Job Description

Location: New Delhi Minimum Education and Experience: Masters\' with minimum 2 years of professional experience Length of Commitment: Two years Start Date: ASAP 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 assists in conceptualizing new research projects. The team works closely with the global J-PAL office based at MIT to align the regional strategy with broader organizational objectives. In line with its mission to create a long-lasting culture of evidence-informed decision-making, over the past decade, J-PAL SA has continuously developed and refined a model of engaging with governments, civil society and implementation organizationsin India which ensures that we continue to build on evidence generation through rigorous research, and most importantly, enable the translation of research into action. J-PAL SA seeks a Senior Policy Associate to contribute to its mission of promoting evidence-informed policy and to support on the scale-ups work being done by the team. J-PAL SA has been working with several state governments and other stakeholders in India to embed evidence-based solutions within existing Government systems to reach millions of households and individuals. Across these different partnerships, J-PAL SA has played a critical convening role followed by a knowledge and learning role that provides continued support to partners for the successful at-scale implementation of these solutions. This role will focus on supporting work on ongoing scale-ups at J-PAL SA including the gender equity curriculum scale-up. J-PAL South Asia seeks a Senior Policy Associate to be a part of a team that will have the opportunity to work across multiple, high-stakes partnerships, including our ongoing engagement with theand the Government of Punjab. While the position will be based in New Delhi, as J-PAL South Asia further expands our partnerships in other states, the Senior Policy Associate will have the opportunity to travel to other locations to support outreach, stakeholder management, policy-research dialogues, and policy gap assessments. Key Responsibilities Supporting the scale-up team on different scale-up projects with the intention ofInstitutionalization of an evidence-based approach to policy: The Senior Policy Associates hired for this position will work in the Scale-ups team, with the aim of institutionalizing evidence-tested programs within governments. This includes: Coordinating and communicating with state-level officials to support the dissemination, synthesis, and scale-up of rigorous evidence-based policies in Indian states. Coordinating with relevant line departments to roll out evidence-based policies based on a nuanced understanding of the government structures. Drafting policy-research memos, proposals, presentations, and reports by working closely with J-PAL SA\'s policy and research teams to support these activities. Supporting the scoping of new states for pitching and rolling out evidence-tested policies through mapping of state priorities. Analyzing and synthesizing relevant policy developments as part of internal memos. Evidence synthesis and dissemination: As part of holding partnerships with government stakeholders, the Senior Policy Associate will work closely with the Policy support Managers to draft collateral summarizing evidence from J-PAL evaluations (e.g., summaries, briefs, policy memos, concept notes, letters, presentations).This will require writing about J-PAL\'s evaluations in relevant documents with clear, accurate, and non-technical language and representing J-PAL SA atpolicy-relevant events and in meetings with relevant stakeholders, to share and present evidence. External partnership management: In this role, the Senior Policy Associate will be expected to: Build an understanding of the various departments that JPAL SA is engaged in recommending evidence to improve policy and manage the partnerships in these departments mid-level government officials Build and manage partnerships with NGO partners - Fundraising :The Senior Policy Associate will support the scale-ups team on fundraising for identifying pathways to scale for new programs as well as bringing evidence tested programs to different states, by drafting grant applications and coordinating with project managers at J-PAL SA to put together grant application materials. Others : Cross-vertical collaboration : Participate in cross-vertical collaboration opportunities such as providing systematic support to an ongoing research project, capacity building of internal staff, etc. Support the J-PAL SA policy team on any other tasks, as needed. Qualification Your technical expertise, creativity, 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 : Master\'s degree (preferably in economics, public policy, public health, or international development). A strong technicalunderstanding of economics and/or evaluation is necessary to ensure that J-PAL SA\'s findings are translated into general policy conclusions in a way that is both simple to follow but also accurate and undistorted. Experience : This position requiresone to two years of relevant experience in addition to a relevant Master\'s degree.Demonstrated experience of working with government partners and other stakeholders will be strongly favored. Understanding Randomized Evaluations : Demonstrate a keen understanding of the value of randomized evaluations and their usefulness for policy decisions. Skills and Competencies Communication: Attention to detail and excellent writing and presentation skills for communicating policy lessons from academic papers in ways that policymakers understand. This requires clear, precise, non-technical writing, and creativity in presentation. Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, and meet deadlines High level of attention to detail Strong interest in international development policy, South Asia development, and/or program evaluation as demonstrated by coursework and professional experience. Language: Fluency in English (written and oral) fluency in Hindi (written and oral) will be considered favorably. ...Candidates must be authorized to work in India.

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