Policy & Research Manager - Scientific Partnerships

Policy and Research Manager (Scientific Partnerships)

About the Trust

The University of Chicago Trust (the Trust) is a charitable trust in India, established in 2008 by an alumnus of The University of Chicago. The objectives of the UChicago Trust are to provide opportunities for grants to support agriculture, water, or educational programs, research programs, and activities for the betterment of India.

About The Development Innovation Lab - India (DIL-India)

DIL-India, based at the Trust in India, is dedicated to using the tools of economics to develop innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people. We have work across sectors like health, education, agriculture, climate change, road safety, and others. We do so by collaborating with government agencies, firms, and non-profits in India to identify, test, and scale evidence-based solutions.

DIL-India has a fast-growing portfolio of policy relevant research. For example, in 2025, DIL-India supported the Government of India to deliver cutting-edge AI-based monsoon onset forecasts to 38 million farmers across the country. DIL-India plans to build on this work, aiming to reach more people and expand to other types of weather forecasts that have the potential to improve livelihoods and impact well-being.

Position Description

The Trust and DIL-India are seeking a full-time Policy and Research Manager to co-create and manage engagements with government and scientific partners. The position will be responsible for the policy engagement, coordination and program management to execute multi-year scientific partnerships focused on the technical and operational aspects of disseminating weather forecasts directly to farmers through various central government, state governments and other initiatives l.

They will support the development of policy projects in India in collaboration with Prof. Michael Kremer , Prof. William Boos and other researchers and subject matter experts. This role will contribute to DIL-India’s policy-engagement efforts and research projects across multiple states.

Responsibilities

Work closely with DIL-India leadership, senior technical collaborators, Policy Managers and Associates to cultivate and sustain high-level research relationships with implementing collaborators including governments, non-profit organizations, and donors; develop new collaborations for the organization.

With input from the Associate Director and other collaborators, coordinate DIL’s policy engagement and conduct outreach to key stakeholders

Develop research or policy engagement work plans, tracking milestones and deliverables across multiple projects.

Conduct qualitative research, desk research, and quantitative analysis to inform research design or policy recommendations.

Administer research and data collection activities for DIL-India projects.

Provide policy and research project guidance and direction to DIL-India research staff including Predoctoral Associates, (Senior) Research Associates or Policy Associates.

Onboard and train new DIL-India staff on current research projects, UCT policies, DIL-India activities and policies.

Responsible for end-to-end implementation of research projects; including new proposal development, contracting, budgeting, donor reporting and communication, and grants management tasks associated with research needs and other project operations—while providing guidance to junior research and operations staff.

Serve as the primary liaison to other programs at the University of Chicago Trust including those handling program administration.

All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education

Master’s degree in economics, public policy, environmental science, atmospheric sciences, agrometeorology or related field

(Preferred) Graduate-level training in economics, policy analysis and econometrics/statistics/social research methods.

Experience

Minimum of 3 years of full-time work experience.

Experience working or collaborating with government(s) in India.

Knowledge of and experience with field research or program implementation in developing countries.

Experience conducting research and managing research or project teams.

Ability to translate…