State Partnership Associate – Government of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh - J-PAL South Asia

About the role

The Policy team at J-PAL South Asia (J-PAL SA) at the Institute for Financial and Management Research (IFMR) disseminates the findings of J-PAL’s research, engages with governments, civil society, and academic stakeholders, catalyzes the scale-up and replication of effective projects, and assists in conceptualizing new research projects. In line with its mission to create a long-lasting culture of evidence-informed decision-making, over the past two decades, J-PAL SA has continuously developed and refined a model of engaging with state governments in India that ensures that we continue to build on evidence generation through rigorous research, and most importantly, enable the translation of research into action. 

We are seeking a State Partnership Associate (SPA) to support and deepen J-PAL SA’s engagements with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The SPA will play a key role in supporting the ongoing partnerships with the state governments, which include active collaborations across multiple departments. 

The SPA will be based in Hyderabad and will work closely with senior government officials and state departments to identify policy priorities, facilitate research-policy dialogues, support scale-ups and contribute to ongoing and emerging studies, workshops, and advisory engagements.

Key responsibilities

• Government engagement: Lead proactive engagement with senior state government officials across departments to identify areas for collaboration, discuss policy priorities, and follow up on ongoing initiatives.
• Partnership management: Support J-PAL’s institutional partnerships with the Governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh through continuous coordination with internal teams, documentation, and communication with stakeholders.
• Policy support: Draft concept notes, presentations, and policy briefs for discussions with government partners, highlighting relevant evidence and research learnings.
• Policy scoping and research translation: Support scoping interviews/studies and evidence reviews to map key sectoral priorities and draw insights for use in policy planning and programme design.
• Monitoring and documentation: Track policy developments, maintain partnership trackers, and prepare progress reports and briefing notes for internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaboration: Work closely with J-PAL SA’s policy, research and training teams to support state-specific initiatives, events, and training workshops on data and evidence use.
• Field travel: Travel across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, as needed, to support coordination with the government officials and other key stakeholders.

Qualifications

Your technical expertise, creativity, strong communication and organizational skills, passion for translating research into action, and interest in international development make you an ideal candidate for the position of State Partnership Associate. 

• Education
  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Economics, Public Policy, or related fields.
• Experience
  • More than one year of relevant experience in working with government departments, research organizations, or development partners.
  • Experience engaging with IAS or mid-senior level government officials is strongly preferred.
• Skills & competencies
  • Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and coordination skills.
  • Strong analytical and writing skills with the ability to translate technical research into accessible policy language.
  • Strategic and proactive approach to problem-solving and relationship-building.
  • Fluency in English and Telugu (spoken and written) is strongly preferred.
  • Write about J-PAL’s evaluations in relevant documents with a clear, accurate, and non-technical format for a policy audience.
  • Support the J-PAL SA policy team on any other tasks, as needed.
• Organization
  • You are a strategic thinker. You can handle multiple projects at once, meet deadlines, and effectively manage your time. You bring great thoroughness and initiative to all projects you undertake.
• Attitude
  • You love learning. You are passionate about international development policy and the rigorous research that informs it. You are self-motivated, work hard, and enjoy working in teams.

Work authorization: Candidates must be authorized to work in India.

Location and travel: The role is based in Hyderabad with frequent travel across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.