Policy Manager – Education - J-PAL South Asia

About the Organization:

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty and fight climate change by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 top researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts innovative research and builds powerful partnerships to solve the world's greatest challenges. They build partnerships with governments, NGOs, donors, and others to share this knowledge, scale up effective programs, and advance evidence-informed decision-making. J-PAL South Asia (SA) is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in India.

The Policy team at J-PAL South Asia (J-PAL SA) disseminates findings of J-PAL’s research, develops relationships with government, civil society, and academic stakeholders, catalyzes scale-ups and replications of effective projects, and assists in conceptualizing new research projects. The team works closely with the global J-PAL office based at MIT to align the regional strategy with broader organizational objectives.

J-PAL SA seeks a Policy Manager to contribute to its mission of promoting evidence-informed policy in J-PAL’s Education sector. J-PAL’s Education sector focuses on identifying policies and programs effective in improving access to and quality of education.

Key Responsibilities:

Support J-PAL’s Policy Team in its mission of promoting evidence-informed policy in the Education Sector: This will entail understanding, summarizing, and supporting the dissemination of J-PAL evidence in the education sector; coordinating and communicating with the global policy lead for the sector; and working with government, civil society partners, and donors to promote the production and use of rigorous evidence in the education sector.

• Lead Sectoral Strategy and Policy Engagement:
  • Develop and execute J-PAL South Asia’s strategic vision for the Education sectors, in close collaboration with the Global leadership and Sector Chairs.
  • Identify emerging policy opportunities, design engagement strategies, and guide the team’s approach to evidence use and partnerships.
  • Represent J-PAL SA in high-level policy forums and working groups to shape conversations on evidence-based approaches in Education.
• Support Evidence Generation:
  • Establish and lead partnerships with government bodies at the state/centre level,
  • Lead networking and follow-up with relevant government partners, civil society partners, donors, and media to understand their policy priorities and promote the use and production of rigorous evidence.
  • Catalyze new randomized evaluation research by matching innovative projects in the region with J-PAL affiliated researchers in the sector.
  • Secure buy-in from governments and other organizations to launch pilots and evaluations of innovations in education.
• Support evidence informed policy use:
  • Draft external and internal notes summarizing evidence from J-PAL evaluations related to Education (e.g., evidence summaries, briefs, policy memos, concept notes, letters, presentations).
  • Write about J-PAL’s evaluations in relevant documents with clear, accurate, and non-technical language. Analyze and contextualize research results from J-PAL’s ongoing and completed • Education sector work for evidence dissemination through customized decks, briefs, reports, and op-eds.
  • Represent J-PAL SA at policy-relevant events and in meetings with relevant stakeholders, to share and present evidence.
  • Track policy developments in the Education space and communicate these developments internally to the team.
  • Help prepare senior management for meetings with background research and meeting notes/memos.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Build and maintain relationships with key partners in governments, NGOs, foundations, and multilateral aid agencies in the region.
  • Provide additional support to the P&T teams as needed.
• Fundraising & Strategic Growth:
  • Contribute to fundraising by developing concept notes, proposals, and donor reports in collaboration with senior leadership.
  • Identify opportunities to expand the reach and impact of J-PAL SA’s Health and Gender work.
• Additional Responsibilities:
  • People Management: Manage and mentor P&T Associates and/ or Sr. P&T Associates, giving them support to perform better and prioritizing their learning and skill development.
  • Cross-vertical collaboration: Participate in cross-vertical collaboration opportunities such as providing systematic support to an ongoing research project, capacity building of internal staff, etc.

Qualifications:

• Education: Master's degree (preferably in economics, public policy, education, or international development). A strong technical understanding of education policy and/or evaluation is necessary to ensure that J-PAL SA’s findings are translated into general policy conclusions in a way that is both simple to follow but also accurate and undistorted.
• Experience: This position requires four or more years of relevant experience in addition to a relevant Master's degree. Demonstrated interest and experience in education policy or program evaluation will be considered favorably.
• Understanding Randomized Evaluations: Demonstrate a keen understanding of the value of randomized evaluations and their usefulness for policy decisions.

Skills and Competencies Communication:

• Attention to detail and excellent writing and presentation skills for communicating policy lessons from academic papers in ways that policymakers understand. This requires clear, precise, non-technical writing, and creativity in presentation.
• Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, and meet deadlines;
• High level of attention to detail;
• Strong interest in international development policy, South Asia development, and/or program evaluation as demonstrated by coursework and professional experience.
• Language: Fluency in English (written and oral).