Dr. Jisha R.

Dear Recruitment Team,
Growing up, I learned invaluable lessons from my parents. My father's dedication, evident in his over 25 years at the same company where he consistently exceeded expectations, taught me the importance of being irreplaceable. Meanwhile, my mother's commitment, working until the last week of her pregnancy, showcased resilience and determination. Witnessing their diligence, discipline, and humour, I've absorbed these qualities. Raised in such a culture, one becomes as dependable as Rahul Dravid! I hope your company's ethics reflect this dependability, nurturing healthy employee relationships, because when employees grow, so does the organization. Isn't this after all the essence of Adam Smith's invisible hand?

In the international development consultancy, I have honed my skills in leading multifaceted research projects, developing strategic approaches, new research methodologies, tools, and data analysis plans backed by evidence-informed analysis, and delivering actionable insights to clients like UNFPA, UNICEF, UNOCHAUNFAO, UNDP, ADB, BBC MA, UNICEF, and Danish Refugee Council (DRC), among others, who are operating in conflict-affected countries. In my first year itself, I also initiated the organisation’s flagship international fellowship program, which is an ongoing success with over 400 applications from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen, and aims to aid Adroit’s expansion initiatives by collaborating with local researchers. My track record of success in developing technical proposals for Baseline, Post Distribution and Impact Evaluation Studies, and Value Chain Assessments bids for agriculture and food security, response to disasters and recovery, and sustainable livelihood aligns closely with the strategic focus areas and values of your organisation. We recently wrapped up a project with DRC in Afghanistan, where we utilized ILO-GIZ guidelines to identify and assess six value chains across three provinces. Our focus was on identifying opportunities to enhance production, income, and employment prospects for primary producers and micro-entrepreneurs, particularly women. My experience encompasses a diverse array of responsibilities, from designing research studies and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to communicating the recommendations to high-level stakeholders, coupled with a fervent commitment to driving organizational effectiveness and strategic coherence.

One of my proudest accomplishments is developing a sustainable livelihood index, based on the FCDO framework to promote skill development, sustainable livelihood, and leadership opportunities for street artists of Delhi NCR using theatre and digital training as part of my PhD thesis. This work has been published in various SCOPUS-indexed and WoS-indexed journals and books and won accolades at National & International conferences as well. I tested the same model in nine provinces of Afghanistan as well to assess the impact of climate change and change in the political regime on the food security of vulnerable people for UNDP and ADB.

In addition, my experience as a Senior Manager at a start-up and as a guest lecturer for Economics in Amity University further aligns my abilities with the role and responsibilities. It has equipped me to provide leadership, and gather insights to undertake capacity building initiatives for my teammates. My academic rigour keeps me motivated to keep learning new things in the industry, because of which, I have gained proficiency in Power BI, SPSS, EViews, and NVivo.

I would welcome an interview to learn more about the position and discuss how we can together contribute to the common cause effectively and efficiently.