Job Opportunity for Research Associate – Improving Opioid De-addiction Protocols at Poverty Action Lab

Organization:

J-PAL South Asia

Location:

India

Education:

Bachelor’s
Master’s

Start Date (Earliest):

1 August 2022

Language Requirement:

English
Punjabi

Length of Commitment:

One year

J-PAL South Asia at the Institute for Financial Management and Research seeks qualified applicants for the position of Research Associate (RA) for the project “ Improving Opioid De-addiction Protocols in India”, based in Punjab, India. The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand data and field management experience in an organization undertaking cutting-edge development research. 

The project focuses on the prevention of substance abuse and addiction among Punjabi youth. The project team is developing an intervention which entails a set of edutainment videos (media designed to educate through entertainment) that aim to change youth’s beliefs about the desirability, “coolness”, addictiveness, and the other dangers of taking drugs. The impact of the intervention will be tested through a randomized evaluation.

 The RA will report to the Principal Investigators (PIs) from University of California, Berkeley and work under their direct supervision. The position entails significant travel within the state of Punjab. The RA needs to be experienced and very comfortable in conducting field work (typically managing large field teams), desk analysis and literature reviews, and maintaining strong relationships with the government partners. Candidates with knowledge of coding to process, analyze and visualize data will be further prioritized.

Key responsibilities: 

• Desk research: Conduct intensive literature reviews, reaching out to researchers and implementers for information and support on measuring outcomes directly linked to opioid usage. 
• Planning and overseeing development of implementation materials (short films and videos) via rigorous inputs and feedback to video producers and contestants. 
• Designing survey questionnaires, conducting qualitative research, running pilot exercises, refining study design and surveying instruments. 
• Overseeing implementation of the evaluation in accordance with the research design.
• Managing teams: Recruit, train, and supervise both field-based and data operations teams consisting of project assistants, field managers, field-based surveyors, data entry operators and other field and office staff. 
• Supervising data collection and data-entry, and ensuring data quality and productivity. 
• Maintaining relationships with partner organizations. 
• Reporting to PIs on all of the above mentioned activities. 
• Maintain compliance with all J-PAL protocols and policies with specific focus on all protocols and guidelines laid down by J-PAL admin and finance, and research operations verticals. 
• Any other task as assigned by the Research Manager, AD Research or ED. 

Qualifications: 

• Fluency in Punjabi (required; native speakers preferred) 
• Proficiency in English (required) 
• Working proficiency in R/ Stata (desired) 
• Ability to create neat, replicable, documented code. Ability to sanity-check code, resolve bugs and handle problems independently (desired) 
• Social science background (B.A. or higher) 
• Prior fieldwork experience (required) 
• Prior experience in government stakeholder management (highly desired) 
• Qualitative research skills in interviewing and/or focus group discussions (highly desired) 
• Willingness to travel within assigned state (required)

How to Apply

Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application. After completing a brief registration, choose the Research job category, then select Research Associate –  Improving Opioid De-addiction Protocols- J-PAL South Asia and include resume, cover letter, transcripts, and two recommendation letters. Note that applications with incomplete submissions will not be considered.

Send CV, cover letter, code sample (desired) and writing sample (report/paper/analytical article) to: suddhasatwa.bhattacharya@ifmr.ac.in 

You are able to submit your application before your references complete their recommendation letters; however, you must include their contact information before submitting your application. Given the volume of applications received, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.