Job Opportunity for Research Associate – Motherhood Penalty at Poverty Action Lab

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.

About the position 

J-PAL South Asia at the Institute for Financial Management and Research seeks qualified applicants for the position of Research Associate to lead impact evaluations in India. The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand field management experience in an organization undertaking cutting-edge development research. The Research Associate will join a team of world-class researchers from leading universities in the world and will gain first-hand experience implementing randomized control trials in an organization undertaking cutting-edge development research Read more about our work and projects here.

Project Specific Details: This project aims to measure how employers penalize women for motherhood-related career breaks by collecting data through an incentivized survey. We are collaborating with a large job-placement firm which is providing data to construct the survey and is facilitating connection with a wide array of employers in tech and other sectors. The Principle Investigators are Corinne Low (Wharton School, UPenn), Madeline McKelway (Dartmouth), Karmini Sharma (Stanford), and Alessandra Voena (Stanford).

Research Associates work closely with Research Managers & Principal Investigators who guide and supervise them in their various tasks.

Key Responsibilities

Research Associates work closely with academic researchers and other field staff to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

• Designing survey questionnaires, conducting qualitative research, running pilot exercises, refining study design and survey instruments
• Supervising data collection and data entry to ensure good data quality
• Overseeing the implementation of the evaluation in accordance to the research design in association with the partner organization
• Ensuring that the project complies with IRB and JPAL data collection and security protocols with the help of the Research Manager
• Maintaining relationship with partner organization at both headquarters and field levels
• Assisting with data cleaning and preliminary data analysis
• Reporting to PIs on all of the above mentioned activities
• Any other task as assigned by the Research Manager, AD Research or ED

Desired Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, education or related fields
• Experience living in a developing country is a strong plus
• Previous experience in development research preferred
• Excellent management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English
• Some conversational-level skills in regional languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Kannada etc.
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and team player
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations
• Knowledge of Stata (strongly preferred) or other data analysis software is preferred
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials/clinical trials/quasi-experiments preferred
• Ability to deal with unstructured and changing environments
• Ability to work independently

Note on Work Authorizations:

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India