Senior Researcher
Kigali
Climate – Climate /
Full-Time /
On-site
About KOKO Networks
KOKO Networks is a venture-backed climate technology company with 1,000+ employees across East Africa, India, and Europe. We offer a fast-paced and highly collaborative work environment with significant opportunities for professional growth. Our core lines of business are: (1) KOKO Fuel, a clean bioethanol cooking solution delivered to over one million households in Kenya and Rwanda via networks of agents with smart fuel ATMs; and (2) KOKO Climate, which retails the emissions reductions earned from switching households from deforestation-based fuels to a sustainable alternative. In 2021, KOKO was recognized as the world’s leading emerging markets climate technology solution by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation.
Your Role
The Senior Researcher, Climate Operations will be a key member of KOKO’s Global Climate team, responsible for leading the design, implementation, and supervision of field research operations for carbon projects in Rwanda. This role is central to ensuring the rigorous planning, execution, and reporting of research studies that underpin the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of carbon emissions reductions from KOKO’s clean cooking systems.
The Senior Researcher will ensure that all field studies are conducted in line with international carbon crediting methodologies, standards, and audit requirements. To guarantee both global consistency and local effectiveness, the role will operate within a dual accountability framework:
Primary Reporting Line: Global Climate Operations Manager – for technical oversight, strategic alignment, and delivery of climate research objectives
Dotted-line Accountability: Rwanda Operations Management – for operational alignment, stakeholder engagement, and on-ground execution support
The role will ensure robust implementation of research activities with support from Rwanda Operations for access, logistics, and risk management, while maintaining scientific rigor, methodological compliance and carbon market alignment under the Global Climate team.
What You Will Do
- Develop a deep understanding of carbon monitoring requirements by reviewing relevant carbon standards, approved methodologies, and sector case studies.
- Design and lead baseline fuel use studies, charcoal usage studies, and other research activities required for methodology compliance.
- Lead the design and execution of annual project-specific fuel consumption studies (e.g., Kitchen Performance Tests), ensuring robust data for verification and issuance.
- Lead and Manage end-to-end workflow for on-ground research studies and reporting.
- Work closely with Rwanda Operations to secure:
- Access to KOKO Centers, agent networks, and households.
- Introductions and engagement with govt authorities & local stakeholders (e.g., REMA, District Offices).
- Field logistics, enumerator oversight, and payments/finance support.
- Manage study budgets, payment systems, expense tracking, and financial reporting.
- Proactively identify and manage field risks and collaborate with Rwanda Operations for swift mitigation.
- Recruit, onboard, and train internal and external field teams and enumerators for data collection
- Establish and oversee quality protocols for sampling design, data collection, and quality control.
- Coordinate with external auditors for field verifications to demonstrate compliance of MRV requirements.
- Prepare high-quality analytical reports, field documentation, and research outputs.
- Maintain comprehensive records and documentation of all research activities.
- Work closely with the Rwanda Operations team for implementation and ensure regular reporting to Rwandan Management about the work progress.
- Serve as a bridge between Global Climate and Rwanda Operations, fostering open communication, transparent reporting, and joint problem-solving.
Research Design & Methodology
Field Operations & Management
Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
What You Will Bring
- 4+ years of experience in leading and independently managing field research, preferably in environmental, energy access, or carbon credit projects.
- Bachelors Degree or higher in relevant field of applied science & engineering
- Expertise in application of statistics for data sampling and analysis to achieve desired confidence interval and precision in the research outcome
- Strong project management and stakeholder coordination skills
- Proficiency in managing budgets, payments, and financial records related to research projects.
- Excellent written communication and reporting skills.
- Fluency in English and the local language is essential.
- Knowledge of analytical software and tools is highly desirable.
- Understanding of carbon offset methodologies, MRV (Monitoring, Reporting & Verification), and clean cooking impact measurement is highly desirable.
KOKO is committed to gender and racial diversity in the workplace. We encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply!
