Global Behavioral Research & Strategy Consultant (Remote + Fieldwork)

Are you a marketing or design researcher/strategist, ready to use your behavioral expertise to tackle some of the world's toughest challenges?
Join Appleseed and create lasting social and environmental impact in communities across the globe.
This remote position may be based anywhere in the world (not necessarily UK, Canada, US, or any other location listed).
Appleseed is seeking seasoned and well-rounded behavioral practitioners  (marketers, service designers, UX designers, ethnographers, etc.)
 to join our team of consultants.
These collaborators would be client-facing and work both remotely and in the field.
They must also share our core values and have the experience and disposition needed to thrive on a globally-distributed small team.
We are hiring individuals for an initial project lasting ~4 months, with the opportunity to join the Appleseed core team should the initial collaboration be a win-win.
Type of Role:  Full time employee, starting as a Freelance Consultant on first project Estimated Duration:  3-5 months for first project Location and Start Date: Please see project briefings below Compensation: Core Team starting salary of $87,000–$122,000, with growth potential to earn over $152,000; Initial project fee of $16,000-$20,000 (negotiable); 4-day workweek + 30 PTO days (178 annual workdays), paid international travel for fieldwork and a team retreat; annual stipends for workspace, professional development, and, if needed, healthcare.
Feel free to apply even if you are unavailable for a project immediately, but are interested in exploring a fit.
We'd be happy to do that now, so when the right project opportunity comes up, we can team up with no delay!
Why Work with Appleseed?
  Appleseed  is a behavioral agency for global development.
We are obsessed with one big problem across the sector: important solutions failing to stick.
Our clients are fighting to end poverty or protect the planet.
When they struggle to engage people or drive uptake of a service, product, or idea, they and/or their funders will put us on the case.
Appleseed consultants dive deep—taking an ethnographic approach to investigate the challenge and uncover human insights.
Then we help our clients design accordingly and bring about changes required for impact.
We envision a day when all impact organizations design purely based on people's needs and realities.
We partner only with nonprofits and funders who seek to preserve human dignity as they go about fostering change within communities.
See how we have enabled: smallholder farmers in Senegal to space crops for higher yields schoolchildren in Kenya to stop drinking contaminated water , or farmers in Guatemala to plant a new kind of maize, fortified to combat malnutrition Working with Appleseed, collaborators may expect: Flexible and energizing work culture Interesting and meaningful challenges and travel experience Exposure to a network of top social impact leaders (doers and funders) Small team of candid, curious, fun, and motivated colleagues To learn more, visit  www.appleseedimpact.org Project Briefings All our client engagements start with part-time remote preparation: internal onboarding of new team members to Appleseed culture and methodology, data / literature review, stakeholder interviews, project kick-off with the Client, and research planning.
Then, we travel to conduct a 2-3 week in-country stint for field research.
This 2-3 week in-country stint is full-time and all-consuming.
This research stint is followed by part-time remote work to complete the Research Phase and Strategy Phase: research reporting, facilitating acceptance of research insights, and co-designing a strategic playbook with the Client.
Appleseed then offers advisory support to be on-call as the Client takes responsibility for experimentation / implementation, based on the behavioral strategy we delivered.
All phases of an engagement are handled by a 2-person team: a Project Lead and a Deputy.
Other Appleseed team members provide thought-partnership and support remotely.
During the in-country research stint, two client-side team members would join our team to conduct mixed-method qualitative research.
Fixers and interpreters will be provided by the client or hired as needed.
We are seeking a Lead Consultant.
However, if you were to join us, you'd initially serve as the Deputy Behavioral Researcher & Strategist (and a member of Appleseed's Core Team would lead client management and all phases of work).
If you and Appleseed agree there is a mutual fit and desire to continue collaborating, you would then lead the next engagement with a Core Team member serving as your Deputy.
Nigeria Project - Our client, based in E. Africa, is Africa's leading producer of educational media.
We're helping them reach more children in Nigeria with their fun and impactful content.
Appleseed will partner with their marketing team to uncover what drives family members to select and show content to children, and then develop a strategy to drive more viewership.
This project will unlock significant impact in Nigeria, a key market.
It will also lead our client to begin using customer research in other countries as well, to inform their strategies.
4-6 weeks remote part-time + 2-3 weeks in-person full-time (international travel required) + 4-6 weeks remote part-time.
Does not include holidays.
Collaborating with the Client and team members in different time zones Target start date: Late January 2025 Compensation: USD $16K-20K Other projects upcoming.
Please apply even if the timing or issue of this particular project is not a perfect fit for you.
Examples of recently staffed engagements: For a social impact organization with a team in Bangladesh: The target audience is low-income adults over the age of 40 y.o.
The behavioral challenge is for them to attend a vision camp to get their eyesight screened, and then for those confirmed to have presbyopia (near-vision impairment), to purchase a pair of affordable high-quality reading glasses.
For a social impact organization based in Madagascar, working to strengthen the public health system: The target audience is parents of children under 5.
The behavioral challenge is for them to travel to bring children to the nearest community health worker in case of cough, fever, or diarrhea.
For a social impact organization based in Rwanda, providing affordable and sustainable earthen flooring in low-income communities.
The target audience is women within the customer households, and the behavioral challenge is daily floor maintenance.
This would ensure impact persists and the organization's reputation doesn't suffer.
The Role: What You'll Do As a  Behavioral Research and Strategy Consultant , you would deliver world-class service to our clients around the world.
This would entail preparing for and conducting investigative research in the field, analyzing data and reporting insights, producing strategic recommendations, and always upholding Appleseed's brand promise to clients.
As part of Appleseed's inner circle of collaborators, you'd have ongoing chances to work on diverse issues, from agriculture, financial inclusion, WASH, infectious diseases, vision, and more, all while getting a privileged behind-the-scenes look at the operations of various impact organizations.
You would also have the chance to learn from and contribute to our model, org culture, aspects of service delivery, and the various techniques we use to uncover and communicate behavioral insights.
Requirements Qualifications The Craft and Expertise of Marketing to Change Behavior:  pursuing mastery in the art and skill of fostering positive and sustainable behavior change.
Significant practical experience and theoretical knowledge in a related field, such as marketing or design.
This requirement is non-negotiable, and candidates will be tested.
B2B Consulting Ability:  ideally demonstrated with years of proven track record, great client relationships, and experience showing the diverse skill set required to run the full project lifecycle.
By "consultant" we mean you were hired by a client (typically another organization) to deliver services and solve problems on their behalf, and NOT as part of an academic endeavor.
Field-Readiness:  ideally this would be demonstrated by having led field investigations researching people in places analogous to where we work (e.g.
rural villages, informal settlements, etc.
of Africa, Asia, and Latin America).
Researchers must be ready to live for several days with and among those living in extreme poverty (possibly in places with no running water, electricity, or toilets, sleeping on concrete floors, while dealing with mosquitoes and the risk of stomach bugs, etc.)
Remote Teamwork Ability:  being self-starting, communicative, accountable, and able to foster trust and belonging within a small remote team.
Strong Writing Skills:  clear, concise writing both in interpersonal communication and in research reporting.
? Responsibilities Client Success:  delivering impact and client satisfaction, by supporting and leading the project team in executing engagements from start to finish, via the following tasks: Unbiased, mostly qualitative, ethnographic research (field and remote) Development of strategic recommendations Leading clients to internalize findings and accept recommendations Guidance on lean experimentation (if scoped) Client management Note: our engagements focus much more on research & strategy, vs. design/build & implementation) Team and Project Management:  maintaining a healthy culture and staying true to Appleseed's core values; managing and training yourself, junior team members, and possibly other freelancers—to achieve objectives on-method, on-time, on-budget.
We trust you to self-filter based on the requirements above and the statements below, so that we may either explore a fit or avoid wasting each other's time!
Culture fit is paramount to us, and we have a good sense of what will / won't work out.
f these criteria encourage you to apply, we look forward to hearing from you!
Please Do NOT Apply If… Your familiarity with the work of changing behavior (however you call it) is more theoretical than practical.
I.e.
it comes more from books, school, academia, or the experiences of others, instead of your own past efforts You're looking for an entry-level or mid-level position You cannot name several different teams that you'd be happy for us to call and ask about how you've collaborated and added value Adventure isn't in your DNA It would be very jarring for you to spend time on a research trip (and possibly spend the night) in a village or urban slum without running water, electricity, or a toilet, while dealing with mosquitoes and the risk of stomach bugs You take significant pride in being a perfectionist or workaholic You consider yourself to be very wise You feel uncomfortable giving/receiving candid feedback and being vulnerable with team members This "please do not apply if" section rubs you the wrong way Please DO Apply If… Practical behavior change (however you call it) is your craft, and it has been for many years, approaching or exceeding a decade or more.
You enjoy and practice all aspects (research, strategy, design), and you always start with the audience If you've worked as a consultant, you've built authentic and lasting relationships with your clients You'd like to join a small remote team doing hard things, and to participate in its growth You thrive in small tight-knit groups, and would help tighten the knitting You're a generalist, even if you're very good at certain things There is no work you consider beneath you You're always seeking wisdom You consider feedback a gift, even when it is hard to give or receive You're more of a leader than a follower, but you're certainly able to follow.
You're an avid reader and would be excited to join Appleseed's Book Club Hiring Process The team expects to evaluate shortlisted candidates before coming to terms with the best-fitting candidate.
Our process will be a two-way conversation to set up a win-win scenario.
Applicants are free to suggest other steps, and we always welcome feedback on the candidate experience.
STAGE If you believe there's a great fit worth exploring, please answer a questionnaire by clicking "Apply for this job" below.
You can expect to hear back promptly.
Select candidates will be asked to have a quick exploratory chat (20 min).
STAGE If we both agree to continue, qualified candidates will be given a fictional scenario and asked to set up, conduct, and record an interview with a volunteer + write up any insights or recommendations.
STAGE Candidates who reach this stage will be given a second challenge, a fictional scenario to prep for a client call and provide feedback for the client.
We know this process will require time and energy investment from both sides, but we think it behooves us to do so to seriously explore a fit.
Appleseed is building an inner circle of trusted collaborators.
If successful, you may expect this one-time exploration of fit to translate into years of fruitful collaboration!
Ready to make a difference?
Click 'Apply' and complete our quick questionnaire.
Or, send questions or comments to  ****** .
We thank you in advance for your time and energy spent applying, and we look forward to learning about you!
Benefits Compensation If you join the Core Team after a successful initial engagement revealing mutual fit and interest: starting annual salary will range between USD $87,000 - $122,000.
Clear growth path to earning over $152,000.
178 Total Annual Work Days (vs. global averages of 225-244 work days) 4 day workweek: we treat Thursdays as weekend days 30 additional PTO days for vacation/sick/holiday paid international travel to conduct meaningful fieldwork + annual team retreat and conferences annual stipends for workspace upgrades, professional development, and healthcare if needed.
Initial project fee in the range of USD $16,000 - 20,000 (negotiable), which includes all applicable taxes.
This fee does not include travel expenses, which Appleseed will cover.