J-pal South Asia
Location
India | India
Job description
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.
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.
J-PAL South Asia is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, family status, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and other attributes protected by law. We strongly encourage people from marginalized communities to apply for this role.
Project Specific Details
This role involves work on two related projects on construction workers, in collaboration with the Labor Department of the Government of Odisha. The projects are studying (i) access to welfare programs for construction workers, and (ii) network complementarities in construction workers' labor supply decisions. In particular, in the first project, the team is interested in understanding errors of inclusion and exclusion in access to welfare programs, and what costs construction workers face in registering for these programs and obtaining these benefits. In the second project, they are focusing on whether migrant workers in spot labor markets are more likely to accept jobs when they are offered in groups such that they can work with those in their pre-existing networks. The RA on this project will get exposure to a wide range of topic areas in a short period of time, working across themes of targeting and social protection, as well as labor economics.
The RA will work with the Research Manager & Principal Investigators, who will guide and supervise them in their various tasks. The PIs for this project are, a PhD student at University of California, San Diego, and, a PhD student at Harvard University. Sabareesh and Kartik have both experimental and observational projects in development economics, and have both previously been RAs at J-PAL South Asia.
Key Responsibilities
Research Associates work closely with academic researchers and other field staff to perform a variety tasks including, but not limited to:
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 Odia strongly preferred
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 or R preferred
Familiarity with randomized controlled trials/clinical trials/quasi-experiments preferred
Ability to deal with unstructured and changing environments
Note on Work Authorizations
Candidates must have work authorization to work in India.
Job tags
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