IPA-Zambia is hiring a pre-doctoral fellow to help design, manage, and implement a randomized controlled trial of a cash transfer program to female undergraduates at the University of Zambia. The fellow would work closely with Professors Natalie Bau (UCLA), Corinne Low (Wharton), and Bryce Steinberg (Brown) at every stage of the project. They will be responsible for overseeing the survey and implementation team and acting as a liaison between the PIs in the US and the field team in Lusaka. This position is ideal for an individual interested in pursuing an economics PhD at a top program who would like to gain experience in development economics research.

Job responsibilities include managing field activities, helping to manage the research partnership with the University of Zambia, informing the design of the randomized controlled trial through on-the-ground insights, disseminating results to policymakers, performing a variety of statistical and econometric analyses, cleaning and analyzing data, writing research reports, conducting background research and literature reviews, identifying and obtaining secondary data, and coding survey questionnaires. Independent thinking, a thorough understanding of economics or related disciplines, an ability to manage work flows on multiple projects, and self-motivation are highly valued in performing these functions. This is a challenging opportunity for an early-career professional who is passionate about social science research and has a strong desire to expand and deepen skills in economic research and quantitative data analysis.

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit research organization. Based in New Haven, CT, with offices in Washington, D.C. and worldwide, IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches to solving development problems, to communicate “what works” in development, and to scale up successful projects in a variety of fields, including health, education, microfinance, governance and agriculture. IPA has been in Zambia since 2010.

Responsibilities

The Research Associate will perform a variety of tasks related to managing day-to-day research activities, from planning to implementation, and monitoring quality. These include, but are not limited to:

• Working closely with PIs to help design and implement an RCT

• Using STATA to clean and analyze survey data

• Overseeing recruitment, randomization, implementation, and data collection

• Recruiting, training and supervising field-based teams

• Refining and piloting survey questionnaires

• Supervising and monitoring data collection to ensure high-quality of the data

• Running data quality checks and fixing issues with data collected during data collection

• Weekly calls with PIs

• Providing timely updates and responses to partner organizations, and participating in meetings with key stakeholders

• Managing project finances including budgeting, expense tracking and financial reporting

• Handling day to day PI and partner communications

• Interfacing with research partners at the University of Zambia and policymakers at the Ministry of Education

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics, public policy, or other quantitative social science disciplines

Quantitative Skills: Strong technical understanding of economics and econometrics required. Demonstrated proficiency in Stata, and experience with data cleaning and analysis

Desire to pursue a PhD in economics preferred, as this position will serve as excellent training for implementing RCTs and other development economics research

Excellent management and organizational skills; ability to successfully completing assigned tasks and meeting deadlines required

Communication Skills: strong oral and written communication skills in the English language required