Research Analyst , Global Poverty Research Lab - Northwestern University

What does the Lab do?

The Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) is a research center based at Northwestern University that generates empirical evidence on the effectiveness of policies and programs in countries across the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, China, and Southeast Asia. Our projects examine how poverty interacts with socioeconomic domains such as finance, entrepreneurship, education, gender, psychological well-being, agriculture, and the environment.

We believe we can produce research more efficiently and insightfully by building a common infrastructure - geographic or thematic - upon which to develop our studies and policy analysis. Geographic research clusters in Ghana and the Philippines collect long-term panel data on economic and social outcomes. The China research cluster aims to promote rigorous empirical research on the Chinese economy. Our researchers also work to improve research methodologies for employing surveys, machine learning, and meta-analysis in the context of international development through the Research Methods Initiative, in collaboration with Innovations for Poverty Action. The Lab’s newly launched Evidence to Policy Research Initiative (EPRI) is a multidisciplinary working group of Northwestern faculty who work on policy-related research to understand barriers to evidence adoption in policymaking more broadly.

Our Team

GPRL is co-directed by Dean Karlan, Christopher Udry, and Nancy Qian, professors at the Kellogg School of Management and the Weinberg School of Arts and Sciences’ Economics department at Northwestern University. Other actively affiliated professors include Andrew Dillon and Lori Beaman. GPRL’s research managers, research analysts, and administrative staff support our investigators’ projects, in the process working closely with colleagues at universities, NGOs, and research institutions around the world.

GPRL also works in close collaboration with research teams at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) to coordinate field data collection, disseminate evidence, and create shared training and research resources. 

Job Summary  

GPRL is hiring several full-time Research Analysts to work on projects related to social protection, cognitive behavioral therapy, rainfall insurance and agricultural extension services, the role of social networks in the labor market, and women's mobility, to name a few.  

This position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand experience in managing and analyzing data from a range of sources, participating in research design discussions, and supporting with project management. 

Core responsibilities:

• Cleaning datasets and preparing them for analysis
• Conducting analysis using advanced statistical and econometric tools
• Assisting research managers with project development and dissemination tasks including creating analysis plans, submitting Institutional Review Board (IRB) applications, cultivating relationships with implementing partners, and supporting the development of dissemination presentations
• Presenting analysis to investigators and incorporating feedback into subsequent analysis
• Conducting literature reviews for analysis plans, working papers, and grant proposals
• Supporting data collection and process monitoring by designing and programming questionnaires and conducting data quality checks for ongoing surveys
• Preparing tables and figures for publications and presentations and assisting with paper revisions for peer-reviewed journal submissions

Additional responsibilities as needed:

• Supervising undergraduate RAs as required
• Supporting research staff with Lab-wide management tasks including mentoring new RAs and creating research and training resources

Minimum Competencies:

• Strong programming skills in Stata or in another statistical software combined with a willingness to learn Stata. Analysis at GPRL is primarily conducted in Stata
• Strong quantitative skills (coursework in econometrics and statistics)
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials
• Excellent organizational skills
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English
• Ability to seek resources and self-teach new statistical, analytical, and programming techniques
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and work in teams 

Preferred Competencies:

• An enthusiasm for empirical research
• Experience living or working in a developing country
• French language abilities
• Familiarity with other statistical, visualization or digital data collection software like R/ArcGIS/Python/SurveyCTO is a strong plus

The research analyst will work in an open, collaborative environment with other GPRL staff in our common lab space at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (bordering Chicago). The position offers the opportunity to interact with undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty from Kellogg and the department of economics at Northwestern, as well as research staff at IPA. It is well-suited to candidates interested in pursuing graduate study in economics or other social sciences in the future. It is also a great steppingstone for those wanting to explore non-academic careers in the field of development economics. The research analyst will be a full-time employee of Northwestern University with full benefits (including the ability to take classes at a highly-subsidized tuition rate). 

We are looking for a minimum commitment of two years for this position.