Internships - J-PAL Africa

About J-PAL Africa 

J-PAL is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. J-PAL is based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Africa office is based at the University of Cape Town (UCT) with a satellite office in Johannesburg. A small number of staff are also based in Nairobi, Kenya and Accra, Ghana. J-PAL is a dynamic team of motivated individuals who work with a global network of academic development economists. 

About the opportunity

J-PAL Africa invites you to apply for policy internships with the Education Portfolio, Benin Partnership Portfolio, or Digital Identification and Finance Initiative in Africa (DigiFI) teams. The internships are paid, positions can be structured as either part- or full-time, and the length of the commitment is less than 1 year. The internship location is in-person in Accra, Benin or Nairobi depending on the nationality of the intern and the needs of the team. 

• Policy internship: Education Portfolio

The Education Portfolio aims to improve lives by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. While much of our previous work has focused on girls' education, we have since 2025 expanded efforts into broader education areas. Our team supports governments in designing education policies and programs through the careful application of global evidence to local contexts throughout Africa. The successful candidate will support scoping opportunities for evidence use and generation in the education sector, map potential partnerships, and drive forward our agenda by crafting communications content and engagement strategies for various partners.

This internship is in-person in Accra, Ghana or Nairobi, Kenya and has a flexible start date. J-PAL Africa cannot sponsor work visas.

• Policy internship: Benin Partnership Portfolio 

J-PAL Africa and the Ministry of Development and Coordination of Government Action (MDC) launched a multi-year partnership to support the generation and use of evidence in public policy across Benin. The collaboration builds on the country’s growing commitment to evidence-informed decisionmaking, including the passage of a 2024 law promoting the use of data in policymaking. The successful candidate will support scoping opportunities for evidence use and generation, conduct literature reviews on different thematic areas, and assist with research and administrative tasks. This internship requires fluency in French, and the candidate will ideally be based in Cotonou, Benin or Nairobi, Kenya. The internship has a flexible start date. J-PAL Africa cannot sponsor work visas.

• Policy internship: Digital Identification & Finance Initiative

DigiFI funds experimental research to build the evidence base on the impact of digital identification and payment systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our team builds partnerships with governments and other stakeholders to generate and support policy-relevant research on this topic. To this end, we are seeking a highly motivated and organized intern to support the research programme. The successful candidate will support DigiFI’s Request for Proposal process to facilitate decisions on project funding and assist its project development and evidence dissemination activities. This internship is in-person at our Nairobi office and has a flexible start date. J-PAL Africa cannot sponsor work visas.

Requirements

• A degree in Economics, Statistics, Development or related field OR studying towards a degree in these fields and in the final year.
• For MicroMasters in Data, Economics and Design of Policy students: At least one completed MicroMasters course. Preference will be given to applicants with competitive MicroMasters course grades (75% and above) who have completed multiple DEDP courses (particularly Data Analysis for Social Scientists and Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations). Applicants should indicate which MicroMasters courses they have completed in their application and include a copy of their program record (available through the MicroMasters portal).
• Strong interest in social policy and development research. 
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to meet strict deadlines.
• Excellent communicator.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to speak French, in addition to English, is highly advantageous for all positions, and required for the Benin partnership position. 
• National of a Sub-Saharan African country.