Job Opportunity for Senior Policy Associate at Poverty Action Lab in New Delhi

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 randomised evaluations to address policy challenges.

J-PAL South Asia seeks a Senior Policy Associate to contribute to its mission of promoting evidence- informed policy. The Senior 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 Senior Policy Associate will support work across these mandates on J-PAL’s Education sector, and other sectors as required. 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 Education sector
• Work with implementing partners and researchers to initiate new randomised evaluations within the Education sector
• Track changes in the Indian policy landscape, and create policy trackers and notes to inform government partnerships in the Education sector
• Support the sector lead on designing and operationalizing the overall strategy for the Education sector
• Provide support to other sector teams as required
• 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 Senior 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 will also be preferred. 

Experience: 2-3 years of relevant work experience. Prior experience in the education sector would be highly valued. 

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 in New Delhi.

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