Job Opportunity for Gender and Governance Research & Policy Manager at Inclusion Economics India Centre in New Delhi

Employer: Inclusion Economics India Centre at IFMR/Krea University
Location: New Delhi, India

Who We Are:

Inclusion Economics India Centre is an initiative affiliated with Inclusion Economics at Yale University, founded and based out of the Yale Economic Growth Center and MacMillan Center. Inclusion Economics India Centre is based at, and accountable to, the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Society, with strategic oversight from Krea University. Inclusion Economics India Centre collaborates with the Inclusion Economics at Yale University team to enable inclusive economies and societies through research and policy engagement. 

Drawing upon economics, political science, and related fields, we conduct cutting-edge research to understand how policy can promote inclusive, accountable economies and societies. Our core research focuses on gender as it relates to labor economics and broader economic empowerment; political economy and governance; and environmental economics. We also aim to build a culture of evidence and increase data literacy in the public sector, strengthening leaders’ ability to identify and implement evidence-informed policies. Throughout the research life cycle, we engage closely with policy counterparts to ensure we address questions of immediate relevance, and we regularly communicate data-driven insights with policy counterparts and the general public.

The Role:

Our ideal candidate has a passion to work with government stakeholders and academic researchers to translate research insights into real-world policy and programs. They have experience in operational and financial management in both the research and policy space, and they are excited to interact with stakeholders of all types, from technical developers to local officials to front line data collectors, to senior policymakers and researchers. They understand how the Government of India (GoI) and state governments work, enjoy working with public sector officials, and are eager to identify the best ways to bring together diverse stakeholders around common development-oriented goals, proactively identifying gaps, communicating challenges and proposing feasible solutions. They are not afraid of doing difficult things well, and of the hard work involved in collaborating with government to implement research-backed solutions to build more inclusive economies and societies.

Responsibilities:

Plan and support implementation of tested research interventions backed by Inclusion Economic India research, in collaboration with relevant policy partners and India and Yale-based teams. This will include, but not be limited to, the following activities:

• Scale-up of technology solutions that have been tested to support policies and programmes of the government partners.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key policy partners, such as the Ministry of Rural Development, to support incorporation of research-backed insights in priority government agencies. Serve as liaison across relevant teams to establish mutually agreed upon research and policy priorities and to implement agreed upon plans.
• Monitor and maintain appropriate data systems relevant to new research, scaling and policy activities to ensure we understand, track and improve our systems to support effective policy engagement.
• Coordinate with product teams to translate inputs from policy partners and identify paths to implement product enhancements.
• Manage activities of appropriately selected technical vendors and counterparts to ensure research-backed tools are maintained, improved, and effectively transitioned over to final product owners
• Recruit, oversee, and guide a team of staff involved in day-to-day activities.
• Manage grants and finances of the relevant portfolios, including identifying funding shortfalls and working with teams to raise funds to support portfolio, and ensuring timely submission of financial reports and projections, and sub-grantee/contract reports and deliverables in the portfolio.
• Coordinate with other Inclusion Economics India staff to identify top priorities and contribute to organizational initiatives and goals.
• Contribute to Inclusion Economics India’s overall management and strategic vision by identifying additional sources of funding and potential partner organizations for the expansion of our research portfolio and supporting grant proposals and related fundraising activities.

Basic Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in relevant field such as economics or public policy. Significant coursework in economics and experience collecting data and implementing applied economic research preferred, with expertise in governance and/or gender-focused issues.
• Five or more years experience in international development or related field.  Significant experience with stakeholder management, particularly with government partners in India or similar setting
• Experience managing team members
• Experience managing research and implementation-focused grants, including with budgeting, expense tracking, project management, and donor engagement
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, and proficiency in written and oral Hindi
• Proven ability to manage multiple tasks and propose solutions in a timely manner with minimal supervision
• Excellent attention to detail
• Capacity to maintain an organized and structured work style in a fast-paced environment, ability to identify, articulate, and address dynamic priorities
• Strong interpersonal skills, and willingness to interact with a wide range of individuals ranging from Research Associates to technical partners, policy partners, academics, donors, research institutions, etc.
• Willingness to learn about policy design and implementation and work towards research-backed policy design by engaging with key policy partners in the government and building strong networks for research-policy collaborations
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment, including accommodating regular interactions with teams across multiple time zones
• Willingness to travel and visit research sites, policy partners, etc., as useful to engagements

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge and ability to conduct basic data cleaning and analysis in Stata and/or R
• Experience with Python (pandas+scrapy), Git, database management, and AWS
• Strong understanding of research design, basic econometrics, and evaluation methodologies, as well as public policy-oriented topics and policy and implementation in South Asia – India in particular
• This position will be based in New Delhi, India, with frequent travel throughout the country. 

 How to Apply: 

If you are interested in this position, please fill out our Screening Questionnaire; you will be asked to upload a single PDF containing your CV, cover letter, writing sample, and academic transcripts.  Label your file “Last name, First name – Gender and Governance Research and Policy Manager”.