Policy and Research Associate - J-PAL Europe

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, and is anchored by a network of some 1,100 affiliated professors at universities around the world. J-PAL Europe is one of J-PAL’s seven regional offices and leads the network’s work to generate and use evidence to inform social programmes in Europe. J-PAL Europe also anchors work with European development actors on behalf of the network to help inform their work across the globe.

The position will be part of the “Development Methodologies chair" established by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the University Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), and held by J-PAL co-founders and directors Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. The chair was established to promote research in development economics in order to shine light on public policies in development. 

The position will be based in J-PAL Europe offices at the Paris School of Economics. J-PAL Europe is looking to hire a Policy and Research Associate to contribute to the development of new research opportunities and new policy partnerships. The participation in training activities is also a component of the position.

This is a unique opportunity for a motivated early-career professional—especially those considering a PhD or advanced policy roles—to gain hands-on experience at the intersection of research, policy outreach, and training.

Key Responsibilities:

Policy Development and Outreach:

• Develop and maintain relationships with key partners in government, international organisations, non-profits, and the private sector to identify opportunities for rigorous evaluations;
• Create and disseminate policy materials, including evaluation summaries, policy briefs, and tailored presentations. This involves reading the academic evidence, distilling the main learnings for policy and writing them in different formats with the main goal of disseminating them to policy-makers;
• Support the development of new partnerships to expand J-PAL’s work and foster a culture of evidence-based policymaking;
• Draft blogs, op-eds, and other materials that showcase the impact of J-PAL’s work on policy;
• Plan panels and participate in conferences and events to promote research findings from funded projects, and coordinate the planning and logistics of conferences, workshops, and dissemination events;
• Support the design and delivery of dissemination sessions targeting key partners and policy stakeholders and refugee-led organisations;
• Draft and contribute to written outputs showcasing funded projects, including research summaries, blog posts, policy insights, and evaluation briefs.

Research Project Development:

• Assistance in identifying potential impact evaluations that may be of interest to researchers in the J-PAL network;
• Engaging with partners to clarify the constraints and prerequisites of impact evaluations;
• Identifying avenues for an evaluation strategy and initial designs;
• Liaising with potentially interested researchers to establish partnerships;
• Where appropriate, support with proposal submissions and fundraising.

Training and Capacity Building:

• Contribute to training events organised by J-PAL Europe for various audiences (policy-makers, project leaders, users of evidence-based findings);
• Work with the Training team to develop training materials.

Professional Development:

J-PAL provides numerous opportunities for professional growth, including:

• Access to J-PAL’s extensive network of researchers and development professionals.
• Training in cutting-edge research methodologies and impact evaluations.
• Travel opportunities to policy and training events.

Qualifications:

Your strong organisational and communication skills, technical knowledge, passion for research, interest in developing teaching skills, and interest in science for policymaking make you an ideal candidate for this role. 

• Education: You hold a Master’s degree in economics, public policy or a closely related field, including coursework in microeconomics, econometrics, and causal inference. Candidates with Master’s-level degrees in other fields may be qualified as long as they have a strong and substantiated interest in quantitative research methods, including randomised evaluations. 
• Experience: At least one year of relevant work experience. Relevant work experience includes: research implementation or research assistant positions. Technical familiarity with randomised evaluations, impact evaluation methods, or research capacity building is strongly preferred. 
• Communication: Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and confidently orally and in writing is required. Ability to build good relationships and work within a team; ability to communicate clearly with a broad range of stakeholders. 
• Evidence synthesis skills: Ability and experience to synthesise academic evidence in outputs tailored for policymakers.
• Languages: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are a must. Fluency in French would be a clear plus. Fluency in any other European language would be appreciated.
• Time management: Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time and meet deadlines. A willingness to work hard, be self-motivated and learn will be essential for doing well in this position. 
• Attention to detail: Strong ability to self-manage a time-sensitive workflow while maintaining high-quality output and absolute accuracy with details.
• Work style: Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and prioritise competing demands to deliver outputs in time and without compromising quality.
• Travel: Willingness and ability to travel internationally required. 
• Cultural competencies: You are comfortable and adept at working in a diverse and multicultural work environment, with colleagues, partners and policymakers from around the world. You display sensitivity, adaptability, and inclusivity in your engagement with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Interest, knowledge, or experience working in the humanitarian sector is a plus.