Location: London
Position type: Fixed term until March 2027
What the hiring manager says
“This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to thought leadership and influence around integrating mobile technology with humanitarian efforts. The successful candidate will be instrumental in driving research across a range of thematic areas within a dynamic and engaged research and policy team. We are looking for someone who is passionate about leveraging digital solutions to tackle humanitarian challenges and has a proven track record in research. Experience in both the mobile industry and the humanitarian sector will be highly beneficial.”
Barnaby Willitts-King, Research and Policy Director, M4H
About the Team
The
Mobile for Development
(M4D) team drives innovation in digital technology to reduce inequalities in our world. Singularly positioned at the intersection of the mobile ecosystem and the development sector, we stimulate digital innovation to deliver both sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic impact for the underserved.
The
Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation
(M4H) programme is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) with a mission to accelerate the delivery and impact of digital humanitarian assistance. We have reached over 12 million people with improved access to and use of life-enhancing mobile-enabled services during humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery. We have achieved this by building a learning and research agenda to inform the future of digital humanitarian response, catalysing partnerships and innovation for new digital humanitarian services, advocating for enabling policy environments, monitoring and evaluating performance, disseminating insights and profiling achievements.
About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity to join a passionate team working at the intersection of the mobile industry and the humanitarian sector, aiming towards an inclusive, impactful digital humanitarian future. The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting the research and policy agenda. You will be responsible for developing and supporting on high-quality, innovative and relevant research and evaluation products to inform the mobile industry and humanitarian community of key trends, insights and analysis that will lead to more impactful digital humanitarian assistance through thought leadership. The ideal candidate will be seeking to work in a fast paced and rewarding environment and have a background in research and policy - including qualitative and quantitative analytical skills.
About You
-

Your background is in social research, using qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches

• Experience designing and applying some key evaluation approaches and tools (e.g. evaluation frameworks, theories of change, most significant change and participatory evaluation approaches)
• Subject matter expertise in the domain of mobile technology, humanitarian assistance and/or international development
• Fluent and compelling written and oral communications skills and excellent inter-personal skills including the ability to translate research products into relevant and actionable insights for a set of diverse actors with different incentives and operational realities
• You are happy working independently, but proactively seek guidance when needed
• Genuine interest in both the commercial and social benefits that are presented by the use of mobile technology to address humanitarian challenges
• A team player, happy to work in large multi-disciplinary groups, to support and input into their work
• A very strong grasp of the English language, able to express complex technical, commercial or regulatory issues in plain language; French and/or Spanish language skills are desirable but not required.
• You have experience of and enthusiasm for promoting the use of evidence to improve decision-making on projects or programmes.
• Existing authorisation to work in the UK

Capabilities:
-

Identify, lead and manage high quality research studies across a range of methodologies and markets within budget and to time. This includes creating research proposals; collecting and analysing data; authoring reports documenting industry trends; and engaging with MNOs and stakeholders on insights

• Lead projects independently, managing external consultants and/or other M4H team members in a collaborative manner to achieve high quality deliverables
• Disseminate research and learnings through written reports, case studies, powerpoints, blogs, conferences and meetings with relevant stakeholders, tailoring research to the primary target audience and developing messages to influence policy change.
• Participate in and support events and conferences around the world, operate in partnership with some of the largest companies in the emerging markets, and help the GSMA to leverage its own global platform and staff to showcase how commercial activity in the mobile industry is delivering social good.
• Support the dissemination of M4H key messages to influence international humanitarian policy – working towards an inclusive, dignified, and effective digital future
• Collaborate closely with the other M4H work streams, supporting them with extracting insights from their projects.
• Work with Insights teams across Mobile for Development to understand opportunities for digital innovation in humanitarian contexts for mobile money, utilities services, climate resilience and addressing digital divides.
• Work alongside a high-performing and multi-cultural, cross-functional team based in London, Nairobi and Atlanta.

Contract type
Regular
Worker type
Employee
What We Offer
Working at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.
In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.
To learn more about the GSMA, visit our
career site
, our
LinkedIn
page and our
Twitter
page.
Being You at the GSMA
We care deeply about diversity, equity and inclusivity and aspire to be the best at it. Your well-being and work/life balance is important, so flexi-time and remote working is available to all staff. We’re keen to ensure everyone is equal, represented and connected so we particularly encourage applications from all demographics. The sucess of the GSMA year on year will continue to be contributed by people from all walks of life.
GSMA Values
Our values not only drive our culture – they shape how we work and interact inside and outside our global organisation.
Passionately driven
We approach everything we do with unparalleled capability, tenacity and commitment, knowing that the challenging scale, pace and complexity of our work is what leads to its world-changing impact.
Insightful leaders
We continually develop and engage our expertise, insight and creativity so that we’re always ready to respond to the changing landscape with authority, agility and nuance.
Stronger together
We lean on each other so the industry can lean on us, embracing our diversity by actively seeking out perspectives and skill sets beyond our own, fuelling each other’s successes and constantly asking how we can help.
Underpinning our values is our collective mindset to show up purposefully as good human beings every day, in every situation. When we’re at our best – we are collaborative, considerate and compassionate to others, and we create a safe space for one another to thrive, assuming positive intent in our colleagues. And if we aren’t at our best and the pressure is on – we feel free to be ourselves but still remain curious, lean into the tough stuff and we are always respectful to others and accountable for the part we play.

Please refer the Job description for details