Research Excellence & Programme Management

India Research Corps (IRC) is a WELL Labs platform that produces grounded water research for decision-makers. We work with government agencies, civil society organisations, and grassroots partners to identify important research questions and match them with highly motivated Master's students and recent graduates. Through structured mentorship and rigourous research processes, IRC aims to produce actionable evidence that informs policy and practice while building the next generation of researchers.

Role Overview

The Senior Research Associate will be responsible for ensuring the research rigour and quality of the India Research Scholars portfolio, while supporting the effective delivery and continuous improvement of the programme.

The role sits at the intersection of research quality assurance and programme management. The Senior Research Associate will independently review key research outputs and processes, identify and resolve issues that may affect research quality, and work closely with Scholars and the IRC team to ensure that projects progress with appropriate methodological rigour. The role will also own cross-cohort coordination and selected operational systems, while supporting the delivery and scaling of IRC activities and platforms.

The candidate will be expected to work independently, understand the larger objectives of IRC, proactively identify problems, develop practical solutions, and demonstrate a growth mindset that can adapt to the changing needs of the programme. The role requires strong research judgment, attention to detail, clear communication, and the ability to take ownership of multiple deliverables from planning through execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Research Rigour & Quality Assurance

Own research quality control across the IRC Scholar portfolio, with particular responsibility for key research milestones and outputs.

Review and provide substantive feedback to Scholars on reports and presentations, ensuring clarity of research questions, appropriate scope, methodological rigour, and alignment with the research objectives.

Review key stages of Scholar research and identify issues that require intervention or escalation.

Support Scholars in strengthening research design, methodology, analysis, and presentation of findings.

Review final research outputs and support the Programme Manager in ensuring that outputs meet IRC's standards of quality and rigour.

Identify recurring gaps in research quality across cohorts and recommend improvements to the programme's research processes.

• Research Ethics, Fieldwork & Data Collection

Own the quality and coordination of key processes that underpin rigourous primary research.

Coordinate and manage the ethics approval application process, ensuring that Scholars complete required documentation and comply with applicable ethical requirements.

Review fieldwork plans and provide feedback to Scholars on sampling, instruments, logistics, timelines, and research protocols.

Support and supervise Scholars during data collection, ensuring adherence to approved research protocols, field plans, and ethical requirements.

Support Scholars through the data analysis process and identify methodological or analytical concerns that require correction.

Escalate significant ethical, methodological, or research-quality concerns to the Programme Manager.

• Scholar Support & Programme Delivery

Support the Head of Programme in maintaining a rigourous and effective Scholar experience.

Coordinate Scholar progress, milestones, dependencies, and upcoming activities across cohorts.

Support Scholar screening, particularly in assessing research aptitude and potential to undertake rigourous research.

Conduct or support regular research-focused Scholar check-ins.

Support performance management where research quality, progress, or adherence to program standards is a concern.

• Cross-Cohort Programme Management & Process Improvement

Own the coordination and tracking of activities across active IRC cohorts.

Manage programme operations, including Scholar trackers, milestone tracking, documentation, records, meeting notes, and operational reporting.

Coordinate programme administration and logistics, including scheduling across stakeholders and supporting workshops, webinars, and other programme events.

Escalate major programmatic bottlenecks or risks to the Programme Manager with a clear assessment and recommended course of action.

Own the maintenance and upkeep of the IRC website and support the creation of associated digital content.

Support the coordination and delivery of IRC events, including AMAs, hackathons, showcases, and other scholar-facing activities.

Translate recurring operational or research-quality issues into improvements to programme systems.

Support the Head of Programme in testing and implementing new processes and approaches.

Demonstrate a growth mindset by proactively identifying skill gaps and acquiring new skills based on the evolving needs of the programme.

Drive continuous programme improvement by identifying opportunities to improve stakeholder experience, designing scalable workflows and tools, using data and feedback to improve efficiency, and supporting the Head of Programme with strategic and operational improvements.

Requirements

Qualifications & Skills

Required

Master's degree in a relevant discipline, preferably in research, social sciences, water and environmental sciences, public policy, engineering, or a related field.

2–4 years of demonstrable experience in research, action research, and/or programme management

Demonstrated experience independently managing research outputs and conducting or managing primary research and fieldwork.

Strong understanding of research design, research methods, and the research process.

Ability to critically review research proposals, methodologies, reports, and presentations.

Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple parallel workflows.

Demonstrated ability to work independently, identify problems proactively, and develop practical solutions.

Strong attention to detail and commitment to research quality and rigour.

Proficiency with Google Workspace and project management tools.

Preferred

Familiarity with research ethics and IRB/ethics review processes.

Experience working with students, research assistants, universities, NGOs, government agencies, or other research stakeholders.

Experience supervising junior colleagues, interns, research assistants, or volunteers.

Experience with Airtable, WordPress, or similar digital platforms.