Senior Human Resource Associate- J-PAL Global

About J-PAL:

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 more than a thousand affiliated researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty

The Sr. HR Associate is based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, and coordinates HR activities, including employee relations, rewards and recognition, onboarding, diversity and inclusion, recruitment, performance management, and compensation, at J-PAL. 

 Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions**): 

• Partners with J-PAL Global hiring managers on the recruitment and hiring process and serves as the lead project manager for recruitment and hiring, setting clear timelines and delegating roles and responsibilities to other staff as appropriate. Works with hiring managers on drafting job descriptions, preparing interview questions, and screening matrices. Tracks open positions in the applicant tracking system. Develops search plans, posts jobs, and conducts candidate outreach on appropriate external recruiting sites. Screens resumes, develops interview schedules, coordinates interviews, and checks references. Prepares and submits search reports to MIT.
• Manage planning and coordination for recruitment efforts undertaken by staff, including assigning fall recruitment travel (primarily to university job fairs) for J-PAL staff and maintaining relationships with career representatives at top schools.
• Facilitates the recruitment process by advising hiring managers on advertising, posting, interviewing, and reference checking. Schedules interviews, screens resumes, and prepares interview and offer documentation.
•  Post jobs on the J-PAL website for J-PAL Global, Regional Offices, affiliated professors, and select partners, and serve as the first point of contact for job postings, responding to inquiries from hiring managers and interested applicants.
• Ensure J-PAL recruitment processes align with MIT's hiring guidelines by training managers on established MIT procedures, partnering with them to create and post roles, and revising position descriptions to comply with MIT standards.
• Closely interfaces with temporary agencies regarding hiring and is responsible for managing all contract staff.
• Manages the J-PAL applicant database, including linking job postings to the database system, responding to applicant queries, and managing administrative access.
• Coordinates and sends out the monthly jobs newsletter, and coordinates with regional offices.
• Coordinates the annual recruitment drive, including preparing job descriptions and drafting communication materials 
• May oversee and/or support complex academic appointments, including securing/processing visas and providing relocation assistance. 
• Lead the onboarding and off-boarding activities for new hires and staff leaving J-PAL Global and all regional offices. This includes conducting exit interviews, leading an annual review of issues with senior J-PAL management of overall trends, periodic audits in Salesforce to ensure new hire and departing staff tasks are being completed in a timely manner, guiding departing employees through the exit transition process, working with other staff members on the preparations for new hires, providing new hires with a first day orientation, handle pre-onboarding communications and instructions, as well as assisting with and participating in J-PAL’s annual onboarding gathering.
• Ensures HR activities, records, and forms are in compliance with applicable laws or guidelines. Performs audits.
• Leads the social committee and executes monthly events in accordance with the yearly charter.
• Coordinates and executes J-PAL’s Global recognition program, J-Stars, by assisting in the design and administration of J-Stars and coordinating with regional teams.
• Collects and compiles Outside Professional Activities (OPA) data and synthesizes findings. May draft report.
• Provides guidance to managers and employees on employee relations issues, interpersonal issues, and people management responsibilities. Engages with managers and above at J-PAL on complex employee relations issues. Coordinates and executes employee relations activities for J-PAL Global: related to performance management activities and mitigation of personnel issues.
• Oversees Performance Management and Annual Salary Review (ASR) processes.
• Train or arrange training of supervisors on performance review practices and managing the logistics of J-PAL’s annual and mid-year performance reviews. (Training may involve taking advantage of resources at MIT.)
• Coordinates the communication and administration, and manages the performance management process throughout the entire year using the PerformYard platform, including overseeing the planning, implementation, tracking, and reporting phases, as well as managing the Annual Salary Review (ASR) process to ensure alignment with organizational objectives and timelines
• Provide guidance, advice, and support to managers and employees regarding the comprehensive range of MIT policies, procedures, and processes, including but not limited to leaves of absence, employee benefits administration, and the International People Placement process, ensuring consistent interpretation, compliance, and effective application across J-PAL.
• Train and advise hiring managers on offer letters and J-PAL/MIT hiring policies. Prepare templates and advise on special situations.
• Develop professional development plans for different levels of J-PAL employees (entry and mid-level) with a menu of courses, seminars, online courses, and workshops for staff to choose from. Recommend to senior management whether there should be required courses Get input from staff on their development needs and identify resources to address those needs. Works and collaborates with management and coaches to identify training and development opportunities aligned with the broader talent management strategy; designs and delivers customized training programs to meet specific vertical needs.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Supervision Received: 

The Senior HR Associate reports directly to the Associate Director of Human Resources. They take ownership of tasks and exercise good judgment in knowing when to ask for more direction from the supervisor and show initiative in adding value to processes. 

Qualifications & Skills: 

• Education: This position requires a Bachelor’s degree. 
• Experience: Minimum of 4 years of HR experience in a professional work environment.
• Technical Skills: Knowledge of relevant state and federal employment laws preferred. Technical proficiency with learning and using computer applications, including Excel, Salesforce, Google Drive or other project management tools. 
• Ownership of work: Takes responsibility/is accountable for making decisions and exercising independent judgment on projects/teams. Manages a variety of short and long-term projects, effectively managing their time and communications with supervisors. Effectively prioritizes their own work and that of direct and indirect reports. Demonstrates ability to successfully navigate situations where there is uncertainty around next steps. Accurately identifies routine tasks and requests as being in or out of scope and responds appropriately to the request. Escalates to the supervisor if in doubt about whether a non-routine request is in/out of scope. Effectively identifies opportunities to improve or expand work within existing strategic priorities. Takes responsibility for the work of direct reports being completed on time and professionally/accurately/at the level of quality needed.
• Written Communication: Accurately, succinctly, and persuasively communicates in writing to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders with minimal to no supervision. 
• Oral Communication: Demonstrates strong active listening skills and accurately, succinctly, and persuasively communicates information orally to staff, researchers, and external partners with minimal director-level supervision. Adapts communication style and tone to the audience. Provides feedback on presentation style and structure to colleagues.
• Task & Project Management: Generates, develops goals and strategy for, and supervises a core area of work and teams within the vertical, ensures that activities within the area of work are done on time and done well, and guides and ensures professional quality of final work product by junior-level staff. Delegates tasks or projects effectively. Effectively allocates projects and tasks to employees to achieve balanced workloads that accomplish set goals and help the employee develop professionally. Coordinates efforts of all project stakeholders. Identifies need for additional staffing or resources. 
• Problem Solving/Decision-making: Demonstrates adeptness at analyzing facts, good judgment, and strong decision-making ability. Identifies and responds to problems, issues, and opportunities, and identifies relevant constraints. Seeks to identify a solution or response. Identifies who must be consulted on decision-making and problem-solving and who must approve decisions. Seeks input from others for appropriate courses of action. Ensures buy-in and understanding of the decision as relevant. Take responsibility for decisions made and executed.
• Travel: Willingness and ability to travel as needed to attend events or participate in meetings. 

Professional Development:

J-PAL invests in your professional development. As a member of the finance and operations team, you will have the opportunity to continue to learn, engage, and grow.

Learn: J-PAL supports a culture of learning, with opportunities to attend weekly MIT–Harvard Development Seminars and take classes for credit at MIT or elsewhere with our generous tuition assistance program. All J-PAL staff are also eligible to take the innovative online MITx MicroMasters credential in Data, Economics, and Development Policy (DEDP) free of charge. MIT also provides significant professional development opportunities in management, finance, and leadership.

Engage: You will directly interact with many of the senior staff from around the world.

Grow: You will be a key member of J-PAL’s staff and interact with staff and affiliates worldwide, collaborating to build and improve management practices and organizational systems. 

Benefits:

You will be based at J-PAL Global, our head office at MIT in Cambridge, near Boston, MA. 

As a member of the MIT community, you benefit from more than just your salary. 

J-PAL hires highly qualified staff and rewards them accordingly. Total compensation packages are competitive for the non-profit and international development field with excellent MIT benefits, including comprehensive health insurance, a 401(k) match and pension-based retirement plan, tuition assistance, commuter benefits, MIT community discounts, a generous vacation policy, and a flexible work policy that includes the opportunity to work from home two days a week. Please note this position is not eligible for full-time remote work.