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About the position

Oxford Policy Management (OPM) is seeking to recruit Assistant Consultants (ACs) to work in its Consultant Development Programme in Islamabad, Pakistan.  This portfolio is OPM’s entry point for talented and passionate early-career professionals, with a clear commitment to a career in international development.

Most ACs arrive in the OPM Consultant Development Programme with limited work experience and no particular sectoral or geographical specialisation. This role gives early-career consultants the opportunity to explore their interests in international development by working on projects across OPM. ACs gain exposure to various development sectors (e.g. education, finance and private sector, nutrition, etc.), functional areas (e.g. monitoring and evaluation, research and data collection methods, etc.) or geographical areas (e.g. through projects in different parts of Pakistan and with some potential for international work). Typically, ACs utilise these opportunities to either specialise in a technical or functional or geographical area, or remaining generalists.

In this role, a balance of three types of skills, namely technical skills, consultancy skills and management/leadership skills, will guide professional development. These skills may be learnt through:

  • 6-12-month rotations in various OPM portfolios
  • Project work delivered in collaboration with senior consultants (including new business acquisition, overseas fieldwork and client-facing engagements in diverse settings)
  • Mentorship from an experienced senior consultant
  • Seminars, conferences and training opportunities

Successful applicants can expect to provide wide-ranging support to both project acquisition and implementation across all subject areas:

  • Social policy, including teams in poverty reduction and social protection, health, and education;
  • Economic policy, including teams in private sector development, financial sector development, trade, aid, microfinance, macroeconomic policy, climate change, and natural resource policy;
  • Statistics, evidence and accountability, including teams in social development, official statistics, and political economy analysis; and
  • Public sector finance and management, including team in public financial management, public management and accountability, debt management, and regional development and local government.

Other areas of work (including food security, urban development, nutrition and agricultural development) are growing.  More information is available on our website.

Assistant consultants in OPM’s Consultant Development Programme can expect to build:

  • general consultancy and development skills;
  • primary and secondary quantitative and qualitative research and analysis skills;
  • depth and breadth of knowledge and experience both across the policy cycle and the various policy areas in which OPM works;
  • effective writing, presentation and communication skills;
  • project and people management and leadership skills; and
  • specialisation in the work of one or more of OPM’s sectoral portfolios or country offices

We expect assistant consultants to be promoted within two or three years, depending on performance.  After promotion, consultants are expected to progressively start managing their own projects, interacting directly with clients more frequently, and taking on greater autonomy and responsibility for providing advice to policymakers. They may also take on greater people management responsibility, either for our interns or other junior consultants.

Location of work

This is a full-time role based in our Islamabad office.

Remuneration

OPM is an equal opportunity employer which offers a competitive package in the local market. The gross salary range for this position is PKR 130,000 to 165,000 per month along with other additional benefits.

Minimum qualifications

For this particular role, applicants must have a:

  • Graduate degree in Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy or a related field, with excellent academic record ***
  • Strong quantitative and/or qualitative research skills typically demonstrated through graduate thesis/dissertation
  • Demonstrated ability and experience of working with quantitative and/or qualitative packages (e.g. STATA, SPSS, NVivo, Quirkos, etc.)
  • Strong and demonstrated written and verbal communication skills;
  • Demonstrated commitment to international development, ideally evidenced by voluntary or other related work;
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of multicultural and diverse teams; and
  • Ability to multi-task well and manage multiple deadlines.
  • Fluency in Urdu and English is preferred

*** Degrees should be completed by October 2018. Candidates completing their degrees later than this are requested to apply for the next recruitment cycle in 2019.