Research Consultant – Reducing Emissions and Air Pollution from Traditional Brick Kilns

 Project Title: Research Consultant – Reducing Emissions and Air Pollution from Traditional  Brick Kilns

 Organization: J-PAL South Asia

 Location: West Bengal, India

 Start Date (Earliest): 5 May 2025

 Education: Bachelor's/Master’s in social science (Anthropology, political science, economics,  sociology, or other related field) with 2-5 years of relevant work experience, preferably with  environment/development projects.

 Language Requirement: English, Bengali

 Length of Commitment: 7-8 months (part-time)

 Location: Remote with preference for someone who resides in West Bengal (for frequent travel within West Bengal)

About J-PAL

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.

About the project

Brick manufacturing is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in South Asia. Past approaches that have relied on regulation or promoting modern kilns have had limited success and highly polluting brick kilns have proliferated since the 1990s. Our team has been working to reduce emissions and air pollution from the traditional brick sector in Bangladesh for over ten years. We have developed a technical intervention that successfully reduces fuel use and improves the efficiency of combustion (reducing particulate matter), while also reducing kiln owners spending on coal and increasing their production of high-quality bricks.

About the position

We are seeking to adapt and expand this approach in India, beginning in West Bengal. To support this effort, we are seeking a Research Consultant who will conduct formative research on the brick industry in West Bengal, analyse the policy landscape, and provide recommendations on the feasibility of air pollution mitigation actions in the West Bengal brick industry.

Key responsibilities

• Develop an understanding of the policy landscape for brick kilns in the state of West Bengal.
• Meet with key stakeholders in the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, Department of Environment, Land and Land Reforms Department, Department of Labour, and others.
• Conduct literature review of efforts to mitigate emissions from brick kilns in West Bengal.
• Identify key issues impacting the the brick manufacturing industry in West Bengal by engaging with the Bengal Brick Field Owners Association, builders, and civil contractors.
• Conduct background research on potential partner institutions and assist in developing a criteria for selecting/short-listing partner institution(s) and in the task of shortlisting potential partner institutions.
• Conduct surveys and key informant interviews with brick kiln owners and association in leaders across regions of West Bengal.
• Summarise all findings in a final report on the feasibility of air pollution mitigation actions in West Bengal brick industry.

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor's/Master’s in social science (Anthropology, political science, economics, sociology, or other related field)
• 2-5 years of relevant work experience, preferably with environment/development projects.
• Experience conducting qualitative research.
• Experience designing and conducting surveys, including designing survey questionnaires, running pilot exercises, refining survey instruments, recruiting, training and supervising field surveyors, and supervising data collection to ensure good data quality.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to liaise with government officials and local stakeholders effectively.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, while also being a collaborative team member.
• Fluency in Bengali and English.
• Preferred: some experience with/understanding of the brick sector or air pollution policies.

Work Authorization

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India.