Associate Director, Policy - J-PAL Europe

Reports to: Executive Director, J-PAL Europe

Purpose: J-PAL Europe, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab’s regional office in Europe, gives shape to the network’s efforts to generate rigorous evidence on social policy in Europe and to foster the development of social policies and programmes based on evidence across the continent. We also work with European development actors to draw on rigorous evidence to design better development cooperation, and support the work of J-PAL staff and affiliates in francophone countries. We are based at the Paris School of Economics. 

The Associate Director of Policy will help expand the depth, quality, and policy-relevance of J-PAL Europe’s partnerships with policymakers and donors across Europe, working to support the use of evidence in decision-making. S/he should be able to identify promising partners in governments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and structure partnerships that meet partners’ needs and align with J-PAL’s mission to foster the use of scientific evidence in policy design. 

The job holder will have substantial responsibility for guiding the strategy for policy engagement across the region, and will also contribute actively to our training activities and fundraising efforts. S/he will also oversee external communications, seeking to inform stakeholders about the use of evidence in decision-making and policy impact of more effective programs. S/he will also be a member of the J-PAL Europe senior management team, helping to set and execute regional strategy, playing an important role in day-to-day management of policy, communications, and training teams.

Responsibilities:

• Promote and support the use of randomised evaluations, disseminate evidence to inform social policy, and develop and manage high-level relationships with donors, policymakers, media, and researchers.

• Advance J-PAL Europe’s partnerships with key stakeholders to ensure that evidence contributes to public discourse around some of the most pressing questions in social policy, and to support the development of a culture of evidence use in policymaking.

Lead policy outreach to promote effective social programs and policies informed by evidence:

• Promote the value of evidence-based policymaking, increase the demand for evidence, and translate research into policy, in collaboration with the J-PAL Europe team.

• Lead J-PAL Europe staff in developing, launching, and managing projects that will effectively move research into action through expanded policy outreach and the creation of frameworks for scaling effective social programs and policies.

• Hone sectoral expertise across several sectors (including Education, Labour, Climate Change, Humanitarian Action, Social Protection and more) that are priorities for policymakers, bridging major policy challenges in the region with lessons from the evidence base on those topics.

Cultivate and manage inclusive collaborations with critical stakeholders and funders:

• Develop relationships with governments, not-for-profits, the private sector, media, the PSE community, J-PAL’s network of affiliated professors, and communities affected by poverty to disseminate lessons from randomised evaluations and promote evidence-informed decision-making.

• Oversee new research project matchmaking efforts.

• Represent J-PAL Europe in high-level meetings with policymakers, project implementers and donors, identifying and developing new ideas for collaboration to support the generation and use of rigorous evidence. 

• Deliver presentations and addresses in relevant academic and policy fora in high stakes meetings regularly to effectively communicate J-PAL Europe’s work and influence to high-level decision makers.

Support training efforts to develop evidence use among partners in governments, NGOs, and donors:

• Promote a culture of evidence-informed decision-making by leading the training team to design and deliver custom training for policymakers, adapting pedagogical insights to deliver effective trainings for busy policy professionals.

• Leverage training partnerships to identify broader opportunities to share evidence to inform decision making, or to launch new randomised evaluations.

• Ensure training content balances technical accuracy with accessibility for participants from a range of backgrounds.

Provide strategic leadership to advance J-PAL Europe’s goals:

• Contribute actively to the overall strategic planning and leadership of J-PAL Europe and collaborate with senior leadership at J-PAL’s Global and other regional offices to ensure that best practices are shared and implemented.

• Contribute to the design and creation of new systems and modifications to existing systems to maximise functionality and effectiveness across J-PAL Europe at PSE and to the planning and management of J-PAL Europe’s annual operating budget.

Manage and support talented policy and training managerial level team:

• Manage and help grow a dynamic team of Policy staff working on social policy across Europe and provide mentorship and management support; provide strategic leadership and direction. 

• Plan, manage, and implement project budgets for the portfolio of policy and training partnerships at J-PAL Europe, in coordination with the finance and operations vertical.

• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Requirements:

Minimum Education Requirements:

• Master’s-level or higher degree in development economics, international affairs, international public policy, or related field; or, an equivalent degree in another field with extensive experience in these areas. This should include graduate coursework in microeconomics, econometrics, and development economics.

Experience:

• 12+ years of relevant work experience including work related to poverty reduction, international development, impact evaluations, evidence-informed policymaking, and strategic communications.

• Demonstrated understanding of the processes, drivers, and constraints of policy-making; deep experience working with government, developing or influencing policy preferred.

• Demonstrated strong ability to interact with very high-level contacts in public policy and media, for example, contact with senior functionaries in governments, NGOs, foundations, multilateral aid agencies and press.

• Experience, comfort and expertise in public speaking will be required to represent J-PAL at various conferences and other public commitments.

• Experience conducting and/or supervising impact evaluations including randomised evaluations strongly preferred.

Skills:

• Strategic thinking and ability to handle multiple projects, push forward relationships with external stakeholders, meet deadlines, and effectively manage time.

• Demonstrated ability to distil and diffuse the key messages of quantitative field research for a range of different audiences, as well as to place research findings within the context of broader research and policy conversations regarding social policy in Europe and beyond.

• Demonstrated leadership and management experience, including hiring, training, and managing a diverse team to successfully complete projects on tight deadlines; efficient in managing teams, able to prioritise, plan and organise work in a challenging and dynamic work environment.

• Fluency in English and at least one other European language, including the ability to produce policy memos, research notes, slide decks, and deliver presentations and training material. Fluency or advanced proficiency in French will be a valuable asset.

• Excellent writing skills are required. Experience writing articles for print and online publications and dealing with the media will be a plus.

• Strong analytical abilities and demonstrated ability to understand and communicate findings from rigorous quantitative research.

• Willingness to travel domestically in Europe.