Policy Associate - J-PAL North America

J-PAL North America, an economics research center at MIT, is actively recruiting a Policy Associate (Research Policy Associate 1, SRS) to support our ongoing partnerships with researchers, policymakers, implementing partners and philanthropic partners. Working at J-PAL North America means being part of a vibrant, collaborative team of professionals who are committed to translating research into innovative policy solutions that are effective in reducing poverty.

As a regional office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), J-PAL North America is part of an affiliate network of more than a thousand affiliated professors and invited researchers at universities around the world, including some of the world’s leading economics researchers. J-PAL North America works closely with J-PAL’s global headquarters and six additional independent regional offices in Africa, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to generate cutting-edge research, policy outreach, and training.

As a member of the J-PAL North America team, you’ll be part of a Nobel-prize winning scientific movement that can transform US policy making. The Policy Associate’s primary tasks will include stakeholder engagement, supporting partnership development and capacity building, supporting our request for proposals (RFP) processes, policy writing and outreach, and general policy team coordination. This role requires some knowledge of social policy and/or public administration, a familiarity with program impact evaluations, excellent oral and written communication skills, attention to detail, strong project management skills, and the ability to take ownership of one's work independently and collaborate effectively with staff at all levels.

• Stakeholder engagement: Supports engagements with policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on randomized evaluations in North America. Builds and maintains strong relationships with key partners in government, non-profits, foundations, and the private sector. Attends initial conversations with prospective partners to identify promising opportunities for randomized evaluations or evidence dissemination activities. Supports the Events team in organizing convenings designed to bring policymakers, practitioners, and researchers together to spur new research collaborations or scale-up collaborations and share policy lessons from completed research.
  
  Drafts reports to philanthropic funders and policymakers on the progress of evaluations and on lessons learned from program implementation.
• Partnership development and capacity building: Contributes to processes for identifying policy partners to participate in capacity building activities. This includes attending calls and tracking information in Salesforce. Supports the development and presentation of guides, documents, and training materials for policymakers. Supports processes related to collaborations with policymakers and practitioners to design randomized evaluations of innovative policies and programs.
• Project and process management: Supports and implements Request for Proposal processes and policy outreach webinars and events. Reviews grantee reports and tracks compliance in Salesforce.
• Policy writing and outreach: Drafts publications and presentations that summarize and synthesize the policy implications of key research results. Supports the policy group in identifying opportunities for informing policy development and strategically sharing evidence with policymakers, philanthropic partners, and other stakeholders. Provides guidance and assistance to practitioners working to scale up evidence-based programs.

J-PAL North America supports a culture of learning, with opportunities to attend weekly seminars, engage in small-group discussions with other J-PAL staff, participate in workshops, and take classes for credit at MIT or elsewhere with our generous tuition assistance program. Policy Associates have the opportunity to work with J-PAL affiliates and directors, as well as interact with policymakers and practitioners.

• Commitment to Mission…