Research Manager (once the UCLA project is launched)

About Us The Armenia Education Initiative (AEI) is transforming Armenia’s education system through an ecosystem of initiatives designed to ensure that every child, regardless of circumstance, has access to an education that enables them to thrive. Our vision is an Armenia that leapfrogs the world in education—where every child has the opportunity to thrive. Teach For Armenia is AEI’s flagship national service program, working alongside complementary initiatives to accelerate educational transformation and create lasting impact across the country.

The Project AEI is partnering with UCLA's Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (MoESCS) to co-develop and pilot components of Armenia's National Assessment Framework. The project will establish a coherent system for measuring student learning, teacher practice, and school improvement while generating evidence to inform national education policy.

The Role The Research Manager will lead AEI's implementation of this partnership, serving as the primary coordinator between AEI, UCLA CRESST, participating schools, and government partners. The role combines project management, field research coordination, stakeholder engagement, and quality assurance to ensure successful pilot implementation across Armenia.

The Team Based in Armenia, the Research Manager will serve as the primary liaison between the Armenia-based program team implementing the pilot in schools, teams responsible for government relations, and U.S.-based staff leading the partnership with UCLA CRESST. This role will ensure strong coordination across all partners and support the successful implementation of the project.

The Work The outcomes of this contract include: 

Lead AEI's implementation of the National Assessment Framework pilot.

Coordinate day-to-day collaboration with UCLA CRESST and MoESCS.

Manage project timelines, risks, and implementation milestones.

Oversee training, data collection, quality assurance, and field operations.

Coordinate translation, adaptation, and administration of assessment instruments.

Prepare implementation reports and documentation.

Support dissemination of findings and stakeholder engagement.

Identify opportunities for organizational learning and future scale.

NOTE: AEI is a growing organization working in a dynamic environment. Responsibilities may evolve as the project develops.

Bachelor's degree required; master's preferred in education, public policy, social sciences, statistics, or related field.

Minimum five years of experience managing research, evaluation, MEL, or implementation projects.

Experience coordinating large-scale data collection.

Experience working with education systems or government partners is preferred.

Experience with quantitative and qualitative data management.

Strong organizational and leadership skills.

We are seeking a mission-driven leader who is energized by using evidence to improve educational systems. You are collaborative, highly organized, adaptive, and committed to translating high-quality evidence into meaningful system change.

For this role specifically, we are also looking for a candidate who possesses the following key competencies:

Research and evaluation methods.

Project management across multiple partners.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL).

Stakeholder engagement with schools, universities, and government.

Data quality assurance and field operations.

Systems thinking and continuous improvement.

Excellent written and verbal communication in Armenian and English.