About the organization:

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) J-PAL was established in 2003 as a research centre at the Economics Department at MIT. Since then, it has grown into a global network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL is propelled by a first-rate team dedicated to research, policy, training, and other vital work, supporting J-PAL's mission to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. J-PAL South Asia, which is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in India, analyses and disseminates research results and builds partnerships with policymakers to ensure that policy is driven by evidence, and that programs proven effective are scaled up.

Job Description:

J-PAL SA supports JEEViKA, the Bihar state’s Rural Livelihoods Mission, in their implementation of the Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) program. The SJY scheme is the first large-scale government implementation of a multi-layered livelihoods program (the “Graduation Approach”) with the objective to scale up the program to 1 Lakh ultra-poor households across Bihar. In addition to evaluating the SJY program, J-PAL SA supports JEEViKA in the scale up of the program through process evaluation research and by strengthening JEEViKA’s data management and use. The Senior Research Associate will work closely with JEEViKA on the SJY MIS data, strengthening data management and use to support strategic and operational decision - making.

Job Roles & Responsibilities:

• We are looking for a highly motivated Senior Research Associate to support our project team and JEEViKA. The Senior Research Analyst’s main deliverables are:
• Support JEEViKA with regular cleaning and analysis of administrative data
• Strengthen the use of the Management Information System (MIS) in the SJY ecosystem
• Developing SJY program indicators that can produce actionable insights
• Build capacity among the wider JEEViKA team to collect and/or analyse data
• Regular attendance and note-taking at internal JEEViKA and J-PAL SA meetings
• Lead on integrating J-PAL SA’s process evaluation activities with JEEViKA’s ongoing M&E activities.

Required Skills, Educational Qualification and Experience:

• A Bachelor's/Master's degree that includes courses in Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Development studies, or related Fields
• 2-4 years of demonstrated working experience in the development/policy sector
• Advanced knowledge of statistics and Stata
• Prior work on MIS systems preferred
• Ability to deal with unstructured and changing environments
• Ability to work in rural field locations
• Ability to work and communicate in a team
• Prior experience of working with a government organisation preferred.

Source:https://www.povertyactionlab.org/careers/senior-research-associate-satat-jeevikoparjan-yojana-program-bihar-j-pal-south-asia-103435