Research Lead

The

Head – Research & Insights

will serve as the intellectual anchor for LCPL’s product and solutions function — driving the research vision, strategy, and ecosystem intelligence that powers every major initiative.

This role demands a leader who can bridge

policy, practice, and product , shaping LCPL’s research agenda to support business development, solution design, and program delivery. The person will institutionalize research as a capability — not a support — by creating frameworks, processes, and outputs that continuously inform decision-making, impact design, and credibility building.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Research Leadership

Define LCPL’s overarching research and evidence strategy aligned with organizational priorities and government partnerships.

Build a cross-domain research roadmap covering education, skilling, livelihoods, tech-in-governance, and social inclusion.

Establish thought leadership and position LCPL as a credible voice in national and state-level public policy conversations.

2. Research Design & Methodology

Develop standardized research frameworks for primary, secondary, and mixed-method studies.

Lead needs assessments, baseline and endline studies, and impact evaluations for ongoing programs.

Ensure methodological rigor and ethical standards across all research activities.

Oversee the creation of sampling frameworks, toolkits, and field protocols.

3. Knowledge & Evidence Systems

Build and manage LCPL’s internal knowledge architecture : repositories, dashboards, and evidence libraries.

Partner with Product and Tech teams to embed real-time data and learning feedback loops within program delivery systems.

Curate knowledge products (whitepapers, policy notes, sector reports, research briefs) for internal and external dissemination.

Create taxonomies and templates for evidence capture at every stage of project lifecycle.

4. Intelligence & Insights

Conduct continuous secondary research across government schemes, tenders, budgets, and global best practices.

Produce monthly and quarterly intelligence reports highlighting trends, benchmarks, and emerging opportunities.

Support Business Development (BD) and Product teams with data-driven insights for bid proposals, DPRs, and concept notes.

Track competitor research, innovations, and technology interventions relevant to LCPL’s focus areas.

5. Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

Engage with government departments, research bodies, multilateral agencies, and think tanks for partnerships and joint studies.

Represent LCPL at high-level policy discussions, panels, and national forums.

Co-develop evaluation frameworks and evidence systems with client ministries and donor partners.

6. Team Building & Capability Development

Build and lead a multidisciplinary research team — analysts, sector specialists, data scientists, and documentation experts.

Create pathways for capacity development through training, mentorship, and collaboration.

Drive a research culture that prizes intellectual honesty, precision, and curiosity.

7. Quality Assurance & Publication

Oversee quality standards for all reports, studies, and knowledge products.

Ensure research outputs are publication-ready and aligned with LCPL’s editorial and brand guidelines.

Review data accuracy, citation integrity, and narrative quality.

Drive dissemination of LCPL’s research through journals, conferences, and media channels.