Policy Manager – Evidence to Policy Labs (GoTN+) - J-PAL South Asia

About the organisation

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. Anchored by a network of over 1,100 affiliated researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.

J-PAL was launched at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003 and has 7 regional offices around the world. J-PAL South Asia, hosted by the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), Chennai, and has built partnerships for the generation of new research and advancement of evidence-informed policymaking with 20 Indian state and central government ministries, as well as training partnerships with the governments of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

For more information, visit povertyactionlab.org/south-asia.

About the Evidence to Policy Labs

To integrate evidence generation and use within government decision-making processes, J-PAL SA has partnered with state and central governments. Rather than operating as external research projects, the evidence to policy labs work closely with the Government institutions in identifying the policy need, co-designing and evaluating interventions, scaling up evidence-based programs and strengthening the monitoring and evaluation capacity of the partners. J-PAL SA has long-standing engagements with governments across multiple states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Punjab and thematic labs in collaboration with the School Education Department in Karnataka and Gujarat Pollution Control Board, and mutliple central Government ministries and is exploring partnerships with new states.

About the position

To deepen our existing institutional partnership with the Government of Tamil Nadu and expand the partnerships with new states, J-PAL South Asia is looking for a highly motivated Policy Manager, who is passionate about development research and evidence-based policy making. This role is central to J-PAL’s Evidence to Policy Lab engagement, translating rigorous research into real-world policy action. It requires navigating complex government systems, building strong relationships with officials across cadres, and aligning diverse stakeholders toward a shared goal.

You will move fluidly between data and field realities—interpreting evidence, identifying policy windows, facilitating new studies, and supporting the uptake of evidence in decision-making. The role demands strong communication and stakeholder management skills to engage effectively with government, researchers, and partner organizations, and to translate technical findings into clear, actionable insights. It is well-suited for someone who understands the nuances of government functioning, is motivated to drive change within its complexities, and brings the patience and perseverance to sustain progress through the policy cycles.

You will be working closely with the Senior Management and the global team in leading the labs. You will also be working with a broad range of stakeholders including J-PAL partners, NGOs and researchers, donors and international organizations. The key responsibilities and other requirements for the role are as detailed below.

Key responsibilities

1. Strategy and Partnership Development: This would entail developing and leading the engagement with existing and new partners

• Co-design and lead the Evidence to Policy Lab strategy for the ongoing engagement with the Government of Tamil Nadu, working in close collaboration with the Government partners, J-PAL South Asia’s leadership, internal and external stakeholder.
• Guide the internal teams on responding to the policy priorities of the Govt partner around new research, capacity strengthening, and supporting the scaling up evidence based programmes.
• Identify avenues for new partnerships, building and nurturing connects with champions from new states and strategize internal coordinate for initiating new labs engagement.
• Represent J-PAL South Asia in Government convenings, working groups, conferences, and policy forums on the evidence to policy engagements.

2. Institutionalising an evidence-based approach to policy: This will entail working closely on strategic engagement with the Government of Tamil Nadu and other states with the aim of institutionalising a data and evidence-informed approach to policy decisions. This would include:

• Support policy-research dialogues with State Departments: Lead networking and follow-up with government officials in Tamil Nadu and other states to understand their policy priorities and promote the use and production of rigorous evidence. Catalyse new randomized evaluation research by matching innovative projects in the region with J-PAL affiliated professors.
• Evidence Synthesis and Dissemination: Draft internal reference materials and policy outreach materials summarizing evidence from J-PAL evaluations (e.g, summaries, briefs, concept notes, letters, presentations). Write about J-PAL’s evaluations in relevant documents with clear, accurate, and non-technical language. Represent J-PAL SA at policy-relevant events and in meetings with relevant stakeholders, to share and present evidence from the different J-PAL thematic sectors.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain relationships with key partners in governments, NGOs, foundations, and multilateral aid agencies in the region.
• Identifying New Areas for Collaboration: Work closely with nodal departments, including the Finance department, the Planning Department, Chief Secretary's office, and senior officials of line departments to gauge policy windows for collaboration.
• Furthering new policy research dialogues: Frequent in-person interface with line departments, which would fast-track the policy-research discussions we plan to have with multiple departments in the coming year
• Supporting Partnership Management: Working closely with senior members of the Policy team to support with troubleshooting on ongoing projects, help coordinate the Steering Committee meetings and hold regular update meetings with the State. This will also include presenting to senior bureaucrats and politicians of the state, as required.
• Supporting evidence based scale-ups: Supporting the J-PAL SA team in exploring opportunities for scaling up tested programmes in collaboration with relevant State departments.

3. Others

• People Management: Manage and mentor Policy Associates and/or Sr. Policy 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.
• Strategize and amplify the story of Evidence-to-Policy Labs externally by capturing the success and learnings from the E2P labs into compelling narratives, strategic communication products, and high-impact engagement that influence policymakers, donors, and the broader development ecosystem.

Qualifications

• Education: Master's degree (preferably in public policy, international development or economics). A basic understanding of economics and/or evaluation methods 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 - previous managerial experience will be an added advantage. Candidates who have experience collaborating with central and state government agencies as essential for the role. Candidates with similar experience in Tamil Nadu and other partners/Telangana will be strongly preferred.
• Keen interest in engaging with Randomized Evaluations: Demonstrate a keen understanding of the value of randomized evaluations and their usefulness for policy decisions.

Skills and competencies

• Communication: Excellent writing and presentation skills for communicating policy lessons from academic papers to a non-technical audience. 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;
• Experience working with Government partners and a good hands on experience of navigating the government systems.
• High level of attention to detail;
• Strong interest in international development policy, South Asia development, and/or programme evaluation as demonstrated by coursework and professional experience:
• Good understanding of the policy context of Tamil Nadu and the key developmental challenges and Government initiatives would be a bonus.
• Ability to work closely with multiple team members simultaneously and in a collaborative manner;
• Language: Fluency in English (written and oral) and Tamil.

Location: Chennai, India