Policy Manager, Brazil (Affirmative Action) - J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean

About J-PAL:

J-PAL LAC is a non-profit research center that aims to reduce global poverty by generating rigorous scientific evidence on which social programs and policies can make a real difference in people's lives. Formed by a network of academics worldwide, J-PAL measures the impact of programs with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and uses these results to influence the design of public policies. The J-PAL network has conducted evaluations across dozens of countries, organized in 11 sectors. In Latin America, J-PAL LAC supports a growing portfolio of evaluations across the region. 

J-PAL organizes its work into three main areas:

• Research: We partner with donors to create initiatives that fund research. We also implement RCT from data collection to data analysis.
• Public policy: we summarize the results of the investigation, create alliances, and provide technical assistance to governments.
• Training: We lead the executive training and develop a rigorous online education to build regional knowledge.

The local grounding of J-PAL is essential for its success. The seven regional J-PAL offices are located at leading universities on five continents. In Latin America and the Caribbean, J-PAL LAC is headquartered at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC Chile). J-PAL LAC also has a Memorandum of Understanding with Insper for work in Brazil and the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala for work in Central America. 

In 2019, J-PAL founders Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee won the Nobel Prize in Economics "for their experimental approach to alleviating poverty."

Our Office:

J-PAL LAC is based at UC Chile in Santiago, where most of our staff is located. We also have a team in São Paulo, based at Insper, teams in Guatemala and Mexico, and project staff in several LAC countries. We strive for a collegiate, horizontal, and amicable culture where peers can learn from each other and are not afraid to innovate. The office is led by Executive Director Paula Pedro, originally from Brazil, and Deputy Executive Director Claudia Macías, originally from Mexico. Paula leads the office's overall strategy and fundraising and has a more external-facing role. Claudia oversees our operations and develops strategic partnerships, especially with Governments. 

About the team, project, or initiative you would be working with:

The Government Partnership work aims to build lasting partnerships that promote the generation and use of rigorous evidence and strengthen data-driven policymaking. During the partnership, government organizations enhance their capacity to generate and use evidence and data, while fostering the adoption of evidence-informed approaches to reduce gender inequality.

Due to their capacity to reach millions of people, governments are primarily responsible for providing services in most low- and middle-income countries. However, significant gaps in the effectiveness of social spending persist despite growing evidence and data that can offer insights into how to combat poverty and gender inequality. Strengthening a culture of evidence-informed decision-making is therefore critical to improving people’s lives.

J-PAL LAC aims to help policymakers across the region overcome institutional barriers and disincentives to meaningfully engage with evidence and data. This effort is centered on three key pillars:  

• Co-creating and catalyzing the use of timely, relevant, high-quality evidence and data to inform social policy and program design and implementation; 
• Building the capacity of government officials to generate and use evidence and administrative data available to measure their programs; and 
• Strengthening government systems more broadly to enable and incentivize evidence-informed policymaking.

Across these three pillars, women’s and girls’ empowerment is a central theme: the current work in Brazil promotes gender-informed policymaking while exploring opportunities to establish new partnerships and strengthen existing ones. 

This specific position requires close coordination with the LAC regional office and the team focused on government partnerships, led by the Senior Government Partnerships Manager based in Mexico. The person hired is expected to engage with teams in other regions and our Global office. This position will be hired as an international consultant through UC Chile and will be part of J-PAL LAC’s team. We are looking for someone based in Brazil who can travel. The position needs to be based in São Paulo, where we have a team at Insper. The contract will have a duration of one year, with expected renewal for one additional year. 

The Manager will be part of the Policy vertical but will report directly to the Deputy Executive Director (DED) and the Senior Government Partnerships Manager, who oversees our public-sector projects. The person will develop specific tasks related to other J-PAL LAC verticals, with support and supervision from their team.

General purpose and Mission of the Role:

The candidate will oversee current and future partnerships with national and subnational government organizations in Brazil, while defining work plans and strategic priorities to strengthen evidence-informed policymaking. The role focuses on strengthening J-PAL LAC’s engagement with public-sector counterparts by identifying opportunities for collaboration, managing relationships with government stakeholders, and ensuring the effective implementation of partnership activities.

The Manager will translate technical evidence into actionable policy insights and support governments in integrating data and rigorous evidence into the design, implementation, and evaluation of social programs. This includes coordinating across J-PAL’s research, policy, and training teams to deliver tailored support to partners, as well as contributing to the development of new initiatives that promote institutional change toward the sustained use of evidence.

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential to address poverty's complex causes and consequences. To advance our mission, J-PAL LAC must draw on diverse experiences from our staff and affiliated researchers to ask better questions and identify better solutions. We are committed to self-reflection, learning, and dialogue to nurture understanding across differences. Together, we will build an equitable, inclusive culture where everyone is respected, empowered, and heard.

As part of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, this is an affirmative action hiring process. We particularly encourage applications from Black women, who remain underrepresented in many professional and leadership spaces in Brazil. We believe that diverse perspectives strengthen our ability to generate evidence and develop solutions to complex social challenges.

Application Requirements:

• Education: A master's degree in economics, political science, public policy, or a related field, including graduate-level courses in econometrics/statistics, microeconomics, and development economics.
• Languages: This job is based in Brazil, so full proficiency in Portuguese is a must. Intermediate English is needed, as you also frequently interact with the Global and regional teams. 
• Experience: At least three years of professional experience. Deep knowledge of the Brazilian government context is required, as the position's main objective is to manage conversations with public officials and promote and strengthen government partnerships in the country. Experience as a public servant in Brazil is highly desirable.

An Ideal Candidate:

• Strong interest in gender-related topics, as demonstrated by coursework and professional experience, which will be valuable.
• Contextual knowledge about gender dynamics and gender-related programs implemented in Brazil.
• Examples of demonstrated passion for improving public service performance and solving social problems.
• Advanced written and oral communication skills in Portuguese, including policy memos, slide decks, and public speaking. 
• Although you are not expected to have perfect English, your written and oral English communication skills will be considered. 
• Exceptional project management capabilities and creativity in problem-solving. 
• Highly self-directed and able to work independently, while proactively coordinating and communicating with colleagues across countries and teams.
• Demonstrated ability to use project management tools.
• Strong curiosity and interest in topics related to impact evaluations, evidence-informed policymaking, and policy influence.
• A record of accomplishment of adeptly navigating complex organizations and building relationships among diverse groups of stakeholders.
• Flexibility to successfully adapt and respond to changing circumstances, demands, and expectations from stakeholders
• Self-motivated with an orientation towards results over processes.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Formation - Leveraging conversations with government institutions: 

• Conduct strategic landscaping: Mapping relevant NGOs and government institutions for potential partnerships in Brazil. 
• Support LAC’s DED and Senior Government Partnerships Manager for following up on existing conversations with government officials and promoting new leads, especially with government institutions that have a focus on women’s and girls’ empowerment. 
• Represent J-PAL in high-level engagements with government partners, ensuring continuity of ongoing work and identifying opportunities to further strengthen and scale existing collaborations.

Capacity-building and Policy outreach: 

• Under the guidance of the Policy and Communications Vertical, coordinate webinars and events to engage policymakers in Brazil.
• Coordinate the development of tailored evidence reviews on top policy priorities, with a particular focus on gender sector-related topics, and present this evidence at meetings and events with government officials. These activities will be conducted in close collaboration with and under the guidance of the Policy and Communications Vertical. 
• With the support and supervision of the Training and Education Vertical at J-PAL LAC, design and conduct customized training for some government partnerships and adapt training materials for the Brazilian context.

Evidence co-creation & use:  

• Coordinate with the J-PAL LAC office to develop partnership plans for government institutions with greater potential to evaluate and scale programs and policies.
• Match potential partnerships with academics from the J-PAL research network around the globe and provide support for following up on conversations.
• Support academics from the J-PAL network in the incubation process of specific experimental evaluations.
• Coordinate partnerships and project development across government agencies and other stakeholders. Activities promoted for each partnership could include:
  • administrative data analysis formative research
  • Needs assessment of evidence-based innovations and adaptations
  • Incubation of randomized evaluations, and 
  • Technical assistance for scaling programs, among others. 

These works will be conducted in close collaboration with and under the guidance of the Research Vertical.

Systems strengthening and organizational change: 

• Identify and assess opportunities within partnerships in Brazil to strengthen core evidence functions, including acquisition systems; processes for commissioning high-quality evaluations; partnerships with researchers; and the use of data systems for lower-cost evaluations.
• Develop and implement a strategy to embed these components within partnerships, including supporting the establishment of organizational units/innovation labs, and the adoption of policies, regulations, or guidelines that promote the use of evidence.
• Drive alignment with the LAC regional strategy by ensuring that these efforts contribute to a coherent, scalable regional approach to institutionalizing evidence.

Learning and improving:

• Assist with community outreach and communication efforts to disseminate J-PAL knowledge on evidence-to-policy partnerships.
• Coordinate with the Evidence to Scale team to sustain and expand partnerships, while proactively ensuring that activities in Brazil are aligned with and contribute to a coherent LAC regional strategy.
• Coordinate and contribute to the development of J-PAL LAC’s Community of Practice on Gender.

Qualifications:

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Intermediate to advanced proficiency in statistical software, including Stata, R, and SQL.
• Experience writing grant and funding proposals
• Advanced knowledge of and experience with impact evaluation methodologies.

Work permissions:

This position is open exclusively to Brazilian citizens based in São Paulo.

Location:

We follow a hybrid work model to support a healthy work-life balance. However, the candidate is expected to attend the INSPER office on the days agreed upon with the team and to actively engage in online activities involving colleagues based outside of Brazil.