Job Opportunity for Research Associate (Data)- BID – J-PAL South Asia at Poverty Action Lab

J-PAL South Asia, based at the Institute of Financial Research and Management in India, seeks a Research Associate (Data) to support its research activities under the project – Boosting Immunization Demand (BID). We are looking for a high-calibre individual who can leverage their knowledge, experience and passion for data to execute a diverse range of activities with its government partners.

Project Description:

In 2019, The National Health Mission (NHM), Government of Haryana (GoH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with J-PAL South Asia for using real time administrative data for better programme delivery and decisions. Under this partnership with NHM, J-PAL is working to pilot scaling up of a rigorously tested intervention, the Ambassador Programme, to boost demand for full immunization rates in three districts using their m-health platform, ANMOL. The aforementioned scheme was evaluated under an earlier programme called Teekakaran Protsahan Karyakram (TPK 2013-18), which aimed at stimulating parental demand for immunization and finding a scalable solution to increase full immunization coverage. The Principal Investigators on the evaluation of the TPK scheme were Prof. Abhijeet Baneerjee (MIT), Prof. Esther Duflo (MIT), Arun Chandrashekhar (Stanford), John Floretta (J-PAL), Harini Kannan (J-PAL), Mathew Jackson (Stanford), Anna Schrimpf (J-PAL) and Mahesh Shrestha (World Bank).

Roles and Responsibilities:

The Associate will work closely with the Senior Research Associate (SRA) and the Research Manager to plan and execute tasks and activities to operationalize the Ambassador Programme. S(he) is required to be based out of Chandigarh/Panchkula. The key responsibilities include:

• Assessing data quality and conducting analysis of ANMOL and other datasets to identify any gaps in implementation of the platform as well as use the data to inform the scale-up.
• Stakeholder engagement with NHM officials for project implementation
• Assisting the RA on the project with high frequency checks for surveys and primary data collection activities
• Assisting the RA with field training for primary data collection
• Assisting in any data tasks pertaining to different models of Ambassador Program scale-up
• Any other tasks as requested, including desk/literature survey and support in preparation of meetings, presentations, updates to government stakeholders and principal investigators

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in economics, public policy, mathematics, statistics, data science or related fields.
• 1-2 years of work experience preferably in the health sector. Prior experience working with large datasets and conducting field data collection is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of statistical packages – R and STATA is required.

Skills, competencies and behavioural attributes

• A passion for and proven ability to work with multiple stakeholders to plan and execute complex projects.
• Exceptional communication skills, including writing, conversing and presenting clearly in English.
• Working proficiency in one or more languages such as Hindi, Punjabi is highly desirable.
• Ability to work closely and constructively with multiple team members in a collaborative manner and on short timelines.
• Self-motivated, ability to problem solve and to work with minimal supervision and meet deadlines while conducting high quality work.
• Attention to detail and precision. 
• Initiative, resilience and flexibility in adapting to changing contexts.
• A passion for teaching/training and strengthening data capabilities, belief in creating resources for public good and knowledge-sharing.

About the Organization

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of 194 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL South Asia, based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in India, leads J-PAL’s work in the South Asia region. J-PAL South Asia conducts randomized evaluations, builds partnerships for evidence-informed policymaking, and helps partners scale up effective programs. Over more than ten years of existence, J-PAL South Asia has conducted 193 ongoing and completed randomized evaluations.