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Policy & Research Associate - J-PAL North America

Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
Email
Organization: J-PAL North America
Country: United States of America
Education: Some post-secondary education Bachelor's
Start Date (Earliest): 1 September 2020
Language Requirement: English
Length of Commitment: More than two years

About J-PAL North America
J-PAL North America, a policy lab within the Economics department at MIT, seeks a Policy & Research Associate to join its remote California-based team and contribute to its mission to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. J-PAL North America conducts randomized evaluations, builds partnerships for evidence-informed policymaking, and helps partners scale up effective programs. As a regional office of the global Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, J-PAL North America leverages research by affiliated professors from universities across the world to generate and disseminate rigorous evidence about which anti-poverty social policies work and why. 

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
At J-PAL North America we understand that inequity is often institutionalized into policies and systems, and that these inequities contribute to cycles of poverty and a lack of opportunity for a great portion of the population, particularly women, people of color and other marginalized populations. We approach our work with the following staff values and are actively engaged in creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture where everyone can feel a sense of belonging and effectively contribute to the work. We seek applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences that can help to broaden our perspective and approach to economics research and policy.  
To learn more about our work and team culture, visit www.povertyactionlab.org/na.  
Opportunity Overview
As a member of the J-PAL North America team, you’ll be part of a Nobel-prize winning scientific movement that can transform US policy making. Our Policy & Research Associate plays an important role in this work, working directly with J-PAL North America’s Executive Director on a range of special projects and working closely with the Associate Director of Policy to provide policy and communications support. The Policy & Research Associate will provide sophisticated and timely inputs into policy outreach activities, desk research, external relations and fundraising to directly support the Executive Director’s work with program partners, researchers, donors and staff at J-PAL’s Global and regional offices. In addition, the Policy & Research Associate is responsible for assisting the Associate Director of Policy with research projects, preparing external presentations, writing and copy-editing media communications, grant proposals and policy briefs, and supporting relationship management with J-PAL North America researchers and other key stakeholders.

For our Policy & Research Associate position, we are looking for candidates with an understanding of impact evaluation, training in economics and statistics, knowledge about social policy, excellent oral and written communication skills, attention to detail, strong project management skills, and who can take ownership of their work independently and collaborate effectively with other members of the team.

Responsibilities

Policy Synthesis and Outreach (35%): 
  • Draft blogs, newspaper articles, video scripts, op-eds, and other communications materials about J-PAL North America’s research and policy work on behalf of the Executive Director and Associate Director of Policy
  • Work directly with J-PAL North America staff and outside partners on translating academic findings for general audiences on a variety of platforms, from social media to policy briefs
  • Prepare correspondence to collaborators, including researchers, donors (foundations and individuals), and partners
Conduct policy analysis and write and copy-edit policy briefs Desk Research (25%):
  • Perform research on issues relevant to J-PAL North America, such as trends in economics, recent topical papers, background on potential donors, etc
  •  Work with J-PAL North America policy sector leads to stay on top of the most recent academic findings and debates in our field
  • Connect with appropriate researchers’ assistants as needed to gain further insights into current research
Keep up to date and provide briefings of news and social media of interest to J-PAL North America, including blogs, Twitter accounts, and so forth Presentation and Meeting Preparation (20%):
  • Organize input from staff members on relevant research to get complete background information for meetings, conferences, and similar events
  • Draft powerpoint presentations for speeches at external events, coordinating with other technical and design staff and bringing in background research as needed
Brief Executive Director and Associate Director of Policy on upcoming meetings, including creating summaries of background material Fundraising support (20%):
  • Coordinate fundraising strategy and individual stakeholder engagement, in collaboration with the Executive Director, Associate Director of Policy, Development Coordinator and other staff as appropriate
  • Assist with grant proposals and reporting as needed
  • Coordinate planning and outreach for policy and fundraising events as needed
  • Other duties as assigned

Compensation & Benefits
This full-time, exempt position is classified by MIT as a Technical Associate I position and currently offers a fixed market-based salary range that is based on experience.
J-PAL North America staff are MIT employees, which means they are eligible for a wide array of institutional benefits. Some of these MIT benefits include comprehensive health insurance, a 401(k) match up to 5% of salary plus a pension-based retirement plan, tuition assistance up to $5,250 per calendar year, commuter benefits, access to MyLifeServices, a generous vacation policy (3 weeks of paid vacation in your first year, and 4 weeks every year after that, plus an additional 12+ paid Institute-wide holidays per year), paid leave for sick time, maternity and parental leave, back-up child care benefits and much more.

Professional Development
J-PAL North America supports a culture of learning, with opportunities to attend weekly seminars, engage in small-group discussions with other J-PAL staff, participate in workshops, and take classes for credit at MIT or elsewhere with our generous tuition assistance program. Policy & Research Associates have the opportunity to work with J-PAL affiliates and directors, as well as interact with policymakers and practitioners.  

Qualifications

Commitment to Mission & Values: Cares personally and deeply about policy that has the potential to reduce poverty and the rigorous research that informs it. Demonstrates interest in poverty alleviation in the North American (primarily the United States) context in particular. Demonstrates a commitment to J-PAL North America’s values. Education: A bachelor’s degree in economics, public policy, statistics, or a closely related field is required, as is training in statistics and quantitative methods and training in effective non-technical writing.  
Experience: This is a junior-level position generally occupied by recent college or master program graduates, which requires demonstrating the equivalent of 2 years of relevant work experience, which can include experience gained through part-time work, college level coursework, related internships, volunteer experiences, research assistant or teaching assistant experience and/or policy work. Prior demonstrated experience working with communities of color and/or those experiencing poverty in North America is a plus.
Technical Skills: Actively demonstrates the technical skills and expertise to successfully execute tasks to which they are assigned and can apply those skills/expertise in different formats and to various types of audiences, including the ability to accurately explain basic concepts related to randomized evaluation and other impact evaluation methodologies with minimal support and accurately explain research design, study implementation, results, and/or data systems on assigned projects. Ability to use Microsoft office and/or Google applications and comfort learning new applications is required. 
Ownership of Work: Takes responsibility/is accountable for effectively completing assigned discrete tasks or projects with high attention to detail under direct supervision. Produces high quality work in the time expected; identifies and follows up with stakeholders as needed to ensure assignments are completed on time.
Written Communication: Accurately and succinctly communicates in writing with J-PAL staff and stakeholders on assigned projects with minimal supervision from senior-level staff. Clearly communicates technical information to non-technical audiences.  
Oral Communication: Demonstrates strong active listening skills and accurately and succinctly communicates information orally to staff and external partners with minimal supervision from senior-level staff. 
External Stakeholder Relations: Supports partnership development between researchers and potential implementing partners and/or maintains relationships with existing stakeholders under supervision from researchers or managers. 
Task & Project Management: Takes on a process-oriented task, plans and organizes work, delegates appropriately, coordinates with others, establishes appropriate priorities and timelines, exercises follow through, and adds overall value to the process. 
Problem Solving/Decision Making: Demonstrates adeptness at analyzing facts, judgment, and strong decision-making ability. Responds to problems, issues, and opportunities that are identified by supervisors. Collaborates to identify a solution or response.  
Travel: Willingness and ability to travel as needed locally and in the US (usually minimal) to attend events or participate in meetings. 


How to Apply


Ready to join a team of collaborative, inclusive, and inquisitive colleagues? Apply now.  This position will be remote until at least January 1, 2021, and eventually may be based in a collaborative work-space or more permanent office space in the San Francisco/Emeryville/Oakland area. This position is not eligible for any type of visa sponsorship.
Submit an application via MIT’s human resources system. Visit http://jobs.mit.edu/external, search for job ID 18790 (Policy & Research Associate - J-PAL North America), and complete an application. 
In a single PDF uploaded to the resume field, please include:
  1. Cover letter addressing: 
  2. What experiences you have had that demonstrate that you are able to work with communities experiencing poverty 
  3. Your interest in poverty alleviation in the North America region, especially in the US 
  4. Your qualifications, and how they have prepared you to be effective in the Policy & Research Associate role
  5. Your experience in writing effectively for policy and practitioner audiences, including your experience in using inclusive language that resonates with diverse communities.
  6. Resume
  7. Transcripts (unofficial is fine) 
We will begin reviewing applications on a rolling basis as we receive them. Short-listed applicants will be asked to complete a technical exercise and phone interview. Finalists will be called for a final interview.
MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.