This position is a 12-month term remote position (with travel) with opportunities for possible extension into a permanent role. Location: Honduras

About Rare

Rare inspires changes so people and nature thrive. For 50 years, across 60 countries, we have inspired and empowered millions of people and their communities to shift their behaviors and practices to protect our shared planet. We are a global leader in driving social change for people and nature and believe that the cumulative power of individual and community action is a vital pathway to safeguarding and restoring our shared waters, lands, and climate. Rare's organizational culture is results-oriented and entrepreneurial, and our global programs cover the thematic areas of climate change, fisheries and marine conservation, sustainable agriculture food security, and Green Recovery.

Position Overview

Rare is looking for an innovative and solution-oriented team member to apply social and behavior science methods and insights to environmental challenges. Working closely with Rare’s partner organizations in Latin America, the selected candidate will collaborate with team members from the Center for Behavior & the Environment to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of social and behavior change interventions.

The ideal candidate has mixed methods social science research skills and demonstrated experience applying these skills in a field setting, preferably in a rural programmatic setting. To support research and intervention design, the applicant should have strong knowledge and experience in applied social science, such as sociology, anthropology, behavioral economics, and/or related field, programmatically or academically.

As part of Rare’s Center for Behavior & the Environment, the Applied Social Scientist, Latin America will be responsible for collaborating with a range of partners from the region (generally conservation practitioners) to conduct research to design behaviorally informed solutions to a range of environmental challenges. This involves utilizing Rare’s Behavior-Centered Design process, which combines human-centered design principles with insights from behavioral and social science. As the candidate will work with partners to develop practical evaluation frameworks, experience in program evaluation is preferred. Additionally, this role involves building capacity in partner organization in applying the Behavior-Centered Design process. This involves frequent meetings with partners to co-design research plans and program strategies, explain research findings and social science principles in non-expert terms, and develop monitoring and evaluation frameworks for organizations with limited capacity. This also involves facilitating trainings on methodologies, as well as feedback and co-creation sessions. 

Core Responsibilities

• Design, test, and evaluate behavioral interventions and programming
• Develop and implement mixed methods applied research tailored to each project; oversee field research and train enumerators
• Analyze qualitative and quantitative data, and communicate findings to project team to inform design decisions
• Based on insights from data, develop and test socially and behaviorally informed strategies for programs
• Work closely with project partners on program design and implementation, understanding specific partner needs and building capacity
• Collaborate with a broad range of project team members, including project managers, trainers, consultants, etc.
• Develop and adapt monitoring and evaluation frameworks, conduct program evaluations, document results, and formulate actionable recommendations

• Build capacity around behavior change with partner organizations through training and mentorship
• Mentor partner organizations on applying the behavior-centered design process, from developing research tools to co-creating Monitoring & Evaluation plans
• Assist in designing and facilitating trainings on behavior-centered design
• Co-develop resources that effectively translate research findings and recommendations into useful tools for variety of non-expert audiences 

Required Skills

• Minimum 3 years of experience conducting qualitative and quantitative social science research, particularly in field or programmatic settings
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose complex challenges, develop solutions, seek input, and drive adaptation based on field realities
• Experience managing multi-component projects and partnership relationships
• Proficiency in social and/or behavioral science principles and literature; experience applying insights to solving complex problems.
• Proven experience in effectively educating and communicating scientific concepts to non-scientific audiences, both in writing and verbally.
• Ability to thrive in cross-functional team environments to build relationships across geographical distances, cultures, and up and down the organizational structure.
• Willingness to travel internationally in rural field-based settings as needed, up to 30% of the time.
• Native fluency in written and spoken Spanish; proficient in English

Preferred Skills

• Quantitative research and evaluation skills, such as knowledge of power analysis, study design, and data analysis. Familiarity with R and/or Python is favored.
• Knowledge of behavioral science principles
• Proficiency in Portuguese is a plus.

Commitments

• To Rare’s mission and values; 
• To addressing environmental issues such as sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation is required. Experience working on these specific issues is not required.

Rare is an equal-opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic.