Job Opportunity for Policy Associate – Labour Markets and Firms at Poverty Action Lab in New Delhi

Organization:

 J-PAL South Asia

Location:

 India

Education:

 Bachelor’s
 Master’s

Start Date (Earliest):

 1 June 2022

Length of Commitment:

 Two years

The Policy team at J-PAL South Asia (J-PAL SA) at the Institute for Financial and Management Research (IFMR) disseminates findings of J-PAL’s research; engages with governments, civil society, and academic stakeholders; catalyzes scale-ups and replications of effective projects; and supports the setting up of new randomised evaluations to address policy challenges.

J-PAL South Asia seeks a Policy Associate to contribute to its mission of promoting evidence-informed policy. The Policy Associate will support the Policy team’s mandates of initiating new randomised evaluations, synthesising and disseminating evidence, and supporting ongoing partnerships with governments, international organizations, philanthropic foundations and NGOs in India. The Policy Associate will support work across these mandates on J-PAL’s Labour Markets and Firms sectors.  The position will provide the right candidate with exposure to a vast array of partners and projects on the evidence-to-policy spectrum within these two sectors.

Candidates should have an understanding of impact evaluation methods (especially randomised evaluations), be passionate about social policy, and have excellent communication skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Work closely with the J-PAL SA policy team to support the generation, dissemination and synthesis of J-PAL’s evidence for the two sectors
• Work with implementing partners and researchers to initiate new randomised evaluations within the two sectors
• Track changes in the Indian policy landscape, and create policy trackers and notes to inform government partnerships in the two sectors 
• Contribute to designing and operationalizing the overall strategy for the two sectors
• Write about J-PAL’s evaluations in relevant documents with a clear, accurate, and non-technical format for a policy audience
• Assist senior staff in preparing background notes, memos, updates, and presentations for J-PAL SA’s partnerships with governments, implementing partners and donors
• Support J-PAL SA on public goods within the Policy vertical as well as other verticals

Qualifications

Your technical expertise, keen eye for detail, strong communication and organizational skills, passion for translating research into action, and interest in international development make you an ideal candidate for the position of Policy Associate.

Education: While candidates with a bachelor’s/master’s degree from different fields can apply, training in statistics is a minimum requirement. A technical understanding of impact evaluations is necessary to ensure that J-PAL’s findings are translated into general policy conclusions in a way that is both simple to follow but also accurate and undistorted. Strong interest in international development policy, South Asia development, and/or program evaluation as demonstrated by coursework and professional experience is required. Strong interest in Labour Markets and Firms sectors and prior experience in the same will be preferred.

Experience: 0-2 years of relevant work experience. You may be a recent graduate with related internships, or you may have previous experience in research and/or policy. 

Communication: You are detail-oriented and are comfortable with public speaking. You understand how to communicate policy lessons from technical academic work.

Attitude: You are willing to learn, and are passionate about international development policy and the rigorous research that informs it. You are self-motivated, work hard, and enjoy working in teams.

 The candidate will be based in New Delhi.

*Candidates must be authorized to work in India.

How to Apply

Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application. On the ‘Submit Application’ page, please select the Policy Associate’ position at J-PAL South Asia. 

On the documents page, please upload PDF files of your cover letter, CV, transcripts for the Policy Associate position with the filename “Policy Associate_SA_Last Name_First Name”, and click submit.
In addition, we require two letters of recommendation. If you do not think your references will be submitted before the application deadline, please submit your application without the recommendation letters. However, please be advised that we will be requiring them should you be invited for an interview.  

Short-listed applicants will be asked to complete a written test and may subsequently be called in for an interview.