The International Growth Centre (IGC) works with policymakers in developing countries to promote
inclusive and sustainable growth through path breaking research. The IGC combines a set of
programme teams across Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East with a network of world-leading
researchers, backed by a global hub at the London School of Economics in partnership with the
University of Oxford. IGC partner countries currently include Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, India,
Jordan, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia. The IGC is majority
funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
In an innovative collaboration to improve the use of data for making policy decisions and driving
reforms, the Government of Zambia and the IGC, with support from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, are seeking to establish the Zambia Evidence Lab (ZEL) embedded within the
Ministry of Finance and National Planning operated in close partnership with the Zambia Statistics
Agency. ZEL, which will provide first-of-its-kind analytical expertise within the Zambian government to produce data-driven policy outputs, is a result of an IGC and Finance Ministry-led government-wide
exercise conducted last year that identified that despite a relative abundance of data, very little is used
in policymaking due to a lack of capacity and a team dedicated to connecting data with policy. Driven by policymakers’ demands and focused on the government’s key reform priorities, ZEL will attempt to
bridge this gap by using data to produce actionable policy outputs. These outputs will include
dashboards, comparative statistics, econometric analyses, and opening space for longer-term research
projects.
The Lab Economist(s) will provide the principal in-house analytical capacity to the Lab, working under
the supervision of the Head of the Evidence Lab and within the wider IGC Zambia engagement led by
the Country Manager. They will be responsible for conducting in-house economic analysis, using large
administrative datasets, managing relationships, drafting policy outputs, and actively implementing and shaping the strategy of the Lab and the IGC Zambia program

Responsibilities 

Research:
⎯ Conducting high-quality in-house economic analysis (including cost-benefit, econometric, policy
diagnostic, data illustrations) in response to policy questions identified by government partners.
⎯ Supporting the Data Engineers to develop and maintain data dashboards.
⎯ Working closely with policymakers and government statisticians to link administrative and
survey data with policy lifecycle.
⎯ Identifying areas where policy evaluations are feasible and desirable, work with Country
Economists to develop research projects including identifying questions, working with PIs, etc.
Policy Impact:
⎯ Managing a range of relationships within and outside the government.
⎯ Drafting and presenting a range of policy outputs including policy briefs, presentations, etc.
⎯ Organising events and workshop that drive impact and visibility of ZEL and IGC’s work.
Management:
⎯ Take joint responsibility of the Lab for programme management, including drafting work plans,
terms of reference documents, budget management, forecasting and ensuring value for money.
Play a key role in facilitating other country programme activities, working in conjunction with IGC
Hub counterparts to ensure efficient implementation.
⎯ Facilitate communication between IGC Zambia Country Manager, Lead Academics, IGC Hub
colleagues, and Head of Evidence Lab to ensure the integration of the country-relevant policy and
the IGC research agenda, in the context of the evolving country situation.
⎯ Contributing actively to the strategy, growth, and sustainability of the Evidence Lab and, by
extension, IGC’s Zambia program.
⎯ Contributing to the evaluation of the Lab, including recording impact, monitoring that Lab’s
activities are in line with the overall country strategy and periodically review progress against
the overall country strategy.

The successful candidate will have a combination of the following experiences and qualifications:

• Master’s level degree in economics, econometrics, or a related applied field.
• Demonstrated understanding of policy-relevant research (particularly using observational research designs) and strong expertise in quantitative analysis.
• Significant experience with Stata or R.
• Strong evidence of initiative and problem-solving skills.