2026 Opportunity: Evaluation Specialist Role at Conservation X Labs – Designing Evidence for Global Forest Conservation
The Evaluation Specialist position at Conservation X Labs Inc is a high-level scientific role focused on building the evaluation architecture for one of the most ambitious conservation funds currently operating across South America.
This work supports efforts to reduce fire-driven forest loss across the:
- Amazon
- Pantanal
- Chiquitania
The role combines statistical rigor, ecological insight, and advanced causal inference methods to determine what interventions actually work in real-world environmental systems.
Mission Context: Why This Work Exists
The organization operates with a clear mission to address large-scale biodiversity loss through innovation and science-driven action.
Key focus areas include:
- Preventing a sixth mass extinction
- Using technology and data for conservation impact
- Supporting scalable, evidence-based environmental solutions
- Integrating social, ecological, and financial interventions
The fire-focused initiative is particularly critical because:
- Fire is a leading driver of tropical forest loss
- Impacts vary across ecosystems and climate conditions
- Interventions must be evaluated across multiple interacting systems
Core Purpose of the Role
The Evaluation Specialist serves as the independent Experimental Design Lead, ensuring scientific integrity across the entire fund.
Main objectives include:
- Designing rigorous impact evaluation systems
- Ensuring unbiased causal inference across interventions
- Structuring multi-site evaluation frameworks
- Maintaining independence from implementing partners
- Producing publishable scientific evidence
The role is designed for someone who can operate at the intersection of research design and applied conservation practice.
Key Responsibilities
The Evaluation Specialist leads the full lifecycle of the evaluation system.
Study Design and Planning
- Validate and finalize experimental and quasi-experimental designs
- Define and lock geographic study boundaries
- Structure intervention and comparison site selection
- Establish clear hypotheses and research questions
Pre-registration and Transparency
- Pre-register evaluation protocols on open science platforms
- Document methodology for replication and transparency
- Define:
- Primary and secondary outcomes
- Statistical analysis plans
- Missing data handling
- Minimum detectable effects
Data and Methodology Oversight
- Coordinate with remote sensing specialists
- Define satellite-based outcome indicators
- Ensure consistency in ecological measurement systems
- Monitor data quality across partners
Evaluation Execution
- Lead mid-term evaluation (Years 2–3)
- Conduct final impact evaluation
- Apply contribution analysis in complex ecological systems
- Assess spillover effects between sites
Methods and Analytical Approach
The role requires strong expertise in advanced quantitative methods used in causal inference.
Common approaches include:
- Difference-in-differences (DiD)
- BACI (Before-After-Control-Impact) designs
- Matching and weighting methods
- Synthetic control approaches
- Machine learning-based causal inference methods
Key analytical challenges:
- Climate variability affecting outcomes
- Non-random intervention placement
- Cross-site spillover effects
- Multi-scale ecological data integration
Data Systems and Remote Sensing Integration
A major component of the work involves integrating environmental data sources into evaluation models.
Data inputs may include:
- Satellite imagery for fire detection and forest cover
- Field-based ecological assessments
- Partner-reported operational data
- Community-level observations
- Climate and weather datasets
Responsibilities include:
- Ensuring cross-site data comparability
- Validating outcome measurement definitions
- Working with remote sensing experts on indicators
- Identifying anomalies or inconsistencies in datasets
Deliverables and Outputs
The Evaluation Specialist is expected to produce high-impact scientific and policy outputs.
Core Deliverables
- Validated experimental design document
- Pre-registration package on open platforms
- Year 1 variability and power analysis report
- Data quality assessment reports
- Mid-term evaluation report
- Final evaluation report
Research Outputs
- Peer-reviewed journal articles
- Policy briefs for stakeholders
- Publication-ready causal inference findings
- Phase 2 scaling recommendations
Required Expertise
The role demands advanced technical and interdisciplinary skills.
Academic and Professional Background
- PhD preferred in:
- Statistics
- Economics
- Ecology
- Evaluation or related quantitative fields
- 7+ years in impact evaluation or quasi-experimental research
Technical Skills
- Strong knowledge of:
- Causal inference methods
- Experimental and quasi-experimental design
- Open science pre-registration systems
- Familiarity with remote sensing (preferred)
Language Requirements
- Fluency required in:
- English
- Spanish
- Portuguese
Preferred Experience
Additional strengths that enhance suitability:
- Experience in tropical forest or fire ecology
- Work in large-scale environmental programs
- Publication in peer-reviewed journals
- Independent evaluator experience (arms-length roles)
- Experience in multi-country research designs
Why This Role Is Significant
This position is central to transforming conservation from assumption-based programming to evidence-based systems.
Key contributions include:
- Building reliable causal evidence for conservation impact
- Improving global understanding of fire management interventions
- Strengthening transparency in environmental evaluation
- Informing future large-scale conservation investments
The work ultimately helps determine which strategies are truly effective in protecting some of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems.
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