Policy Manager - Scale ups - J-PAL South Asia

Organization:
Location:
  • India
Start Date (Earliest):

Start Date (earliest): ASAP

Length of Commitment: 3 years (can be extended based on performance and requirement)

Education: Master’s Degree

Organization: J-PAL South Asia at IFMR

Language requirement: Hindi, English

Location: New Delhi

Principal Investigators (PIs): Multiple

Project: ASPIRE

 

About the Organization:

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) J-PAL was established in 2003 as a research center at the Economics Department at MIT. Since then, it has grown into a global network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL is propelled by a first-rate team dedicated to research, policy, training, and other vital work, supporting J-PAL's mission to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence.

J-PAL South Asia, which is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in India, analyses and disseminates research results and builds partnerships with policymakers to ensure that policy is driven by evidence, and that programs proven effective are scaled up. We have a growing number of partnerships in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

 

Project Descriptions:

To deepen and expand our work in collaboration with state and central governments in India, J-PAL South Asia recently launched the Alliance for Scaling Policy Impact through Research and Evidence (ASPIRE). ASPIRE seeks to bring together governments, donors and CSO partners with the goal of generating new policy insights and evidence to inform the design and implementation of policies and programs that improve development outcomes. ASPIRE is a joint initiative of J-PAL South Asia at IFMR and Veddis Foundation.

Under ASPIRE, the Gender Equity Curriculum is a key project that is currently being scaled-up across States. The Gender Equity Curriculum, developed by Breakthrough Trust is an innovative, activity-based curriculum to promote Gender Equity amongst adolescent boys and girls. The program was rigorously evaluated in Haryana through a randomized evaluation in 2016. Results show an increase in equitable gender attitudes and behaviours amongst both boys and girls with boys showing a higher increase in gender behaviours. The curriculum is currently being scaled up with the government of Odisha and Punjab through tripartite agreements between the Government, J-PAL SA and Breakthrough Trust. The core principles of the Gender Equity Curriculum overlap with the aims and content of national policies like NEP.

J-PAL SA is also exploring pathways to scale the curriculum in different states including capacity building of other NGOs to implement the curriculum in collaboration with State governments. This is an excellent opportunity to impact gender outcomes through school education and obtaining a strong understanding of effects of gender norms and behaviours on students, the economic and policy issues relating to gender and education and what it takes to scale evidence-based programs through governments.

 

About the position:

J-PAL South Asia at the Institute for Financial Management and Research seeks qualified applicants for the position of Policy Manager (PM). The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand overall program management and in-depth experience of working with NGOs and the government machinery as a representative of an organization undertaking cutting-edge development research. The position also offers the opportunity for growth through dedicated mentorship programs and an opportunity to increase managerial skills to be able to mentor and manage associates working on the project. The PM will primarily work on scaling up the Gender Equity Curriculum in collaboration with Breakthrough and other NGO partners and will also contribute towards other scale-up projects under ASPIRE. The additional projects focus on Gender, Crime Violence and Conflict, and Education as thematic areas.

The PM will report to the Senior Policy Manager and work closely with the ASPIRE Unit Director, Principal Investigators (PIs), the Research and Policy Team at J-PAL SA. 

The PM will represent the J-PAL SA team within the ecosystem of Governments, NGO partners, donors and play a critical role in supporting overall learning and knowledge development within the ASPIRE unit. The PM should have previous experience of working closely with governments and NGOs and in preparing high quality knowledge products. The

 

Key Responsibilities 

The Policy Manager will work closely with program stakeholders including NGO Partners, Government, donors, J-PAL SA policy team, academic researchers assigned to the project and other staff to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

Management of Scale-up project:

   Oversee and drive the achievement of programmatic deliverables of the ongoing scale-ups in Punjab and Odisha

   Work closely with the Senior Policy Manager to strategize and identify avenues to expand the scale of the program

   Collaborate with different stakeholders including governments and NGO partners to ensure smooth running of program

    Bring together a collaborative to share, learn and iterate the intervention for scale and managing expectations of stakeholders with varying motivations

    Define and implement a knowledge management strategy for the gender equity curriculum scale-up in collaboration with Breakthrough

    Ensure dissemination of necessary information to promote the learnings and highlights from current scale-ups and expansion to new states

    Ideate, drive and develop high-quality knowledge products in collaboration with other team members

People Management: Manage and mentor Policy Associates and/ or ASPIRE Fellows 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.

Work closely with the Senior Policy Manager and ASPIRE Unit Director, as needed, on planning and implementing other scale-up projects

Provide inputs to drive J-PAL SA’s overall strategy for scaling up evidence based projects and participate in external meetings with relevant stakeholders

Maintain compliance with all J-PAL SA protocols and policies.

 

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

Master's degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, or related fields

Relevant Experience-5 years or more

Willingness to travel

Excellent management/ organizational skills and able to solve unexpected problems

Ability to persuasively and accurately describe our work orally and in writing in a manner that builds enthusiasm and motivates others to want to partner with us. Outstanding writing skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy related to preparation of materials and presentations

Familiarity with RCTs

Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and team player 

Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations focusing on building and strengthening relevant networks

Ability to deal with unstructured and dynamic environments

Prior experience in conducting process evaluation assessments

Enterprising in building coalitions and partnerships

Proven ability to handle several different tasks at one time, successfully plan, and complete tasks, and meet deadlines while ensuring high quality work

 

Note on Work Authorizations:

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India.

How to Apply

If you are interested in this position, please click on the apply button on the JD here; the first-time users will be asked to sign up and upload the CV, cover letter, and academic transcripts (optional).


For any queries, please write to [email protected].