Senior Manager, Qualitative Research; Microfinance Programme

Location: BRAC Head Office, Dhaka Bangladesh

Last Date of Application: August 29, 2026

BRAC is an international development organisation founded in Bangladesh that partners with over 100 million people living with inequality and poverty globally to create sustainable opportunities to realise potential.

BRAC Microfinance provides people who cannot access traditional financial banking services with access to a suite of financial services, including loans, savings and microinsurance. We provide an alternative to high-interest loans from informal lenders, supporting families to invest in income-generating activities, build assets, and reduce vulnerability to health shocks and natural disasters. Passionate about finance beyond formal banking systems? Join the BRAC Microfinance team to help build a more financially-inclusive society, where everyone can access finance when they need it - safely, responsibly and sustainably.

Working at brac is not like any other job. It is a platform where you can bring about real change for people who need it the most. We are not just dreaming of a better world, we are building it. Join us to find the way.

Job Purpose: The role is responsible for leading the strategic delivery of high-quality qualitative research that generates actionable insights to inform Microfinance programme priorities, strengthen evidence-based decision-making, and improve programme effectiveness. The role ensures efficient, ethical, and timely execution of the research portfolio while aligning research outputs with the information needs of senior management and key stakeholders. It also strengthens internal research capability and facilitates the effective translation of evidence into programme decisions and improvements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage the annual qualitative research agenda and study pipeline aligned with programme priorities and decision needs.
• Lead and oversee the design of research questions, FGD/IDI/KII instruments, sampling strategies and analysis frameworks appropriate to field realities.
• Lead analysis and synthesis of qualitative data; produce reports and decision briefs that clearly separate observation, interpretation and recommendation.
• Manage and coordinate the Field Execution and Quality Assurance teams to ensure high-quality, timely, and cost-effective delivery of research studies.
• Ensure compliance with research ethics and data protection standards, including informed consent, respondent confidentiality, secure data management, and appropriate retention and storage of research records.
• Present and communicate research findings to senior management and relevant stakeholders, translating evidence into actionable insights to support programme decisions and strategic improvements.
• Build team capacity in qualitative methods, facilitation, note-taking, coding and analysis through training and on-the-job coaching.
• Collaborate with external research partners and academics on joint or commissioned qualitative studies where required.
• Manage study budgets, timelines and resource allocation across concurrent studies.

Safeguarding Responsibilities:

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals of safeguarding implementation. Act as a key source of support, guidance, and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.
• Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action.
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place and encourage others to do so.

Additional Job Requirements:

• Strong knowledge of qualitative research methodologies, including FGD, IDI, KII, sampling, coding, and thematic analysis.
• Good understanding of research ethics, data protection, quality assurance, and evidence-based programme development.
• Knowledge of Microfinance operations and development-sector research is preferred.
• Strong research design, analytical, report-writing, and insight-generation skills.
• Excellent leadership, stakeholder management, communication, and presentation skills.
• Strong project, budget, resource, and team management skills.

Educational Requirements: Master's in any discipline from a recognized university or institution.

Experience Requirements: Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in qualitative research within the development sector, including at least 3 years of experience leading research teams or managing research projects.

Benefits: Festival Bonus, Contributory Provident Fund, Gratuity, Performance Bonus, Health and Life Insurance, Maternity/ Paternity Leave, Wellness Centre Facility, Day Care Facility and others as per policy.

This position is open for Bangladeshi nationals only.

Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) certificate number- 00488-00186-00065