Project Manager - The India Climate and Health Data Capacity Accelerator - 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 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 project

The India Climate and Health Data Capacity Accelerator (IDCA) is a collaboration between J-PAL South Asia and data.org. The Accelerator aims to create a sustainable and scalable model to strengthen the data capacity of the social sector in India by providing social impact professionals and organizations with the tools they need to catalyze the application of data to address systemic challenges. Trained data professionals will be placed on carefully selected data projects across a variety of social impact organizations addressing priority policy issues at the intersection of climate and health.

Position overview

The Project Manager will strategize and execute the IDCA Fellowship alongside the Project Director of the initiative. The main responsibilities would be to facilitate fellow selection and intake, partnership outreach and stakeholder management for curating projects with host organizations, managing fellow operations, knowledge management, and drafting timely project reports as required. In addition to day to day operational management of IDCA, the selected candidate will also get to directly work on datasets, develop modules and learning resources on data use in development sector etc, as well as work on policy space including curating synthesis reports and scoping documents on emerging policy challenges at the intersection of climate and health in India, the work by J-PAL affiliates towards this and some open questions that J-PAL should continue to explore.

The manager would get to work closely with J-PAL SA’s senior management, evangelizing the initiative within J-PAL SA and working with a broad range of stakeholders including J-PAL partners, NGOs and researchers, donors and international organizations.

Key responsibilities

The Project Manager will be responsible for effectively perform a variety tasks including, but not limited to:

• Supporting in selection of fellows by adhering to the defined selection process and criteria. It involves preliminary screening of candidate profiles, coordinating with the candidates and evaluators for technical assessment, organising panel interviews, and providing inputs for decision-making during final selection.
• Identifying Social Impact Organisations (SIOs) and government partners for hosting IDCA fellows to work on projects aligning with the desired criteria. This involves identifying projects that would serve the goals of the IDCA project of unlocking data for use and demonstration projects, while providing experiential learning opportunities through the Fellowship. Related to partner selection, apply defined eligibility criteria based on assessments of data maturity, demand and other factors such as size, sectoral focus, etc.
• Facilitating matchmaking of selected fellows with the shortlisted projects to ensure optimal outcomes for both the fellow and the host organisation. This involves evaluating the fellow profiles/ skills and project requirements and ensuring a mutual fit.  
• Periodically reviewing program progress against indicators for tracking inputs, outputs, outcomes of the IDCA project and cross-cutting objectives of inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) and disseminating the findings with relevant stakeholders.
• Enable partnerships with the right set of partners (key partners in governments, NGOs, foundations, and multilateral agencies) working at the intersection of climate and health. It involves desk research for partner identification, carry out outreach to desired partners, work alongside J-PAL sector leads and managers to identify and forge new partnerships, and finalise the partnerships through formal agreements. It also involves assisting in the preparation of materials for IDCA initiative outreach work, including preparing/updating concept notes, briefs and presentations for effective partner communications.
• Support in the overall strategic development and design of the initiative, including analysing and synthesise key public policy challenges at the intersection of climate change and health in India and globally, map J-PAL-affiliated research in climate and health, including India-based and global collaborations, identify prevailing evidence gaps and unanswered research questions not currently addressed by J-PAL affiliates
• Contribute to internal and external communications to disseminate progress on the initiative. This involves managing periodic check-ins with J-PAL vertical leads to exchange progress and support required for the IDCA initiative, contributing to publishing blogs, articles and relevant communication material including upkeep and update of the program web page. Additionally, it also involves contributing to donor reporting/ partner reporting of the initiative and to the budget and financial upkeep of the project with relevant stakeholders.
• Efficiently manage fellow operations ensuring smooth experience for the fellows throughout their fellowship journeys. This will include: facilitating seamless communication between the fellows and other stakeholders, addressing fellows’ inquiries and providing necessary support, scheduling and maintaining monthly check-in calls with fellows and the host organizations, supporting the learning journey of the fellows, supporting on administrative tracks, and preparation of program reports, etc.
• Appropriately develop, organize and disseminate all knowledge resources created by various stakeholders of the fellowship. This involves collation of assessments conducted with the host organizations, fellow project deliverables, management of channels for fellow interactions, periodic updating of fellowship webpage, developing case studies and dissemination notes highlighting J-PAL’s contribution to the sector etc. 
• Work independently on datasets, including developing content and modules around data use in the intersection of climate and health, working with large datasets and analysis reports for the initiative (if and when needed), developing training content around data use in development sector at the intersection of climate and health for trainings etc.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in a relevant field (e.g., management, social science, data science, research, or related disciplines)
• Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience (social sector, consulting, government projects, etc.)
• Prior experience of project management is highly preferred
• Strong exposure to Data for Social Impact, Climate Change and Health sectors is a plus
• Strong understanding and experience working with large datasets, data cleaning and analysis and data use in development sector
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team-oriented environment
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present complex ideas to diverse audiences
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritize effectively
• Passion for data and creating a new generation of data talent for the social impact sector.

Location: Mumbai

We embrace diversity and inclusion and strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply.