Job Description
J-PAL Southeast Asia, based at the Institute for Economic and Social Research at the University of Indonesia (LPEM-FEUI), seeks a qualified applicant for the position of Senior Policy and Training Manager based
in Jakarta. This management position offers an excellent opportunity to
have significant responsibility in a vibrant organization undertaking
cutting-edge development research, policy outreach, and training.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab is globally headquartered within the Economics Department at MIT. J-PAL SEA is
one six independent regional offices based around the world hosted at
local universities. J-PAL is a pioneer of using randomized evaluations
to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. In
addition to research, our other two core activities are:
- Policy outreach: analyzing and disseminating research results and building partnerships with policymakers to ensure that policy is informed by evidence, and effective programs are scaled up
- Training: building policymakers’ capacity to become more effective producers and consumers of evidence from impact evaluations
The
Senior Policy and Training Manager will be responsible for managing
J-PAL SEA’s policy outreach and training efforts. He/she will report
directly to J-PAL SEA’s Executive Director and collaborate closely with
the office’s Scientific Directors, Benjamin Olken (MIT) and Rema Hanna
(Harvard).
Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):
Policy Outreach:
- Develop and implement the strategy for J-PAL SEA’s policy work: targeting policymakers to conduct outreach and build partnerships with; determining what technical assistance needs to be provided and how; and prioritizing the evaluation findings and resultant policy lessons to disseminate
- Manage the policy team including recruitment and training of new staff, performance management, and development.
- Manage policy outreach events including contributing to their strategic planning, content, logistics, and relationship building with key stakeholders
- Cultivate expertise and command over evidence in relevant J-PAL subject areas
- Fundraise to support new policy outreach activities and support the ED in managing donor relationships
- Develop systems to monitor and document policy influence for accountability to donors; synthesize learning about effective policy outreach and share with the larger J-PAL network
- Track and manage policy budgets and strengthen policy group management systems
Training:
- Lead J-PAL SEA’s capacity building programs with partner organizations in Indonesia and the region
- Build relationships with key partners and clients in the evaluation and development communities
- Coordinate and oversee planning and implementation of trainings (executive education, custom courses) for clients including state governments, international organizations, research institutions, and NGOs.
- Provide advisory services for developing M&E systems and evaluation plans for select clients including state governments and leading NGOs
- Organize evaluation roundtables, seminars, and outreach events
- Track and manage J-PAL SEA training budgets and strengthen training management systems
Qualifications:
- Education: Masters or advanced degree with strong academic record, preferably in economics, public policy, development, or a related field, including coursework in microeconomics, econometrics, and development economics.
- Experience: Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience in leadership, managerial or technical positions, with focus in policy/program design and implementation or M&E, strategic partnership building, and fundraising. Preference will be given to candidates with work experience in Indonesia.
- Management: Demonstrated leadership and management experience, including hiring, training, and managing staff. Ability to supervise staff and manage projects independently.
- Evaluation technical skills: Demonstrated experience in all aspects of monitoring and evaluation, and particularly randomized controlled trials. Demonstrated ability to understand and communicate findings from rigorous quantitative research. Preference given to candidates with experience in conducting or supervising impact evaluations including randomized controlled trails.
- Communication: Attention to detail and advanced writing and presentation skills in English for communicating policy lessons from academic papers and evaluations in ways that policymakers understand. This requires clear, precise, non-technical writing, and creativity in presentation. Strong skills in Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
- Time Management: Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, and meet deadlines. A willingness to work hard, be self-motivated and learn will be essential for doing well in this position.
- Willingness to travel: Position requires travel to meet with senior policymakers in governments, NGOs, foundations and international development organizations as well as follow-up work to promote research projects and other policy and capacity building initiatives.
How to Apply
Please send an email with your application to jpalseajobs@povertyactionlab.org and jobs@poverty-action.org by January 22, 2016 following these instructions exactly:
- Use the following as the email subject line: “101672 J-PAL SEA, Senior Policy and Training Manager.” Please do not include any other text in the body of the e-mail. Adding extra text will interfere with the processing of your application.
- 2. Attach PDF copies of your CV, a cover letter no longer than 500 words, and university/graduate school transcripts. The cover letter should discuss how you meet the aforementioned position requirements, emphasizing relevant skills and experience, as well as why you are interested in working with J-PAL SEA.
Incomplete
applications will not be reviewed. Applications will be reviewed on a
rolling basis. Interested candidates are advised to apply at the
earliest. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for a written
test and subsequently, for interviews.
