J-PAL South Asia - Training Associate - IDEA Lab

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-PALs work in the South Asia region. J-PAL South Asia conducts randomized evaluations, builds partnerships for evidence-informed policy making, 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, based at the Institute of Financial Research and Management in India seeks a Training Associate to support its 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 capacity development, learning and data to execute a diverse range of capacity building activities.

- 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 Labs mandate is to build the capacity of data providers, especially government partners, through conducting customized workshops, trainings and advisory services on making administrative data accessible and usable for research as well as develop their capacity to analyze and use data for better decision-making.

- The Training Associate will work closely with the IDEA Project Director and Training Manager to plan and execute all capacity building activities. S/he will work with the partners to understand their requirements, help assess their capacity building needs and also conduct follow-up surveys to track outcomes.

The key responsibilities include :

- Work closely with the Training Manager to deliver on a range of capacity building activities including advisory support on data sharing policies, customized workshops and trainings on data quality, visualization, analysis and use of administrative data. The tasks assigned will include support on content development, conducting needs assessment, planning and organizing the events.

- Preparing presentations, training materials, manuals and knowledge products for capacity building initiatives.

- Support the Project Director and other IDEA managers in customizing content to suit partner needs.

- Support Training Manager in stakeholder management and coordinating with different partners to identify capacity building needs.

- Support the Training Manager in putting in place processes to execute future activities, documentation, preparing updates etc.

- Any other tasks as requested

Qualifications :

- Bachelors/Masters degree in economics, public policy, mathematics, statistics, data science or related fields.

- 1-2 years of work experience in research, training, and/or monitoring and evaluation, particularly leveraging quantitative data skills in a high performing environment.

- Prior experience working with large datasets and conducting field data collection is highly desirable.

- Knowledge of statistical packages like R, STATA is highly desirable.

Skills, competencies and behavioural attributes :

- Exceptional communication skills, including writing, conversing and presenting clearly in English. Working proficiency in one or more languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil or Oriya 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.

- Willingness to travel domestically frequently and flexibly.

- Initiative, resilience and flexibility in adapting to changing contexts.

- A passion for teaching/training and strengthening data capabilities, belief in creating resources for public good and knowledge-sharing.