Job Opportunity for Research Associate at RightWalk Foundation in Lucknow

Number of Positions:

1

Salary Range:

As per Industry Standards and Candidate Experience

Job Description:

RightWalk Foundation’s core mission involves driving Equity, Inclusion & Social Justice by co-shaping public policies and translating them into action. We practice Systems Thinking approach for institutional reform by partnering with system leadership, lawmakers and communities. We work closely with the State Government and have been instrumental in unlocking RTE 12.1(c) policy in the State thereby impacting over 5.30 lakh children from vulnerable communities in the last five years.

We have been listed amongst the country’s top 50 Education leaders in 2020 and top 26 NGOs in India impacting Education in 2016 by the Education World magazine.

Purpose of the Role

As a Research Associate at RightWalk, you will take work upon complex research projects independently within our vision framework. You will proactively understand the context of the research ask, primarily around public policies, and deliver actionable insights for RWF’s proposals for growth, expansion and internal development initiatives. You will demonstrate a deep understanding of the Practice Area to RWF’s Strategy and Growth team.

Areas of responsibility

The list mentioned below provides more detailed descriptions of the role to be performed. It is not exhaustive but illustrates the scope of responsibilities and provides insight into other tasks that may be required or assigned as per need.

• Work closely with the Senior Management to curate an exhaustive list of tentative public policies for the organization to work upon. This will be done in alignment with the organization’s vision & mission.
• Design the research metrics for evaluating the policies.
• Evaluate the policies and create a detailed comparative evaluation document.
• Share insights while analysing the comparative evaluation document.
• Create a relevant pitch document & operational plan around the finalized policy for presenting it to the Government and other stakeholders.
• Support in identification of potential strategy areas, developing proposals and undertaking meaningful research to support expansion across policies, in collaboration with operations & communication team.
• Support secondary research for research projects and project implementation.
• Assist/Help the Lead in data analysis for various projects and reports.
• Support outreach activities such as preparing discussion papers, brochures, writing online posts, etc.
• Create budgets for new projects with support from the Strategy and Finance team and support the program team in program management.
• You will deliver high-quality research on inbound (and curated) research requests for strategy teams.
• Identify opportunities to deliver “beyond-the-ask” and to deliver more dimension with coordination with seniors in the team.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities

• Post Graduate in Public Policy, Development Studies or relevant field.
• 2 to 5 years of experience working in the public policy space. Experience of working with government will be preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, strong presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently and proactively, without support staff and with little supervision.
• Strong planning and organizational skills, and an ability to be able to set priorities, plan timelines and meet deadlines.
• Top-shelf research and analytical skills
• Ability to work with a wide array of platforms including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint; to be able to provide insights in the most user-friendly format.
• An understanding about development sector.

Desired Qualities

• Entrepreneurial spirit and ‘get-it-done’ attitude.
• Operating style suited to working in a small organization setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued.
• Excellent leadership skills, including ability to manage multiple projects at a time.

Personal Attributes

• Strong alignment with RWF’s mission of driving Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice in building stronger education ecosystems in India.
• Results-focused with a strong sense of ownership.
• Enjoys working under pressure: flexible, highly organized and able to prioritize work to meet deadlines.
• Self-motivated and a good team player.
• Openness to listen, learn and contribute beyond the confines of this role.

Compensation

Remuneration will be competitive and will depend upon the candidate’s experience level.

RWF is an equal opportunity employer with social inclusion as a key value. We do not discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, caste, color, creed, religious beliefs, appearance, and socio-economic background and encourage diversity at the workplace.

Competency:

Strategic & Critical thinking, Research skills, communications, Analytical skills, Ethical conduct