Senior Policy Associate – J-PAL Africa

Job summary

J-PAL Africa is hiring a Senior Policy Associate to help advance evidence-informed decision-making in education across sub-Saharan Africa, with the goal of improving equity and learning outcomes for all learners.

This role sits within J-PAL Africa’s Education team and involves close collaboration with governments, researchers, and implementing partners to strengthen the use of evidence in the design and delivery of education policies and programs.

In this role, you’ll lead and support high-impact projects that connect research to policy and practice. This includes identifying opportunities to apply evidence, supporting the scale-up of effective programs, co-creating tools with partners, delivering capacity-building activities, and promoting systems change across the education sector.

We’re looking for strategic and entrepreneurial thinkers with excellent communication skills, a strong commitment to evidence, and a passion for education policy and systems change.

Key responsibilities

• Policy engagement and relationship building:
  • Cultivate and maintain strategic relationships with key government and non-government stakeholders across the education sector.
  • Identify and scope opportunities to apply research evidence to policy and practice through various strategic initiatives
  • Strengthen individual and institutional capacity to engage with and apply evidence in decision-making.
• Project development and management
  • Provide technical advice and hands-on support to partners as they adapt and scale evidence-based programs, with a focus on inclusion and gender equity.
  • Coordinate stakeholders across various stakeholders to drive forward high-impact initiatives such as our Scale Labs and Evidence Champion Networks.
  • Manage project timelines, deliverables, and external relationships to ensure successful execution.
• Evidence translation and communication
  • Stay up to date on emerging research and policy priorities in education and gender equity, and identify evidence with potential for scale or adaptation
  • Contribute to the development of compelling communications materials, such as policy briefs, blog posts, slide decks, and talking points, that synthesize and share evidence with key audiences
  • Support the creation of user-friendly evidence resources and tools that curate relevant and actionable findings to inform policy and program decisions
• Events and capacity building
  • Contribute to the design and delivery of capacity-strengthening activities such as training workshops, strategy sessions, and co-creation processes.
  • Support the organization of high-impact convenings and learning exchanges that promote peer learning and foster a culture of evidence use.

Qualifications

• Required
  • A Master’s degree in Public Policy, Economics, Education, International Development, or a related social science field, with coursework in microeconomics, statistics, and/or econometrics.
  • At least three years of relevant work experience in policy, research, or program implementation.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build and manage relationships with diverse stakeholders.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French, with the ability to distill complex ideas into clear, non-technical messages.
  • Demonstrated project management and coordination abilities.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Preferred:
  • Knowledge of education systems in Africa, including experience with gender equity or inclusion-related policy and programming.
  • Experience working with or within government, or in a policy advisory or implementation role.
  • Familiarity with impact evaluation methods, particularly randomized evaluations.
  • Experience developing or contributing to peer-learning networks or communities of practice.
  • Experience living or working in sub-Saharan Africa.