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

Country/ Location: New Delhi, India

Minimum Education and Experience: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with 0-2 years of professional experience (Master’s preferred)

Length of Commitment: Two years

Start Date: ASAP 

Job Description

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 randomized 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 randomized evaluations, synthesizing and disseminating evidence, and supporting ongoing partnerships with governments, international organizations, philanthropic foundations, NGOs and private sector firms in India. The Policy Associate will support work across these mandates on J-PAL’s Labour Markets and Firms sectors – J-PAL’s Labour Markets sector focuses on understanding best ways to support jobseekers enter the workforce and strategies to improve worker welfare, whereas the Firms sector focuses on understanding and relieving constraints to generate firm growth and productivity, and test the impact of these policies on employee welfare, the environment, and the broader economy. 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 a strong understanding of impact evaluation methods (especially randomized evaluations), be passionate about social policy, and have excellent communication skills.

Key Responsibilities

Evidence Generation 

• Identify new stakeholders in the labour/skill development and private sector development ecosystem in India; support managers in building a strategic plan to engage with partners with a view to generate new research and policy collaborations on improving employment outcomes as well as firm growth. 
• Support in catalyzing new randomized evaluation research by matching innovative projects being led by implementing partners in the region with J-PAL affiliated professors in the two sectors.  

Evidence Synthesis and Dissemination 

• Compile insights from randomized evaluations conducted by J-PAL affiliated researchers within the two sectors
• Write about J-PAL’s evaluations in relevant documents with a clear, accurate, and non-technical format for a policy audience. Summarize and translate complex research findings into clear, policy-relevant materials such as briefs, reports, and presentations.
• Assist senior staff in preparing background notes, memos, updates, and presentations for J-PAL SA’s partnerships with governments, implementing partners and donors

Policy Outreach 

• Support managers/senior managers in engaging with policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to disseminate research findings.
• Help organize policy outreach events and workshops to advocate for evidence-based decision making.

Project Coordination and Management 

• Assist in managing and coordinating project development activities for new research projects, including liaising with internal and external stakeholders, researchers, and other stakeholders.
• Support coordination of the development of timelines, budgets, and proposals for new projects, ensuring adherence to J-PAL standards and protocols.
• Support coordination and regular communication to maintain relationships across external partners

Miscellaneous Support to Policy Team and Organization-wide Activities 

• Participate in strategic planning sessions to contribute to the overall direction of the two sectors.
• Stay abreast of current trends and developments on labour policy and industrial policy in India, and communicate these developments internally to the team.
• Support J-PAL SA on public goods within the Policy vertical as well as other verticals.
• Support managers/senior managers and leadership team on other tasks as assigned.

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. Candidates with a master’s degree preferred. 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 working with issues that overlap with the two 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 public policy roles. 
• 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 position will be based out of New Delhi.

***Candidates must be authorized to work in India.