Summary
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) seeks a Research Associate based in Medellín, Colombia, to support a portfolio of research projects on organized crime led by Christopher Blattman (The University of Chicago), Benjamin Lessing (The University of Chicago), Arantxa Rodríguez (Princeton University) and Santiago Tobón (Universidad EAFIT). This portfolio includes projects such as “Understanding Gang Recruitment in Medellin, Colombia” and “The Impacts of Intensive Municipal Governance and Community Organization on Gang Governance in Medellín”.
The Research Associate will work closely with the research manager, principal investigators, and implementing partners gaining hands-on field research experience and management responsibility. Key areas of involvement will include: coordinating and collaborating with implementing partners and the PI team, designing survey questionnaires, recruiting, training and managing survey teams, designing and supervising logistics for the field activities, cleaning and analyzing survey data, assisting in the writing of project reports and policy memos, and liaising with key stakeholders. The work will develop your analytical and management skills and require your full commitment in a challenging environment.
As an ideal candidate, you should have a solid technical foundation in impact evaluation methodology and in econometrics and statistics. You must be able to lead small teams and manage relations with relevant stakeholders including investigators and implementing partners. You should be organized, have a great capacity to work individually and as a team and demonstrate rigorous attention to detail.
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Compensation:
IPA's compensation structure is designed based on the labor market for the specific geographic location where the employee is located. We are offering the following salary ranges for this position:
- Associate is classified as "C1" on IPA's global job structure.
- For Colombia based employees the starting annual gross salary is 6,000,000 Pesos with a maximum of 7,500,000 Pesos.
Actual base salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location.
Responsibilities
- Coordinate and serve as a liaison between project partners during the design and implementation stages of the study.
- Design and implement systems and protocols that guarantee data quality.
- Present frequent reports to the Research Manager, Principal Investigators and Partners regarding the assigned project.
- Design and implement monitoring systems of interventions ensuring that the plan is executed correctly
- Work alongside the national and global research team to analyze data and interpret results.
- Write project reports and deliverables, as well as participate in the drafting of summaries and policy briefs, among others.
- Participate in the hiring, training and management of field teams performed by the field manager.
- Design data collection and monitoring instruments along with researchers.
- Monitor the implementation of field work and support data collection so that it is implemented according to the design.
- Support literature reviews and other tasks relevant to research projects.
- Participate in the research design processes at different stages.
- Work on the development of tools to guarantee the quality of the data in the data collections.
- Work with the Researchers, the IPA team and other partners that are part of the projects to analyze data and interpret the results.
- Support the development of reports and presentations related to research design or findings for different audiences in English and Spanish.
- Work together with the team of analysts and interns in project activities
- Actively participate in other office activities aimed at meeting strategic goals
Qualifications
- Undergraduate degree in Economics, Government, Administration, Finance, Engineering or related with a quantitative approach.
- At least 2 years of work experience after obtaining the first undergraduate degree, preferably related to research projects and/or data analysis.
- Familiarity with impact evaluations and specifically with randomized experiments.
- Strong quantitative skills and knowledge of Stata, it is an added value to know other programming languages and have other technical skills related to programming.
- Knowledge of statistical and econometric concepts.
- Ability to present and perform data analysis using Stata or other statistical analysis software.
- Ability to manage relationships with partners and counterparts.
- Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and lead teams.
- Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines while maintaining a positive attitude and providing exemplary customer service.
- Capacity to plan and be organized, have attention to detail and ability to work in a team and individually.
- Familiarity with the fundamental concepts of impact evaluation.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Spanish including the ability to communicate effectively and assertively.
- Availability to work 100% of the time from Medellín, Colombia
Application Instructions
About IPA
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine these solutions and their applications, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of the world’s poor. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence on which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 900 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.
IPA's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
Disclaimers
Innovations for Poverty Action is an affirmative action equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected class. IPA will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business. If you believe you require such assistance to complete this form or to participate in an interview, please contact us at jobs@poverty-action.org or via phone at 1-202-386-6200. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed by the specified position. The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs@poverty-action.org.
** Please note that only qualified applicants will be contacted by the hiring manager.
Reports to
Research Manager
Desired start date
ASAP
Location
Medellin, Colombia
