Insights Manager, Central Insights Unit

**Department:** *Mobile for Development***Team:** *Central Insights Unit***Location:** *London (hybrid)***Position type:** *Fixed Term Contract until March 2027***What the hiring manager says**“The ideal candidate will bring a curious and analytical mindset, strong research skills, excellent written communication, and a deep interest in how digital technologies can advance sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries. They will be skilled at generating evidence-based insights and communicating both global trends and local perspectives with clarity and impact.This role offers the opportunity to develop thought leadership and deliver actionable insights to inform inclusive and sustainable development, working in a collaborative, diverse team passionate about leveraging digital technologies to reduce global inequalities.”**About the Team**The Central Insights Unit (CIU) sits at the core of GSMA Mobile for Development (M4D) and produces country- and region-specific research and analysis on the role and impact of digital technologies in advancing sustainable and inclusive development. Our work spans across many themes and verticals including digital inclusion, gender, financial inclusion, agriculture, health, utilities, humanitarian action and climate action.The thematically cross-cutting nature of our research means that our knowledge base is wide-ranging as we bring clarity to emerging opportunities in digital development. Our work directly supports international donors to build expertise and capacity as they seek to advance digitalisation initiatives in low- and middle-income countries.**About the Role**This role offers an opportunity to contribute to research that informs sustainable development initiatives, shapes global development discourse, informs programmes and policy, and supports the responsible scaling of digital innovation across sectors such as humanitarian action, agriculture, health, climate resilience, and digital and financial inclusion.Working as part of an interdisciplinary team, the postholder will lead primary and secondary research and produce high‐quality outputs for a range of stakeholders, including donor and development partners, governments, and private sector actors. The role will play a key part in advancing how digital technologies are understood and applied to tackle critical development challenges.Specifically you will:* Develop clear, well-structured scopes of work to drive holistic research projects across different contexts.* Ensure research outputs are tailored to context and audience, including policy makers, industry leaders and development practitioners.* Convene and guide diverse groups of stakeholders to shape and steer research projects.* Identify, commission, and manage external researchers and suppliers to deliver robust, timely research products.* Work across M4D teams to draw on thematic expertise from across the programme portfolio.* Conduct rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis to generate clear, insight driven narratives.* Produce high quality written outputs, including reports, blogs and briefs.* Present and disseminate research findings at events, webinars and other forums.**About You**You will bring a strong foundation in research and a passion for using digital technologies to advance development outcomes. You will thrive in a diverse team dedicated to empowering people via mobile and emerging tech**Must-have experience and capabilities for this role are**:* Excellent analytical skills, including a demonstrated ability to design and frame research questions, design analytical frameworks, interrogate data and extract actionable insights.* Proven experience designing and conducting mixed-methods research, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches (e.g. key informant interviews, surveys, case studies, landscape analysis, and secondary data analysis) to generate actionable insights for programme, policy, and industry audiences. This includes selecting fit-for-purpose methodologies.* Demonstrated expertise in how AI is a transformative power, including limitations and risks, for gender and digital inclusion, digital public infrastructure, digital health, climate resilience, or financial inclusion, with experience analysing how digital technologies shape sector outcomes, market dynamics, and access to services for underserved populations.* Strong understanding and proven experience of conducting research related to the mobile and digital ecosystem in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including the role of mobile network operators, digital platforms, policymakers, and technology innovators in enabling digital inclusion, innovation, and development outcomes.* Demonstrated experience applying analytical and systems-based frameworks in research and programme analysis, such as GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion) or market systems approaches (e.g. BEAM), and the ability to integrate these frameworks into research design, evidence generation, and interpretation of findings to inform policy and programme decision-making.* Strong ecosystem and stakeholder analysis skills, with the ability to map market systems, identify key actors and incentives (e.g. MNOs, startups, regulators, investors), and analyse how relationships, capabilities, and constraints influence the adoption and scale of digital solutions.* Demonstrated ability to plan and manage research projects end‐to‐end, including managing external partners and delivering on time and on budget.* Fluent and compelling written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to explain complex issues in clear, accessible language, with a demonstrated portfolio of work**Additional desirable experience and capabilities for this role include**:* A track record of delivering results both independently and as part of a team.* A proactive, solutions‐oriented approach and willingness to propose and test new ideas* Experience supervising or mentoring junior researchers and analysts.* Experience presenting research findings at high‐level or global events.* Working proficiency in another language (e.g. French, Arabic).**About Your Skills*** **Analysis** – It’s essential to have excellent data analysis skills, primarily qualitative with some quantitative, including the ability to select fit‐for‐purpose analytical frameworks and methods. The Manager must be able to conduct nuanced analysis and interpretation to produce accurate, compelling narratives.* **Communication** – The Manager must be an excellent communicator, with a particularly strong ability to translate complex, technical or commercial issues into plain language without losing important points of the message. Fluent and compelling written and oral communication skills in English are essential, and knowledge of another language would be a plus.* **Delivery** – The Manager will need to have strong delivery skills in order to manage multiple research projects in an organised and timely manner. The ideal candidate is a self-starter, motivated to develop initiatives and drive them through to completion, and is conscientious, with high personal standards and a strong attention to detail.* **Project management** – The Manager must have proven ability to plan and oversee end‐to‐end research projects, including commissioning and managing suppliers, managing feedback loops with key stakeholders, and assuring projects are completed on time and on budget.* **Stakeholder management** — The Manager must be skilled at building and maintaining productive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., donors, partners, grantees, internal teams), balancing competing priorities and securing alignment around shared goals.* **Teamwork** – The Manager must be a team player, happy to work in a matrixed environment or large multi-disciplinary group. Cultural awareness and an ability and desire#J-18808-Ljbffr…