Research Program Lead

Animal Welfare League is looking for a Research Program Lead. This is a commissioning and quality role leading the organization's first substantial body of independent research: three studies across South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt on the economics of cage-free egg production, the spread of cage systems in broiler production, and the real cost of building aviary laying hen housing in African conditions. You will define what gets studied, select who studies it, hold them to a rigorous standard, and ensure the results meet the expectations of institutions, regulators, and companies.

• Run the three 2026–27 studies on time and according to budget, maintaining the schedule against external deadlines and proactively communicating when a deadline or deliverable is at risk
• Draft terms of reference and calls for proposals, run open calls and invited procurements, assemble and service evaluation panels, and negotiate and manage contracts, milestones and payments with researchers and institutions
• Interrogate proposed methods before committing money, ensure protocols are pre-registered where appropriate, publish assumptions, maintain comparability across studies, and catch weak analysis before publication
• Work with civil society partners, academic institutions and consultants across the continent, including collaboration with Animal Law Reform South Africa, and represent AWL in technical and standards settings
• Turn commissioned research and policy work into submissions, policy briefs and materials for decision-makers, track where evidence lands and what it changes
• Support applications to co-fund the program and work with the Executive Director to expand the research budget

• The ability to read a quantitative analysis or an economic model and judge whether it is sound
• Experience commissioning, managing or supervising research in a non-profit, academic, government or consultancy setting
• A postgraduate qualification in agricultural or applied economics, animal science, public policy, statistics or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Written English to publication standard
• Sound judgment about evidence, including the confidence to tell a funder, partner or your own organization that a finding does not hold
• Experience developing policy positions or engaging legislative, regulatory or institutional processes
• Willingness to build a body of work in an area where little exists and to start by establishing facts rather than arguing a position
• Comfort working remotely, independently and across time zones

To apply for this role, please fill in the application form on the link below.