Application Guide
How to Apply for Implementation Research: Adolescent Girls’ Rights and Resilience. Plan International’s Girls Get Equal Programme 2025 - 2029
at Plan International
🏢 About Plan International
Plan International is a leading independent development and humanitarian organization that focuses on advancing children's rights and gender equality in over 50 countries. Their Girls Get Equal programme (2025-2029) is a flagship initiative aimed at realizing the rights, empowerment, and resilience of adolescent girls and young women, making it a highly impactful and mission-driven environment. Working here means contributing to evidence-based programming that directly shapes the lives of girls in seven countries.
About This Role
This role involves designing and conducting implementation research across three learning questions (education, economic empowerment, civil society engagement, and SRHR/CSE) in up to seven countries, generating evidence to inform adaptive management and future programme design. As the research partner, you will produce key deliverables like inception reports, learning briefs, cross-country synthesis notes, and dissemination products, ensuring that gender equality, youth participation, and local partnerships are embedded throughout. The work is critical for ensuring the programme is effective, relevant, and accountable to adolescent girls and young women.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve a virtual check-in with country teams in different time zones to discuss data collection progress, followed by analyzing qualitative data from participatory workshops with adolescent girls. You might then draft a learning brief for programme managers, review a partner's research protocol for ethical compliance, and end the day by joining a webinar on feminist research methods.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Plan International Is Looking For
- Holds a PhD or higher in social science or a relevant field, with at least five years of experience in academic research or programme reviews in international development.
- Has demonstrated expertise in gender-responsive and inclusive research design, participatory methods, and meaningful youth engagement.
- Possesses documented expertise in at least one of the following areas: child early forced marriage, SRHR, education, civil society engagement, or youth economic empowerment.
- Is comfortable working remotely across multiple countries and time zones, and committed to embedding feminist and decolonized research principles.
📝 Tips for Applying to Plan International
Tailor your CV and cover letter to explicitly highlight your experience with participatory and youth-led research methods, as Plan International emphasizes meaningful youth engagement.
Showcase your familiarity with Plan International's Girls Get Equal programme and its focus on adolescent girls' rights and resilience—mention specific countries or initiatives if possible.
Provide concrete examples of how you have adapted research designs in low-resource or complex settings, as the role involves up to seven countries with diverse contexts.
Emphasize your ability to produce actionable, policy-relevant research outputs (e.g., learning briefs, synthesis notes) that inform adaptive management, not just academic papers.
Demonstrate your understanding of feminist research ethics and decolonized approaches, including how you ensure research benefits local communities and avoids extractive practices.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
["Your commitment to gender equality and adolescent girls' rights, linking your personal motivation to Plan International's mission.", 'Specific examples of designing and leading participatory research with young people, especially in international development contexts.', "Your expertise in at least one of the programme's thematic areas (e.g., SRHR, education, economic empowerment) and how it aligns with the learning questions.", 'Your experience producing research that directly influences programme implementation and policy, with a focus on adaptive management.']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Review Plan International's 'Girls Get Equal' programme documents, including the 2025-2029 strategy and any available country-level plans.
- → Read Plan International's research and reports on adolescent girls' rights, particularly those on the four learning themes (education, economic empowerment, civil society, SRHR).
- → Familiarize yourself with the organization's feminist and decolonized research principles, as well as their safeguarding and ethical guidelines for research with children.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Submitting a generic application that does not reference Plan International's specific programme or the role's focus on implementation research.
- Overlooking the emphasis on participatory and youth-led methods—failing to demonstrate experience with these will weaken your application.
- Ignoring the remote and multi-country nature of the role; you need to show you can manage complex, cross-cultural research without constant oversight.
📅 Application Timeline
⏰ Deadline: June 9, 2026
We recommend applying at least a few days early to avoid last-minute technical issues.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Plan International!