Job Opportunity for Senior Research Associate – IDEA at Poverty Action Lab

Organization:

 J-PAL South Asia

Location:

 India

Education:

 Bachelor’s
 Master’s

Start Date (Earliest):

 1 August 2022

Length of Commitment:

 One year

J-PAL South Asia, based at the Institute of Financial Research and Management in India, seeks a Senior Research Associate to support its research and capacity building activities under the Innovations in Data and Experiments for Action (IDEA) Lab. We are looking for a high-calibre individual who can leverage their knowledge, experience and passion for data and capacity development to execute a diverse range of activities with its government partners.

J-PAL launched the IDEA initiative in 2018, and subsequently the first IDEA Lab was set up in J-PAL South Asia, with the aim to increase the use of administrative data by governments, non-profits, private firms and researchers for evidence-informed decision making (here). A key component of IDEA Lab’s mandate is to engage in long-term collaborations with data providers, especially government partners, and strengthen the use of administrative data by making administrative data accessible and usable for research through data use cases to demonstrate value as well as capacity building to analyze and use data for better decision-making.

We are hiring a Senior Associate to deepen our ongoing partnership with the Government of Haryana (GoH), the Government of Punjab (GoP), and the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GoNCTD) by exploring the potential for administrative data led research/advisory and capacity building on data strengthening. The embedded staff will develop data use cases across sectors like health, nutrition, and labour markets with the aim to institutionalize the use of data for more effective program implementation and to demonstrate how system-level change can be accomplished. This is a great opportunity for anyone with strong data skills looking to apply them for problem-solving and generating meaningful insights in the social sector.

The Senior Associate will work closely with the Research Manager, Training Manager and Project Director to plan and execute these activities. The Senior Research Associate will be based out of Delhi or Chandigarh.

The key responsibilities include:

• The Senior Research Associate will be embedded within state government offices and work with assigned officials to understand policy needs and the potential for using administrative data.
• Collaborate with the Research Manager and Project Director to understand the policy needs and administrative data systems of the state and accordingly draft requests for data access.
• Assess the data quality and conducting analysis of the labour market and health systems data to identify any gaps in implementation of the platform.
• Engage with relevant officials on different aspects of the project, and to facilitate data access in a secure manner according to agreed protocols.
• Organize, manage, clean, process, document and analyze the data based on the agreed scope of work and needs of the partner. The Senior Associate will be guided by a Manager/Domain Expert.
• Manage and execute any field related operations such as hiring and training field teams, designing questionnaires, managing data collection, etc. for assessing the usability and validity of the data.
• Visualize the data in a meaningful manner and develop presentations/briefs/insights to share with the government partner.
• Work with Research Manager to provide regular updates to the government partner.
• Ensure project documentation and help in building knowledge products/training material for capacity building workshops.
• Build and strengthen relationships with strategic partners and stakeholders on the projects.
• Aid in any other tasks as requested, including desk/literature survey and support in preparation of meetings and presentations for developing new partnerships.
• The IDEA Lab has a flexible and entrepreneurial working style, and there is plenty of opportunity to delve into other specific short-term tasks across the IDEA team’s research projects, per the Associate’s interest.

Qualifications

This is a challenging position and we are looking for someone who is a self-starter, good at managing multiple data projects, an excellent communicator, and has some experience / interest in primary data collection and management.

• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Economics, Public Policy, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science or related fields with significant experience in data analysis.
• 1-2 years of work experience in the social sector, ideally leveraging quantitative data skills in a high performing research, training, data management, data analytics, computation, statistics or monitoring and evaluation environment.
• Excellent programming and data analysis skills in Stata, R or Python, and SQL is required.
• Prior experience working with large public datasets and conducting field data collection is highly desirable. 
• Excellent communication skills and experience working in a collaborative setting is required.
• Proficiency with Github and other modern data management, sharing, and presentation interfaces is preferred.

Skills, competencies and behavioural attributes

• A desire for and proven ability to work with multiple stakeholders and different types of data to execute complex projects and generate policy-relevant insights.
• Exceptional communication skills, including writing, conversing and presenting clearly in English.
• Working proficiency in one or more languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, or Odia 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.
• Willingness to travel domestically frequently and flexibly. 
• 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.

How to Apply

Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application. After completing a brief registration, choose the Research job category, then select Senior Research Associate- IDEA- J-PAL South Asia and include resume, cover letter, transcripts, and two recommendation letters. Note that applications with incomplete submissions will not be considered.You are able to submit your application before your references complete their recommendation letters; however, you must include their contact information before submitting your application. Given the volume of applications received, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.