Senior Policy Manager - J-PAL Global

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 390 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.

The Policy & Communications Group plays a key role in translating research by J-PAL affiliates into actionable poverty alleviation policies around the world. Staff connect the dots between economics and policy and are passionate about working with organizations to form partnerships for evidence-informed development policy.

J-PAL is recruiting a Senior Policy Manager to contribute to this mission of promoting evidence-informed policy. The position will be based in Cambridge, MA, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with two in-person work days per week.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Only applications following all instructions at the bottom of this page will be considered.

J-PAL encourages diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work, and we value the diverse perspectives our staff bring to their roles and to the broader J-PAL community. We encourage people from all backgrounds, especially those underrepresented in the field of economics, to apply to this role. In your cover letter, you are welcome to share how your background and lived experiences have influenced your desire to work at J-PAL (this is entirely optional, just an opportunity for us to get to know you a bit better).

Responsibilities

Your work requires a breadth of knowledge and a depth of understanding to support J-PAL’s growing policy efforts. As a Senior Policy Manager, your primary tasks will involve sector management, communication, evidence synthesis and dissemination, and staff supervision.

• Sector/Pillar Management and Supervision (40%): Lead one or more of J-PAL’s sectors (Agriculture, Crime, Violence, & Conflict, Education, Environment, Energy, & Climate Change, Finance, Firms, Gender, Health, Labor Markets, Social Protection, and Political Economy & Governance) or pillars (AI for Social Good, Cost-Effectiveness and Welfare Analysis). This involves working with sector or pillar academic Chairs and J-PAL leadership to create and execute on the strategy and vision to increase your team’s policy influence. Senior Managers build relationships with key policy partners, identify opportunities for evidence adaptation and scale, and identify and target donors to secure support for sector activities. In addition, they also draft and manage staff in developing policy materials that synthesize the current state of knowledge in the sector/pillar, oversee the development of evidence products, and organize events for policymakers. Senior Managers may also have the opportunity to oversee the administration of a sector-specific competitive research fund, which involves managing staff to execute specific rounds of funding and leveraging the evidence and policy outputs that result from the funded research. Senior Managers also supervise and mentor associate-, senior associate-, and manager-level staff on everything including their technical skills, writing style, and professional development.   
• Evidence Communication and Dissemination (30%): Build relationships with key partners in governments, NGOs, foundations, and multilateral aid agencies worldwide, and present J-PAL’s work and research externally. Write publications that “translate” J-PAL’s economic research into lessons for policymakers around the world and create materials for policy outreach. Create materials for policymakers, NGOs, and donors to learn how to evaluate their programs and to learn about interventions that prove effective. Materials for these partners will include publications and presentations, as well as other high-level deliverables, as requested by J-PAL senior staff and affiliates. You will also conduct research and analysis for policy memos, grant proposals, and sector-specific work, including evidence synthesis publications such as Policy Insights.
• Policy Strategy & Leadership (10%): Work with J-PAL’s senior leadership to refine and advance J-PAL’s global policy strategy. This involves identifying priority geographies, partners, and policy domains for outreach and influence. Senior Managers coordinate policy campaigns, ensure alignment across teams, and support strategic decision-making that strengthens J-PAL’s evidence-to-policy impact. Senior Managers also support fundraising by identifying, cultivating, and stewarding individual and institutional donors aligned with J-PAL’s mission. They also support the preparation of donor-facing materials where needed.
• Other (20%): Have the opportunity to support J-PAL’s overall mission in a number of ways. These can include supporting the work of a functional or internal team (e.g., policy writing, communications, onboarding, recruitment and hiring, knowledge management), supporting a particular policy partnership, overseeing group-level management tasks, and undertaking professional development opportunities. Senior Managers may also have the opportunity to serve as a liaison between J-PAL Global and one of J-PAL’s regional offices. 

Professional development

The Policy & Communications Group invests in your professional development. As a Senior Policy Manager, you will learn, engage, travel, and grow.

Learn: J-PAL supports a culture of learning with opportunities to attend weekly MIT–Harvard Development Seminars and take classes for credit with MIT’s 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.

Engage: Senior Managers have the opportunity to work with J-PAL researchers, as well as interact with decision-makers and practitioners alongside senior staff. As core content creators, publications authored by Policy and Communication staff are distributed to development stakeholders worldwide.

Travel: Senior Managers have the opportunity to travel to attend and present at sector-specific conferences and events and participate in a unique “Staff-to-Field” international experience supporting on-the-ground communications projects during their time at J-PAL.

Grow: Senior Managers can expect to join a peer group eager to build institutional knowledge and pass on lessons learned. Senior Managers receive one-on-one mentorship from senior leadership. Promotions from Manager to Senior Manager are based on performance and ability.

Qualifications

Your technical expertise, strong communication and organizational skills, passion for translating research into action, and interest in international development make you an ideal candidate for a Senior Policy Manager.

• Education: You hold a Master’s degree in economics, public policy, or a closely related field, with coursework in microeconomics, econometrics, and development economics. Do you have a demonstrated academic interest in international development and public policy and/or international experience? Even better.
• Experience: You have 7 or more years of relevant and substantial professional experience, including at least 1 year of experience working in a developing country. Relevant experience gained during schooling may count toward this requirement. You have a successful track record of managing junior staff.
• Skills: You are comfortable with intermediate-level economics and econometrics, especially randomized evaluation methodology. Additionally, you are comfortable working in or learning computer applications, including Google Suite and Salesforce. Fluency in English is mandatory. Knowledge of Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, French, Portuguese, Spanish, or other languages spoken in our regions of work is a plus.  
• Communication: You are detail-oriented and have advanced writing skills. You understand how to communicate policy lessons from technical academic research in ways that policymakers, AI experts, and practitioners understand. You are precise, clear, and creative. You are experienced in delivering public presentations.
• Organization: You are a strategic thinker. You can handle multiple projects at once with little supervision, meet deadlines, and effectively manage your time, as well as others’.
• Cultural competencies: You are comfortable and adept at working in a diverse and multicultural work environment, with colleagues, partners and policymakers from around the world. You display sensitivity, adaptability, and inclusivity in your engagement with people from diverse backgrounds including age, ability, culture, gender, nationality, race and ethnicity, religion, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and other identities. We appreciate candidates who have familiarity with concepts and frameworks such as racial equity or gender analyses.
• Attitude: You love learning. You thrive thinking in a cross-sectoral and cross-regional way. You stay up-to-date on the latest thinking on both the art and science of scaling social policies and programs and are motivated to bring the best of that thinking to J-PAL. You are self-motivated, work hard, and enjoy working in teams. You value and are comfortable receiving feedback, providing feedback, and supporting the growth and development of others.
• Travel: Willingness to travel domestically and internationally, approximately 15-25% of the time.

Compensation

Information about the pay range and pay grade for this position can be found here.

Location: This position is based in Cambridge, MA, with an expectation of in-office presence at least two days per week (currently Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Staff may work remotely on the remaining three days. Hybrid policies are subject to change annually. We greatly value in-office presence and therefore this position, similar to others at J-PAL Global, is not eligible for full-time remote work.

Benefits

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 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 more.

We like working at MIT and think you will too.