Senior Research Associate- J-PAL LAC

Background
Title/Position: Senior Research Associate
J-PAL Office: J-PAL LAC
Country: Dominican Republic
Region: LAC
Earliest Start Date: Apr 01, 2021
Latest Start Date: Apr 30, 2021
Commitment Length: 9 months
Sector: Education
Position Type: Senior Research Associate

Applicant Requirements
Education: Bachelor’s, Master’s (optional)
Additional languages required: Yes (English, Spanish)

Job Description
The J-PAL office for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is seeking to hire a Senior Research Associate
to work in the Dominican Republic on an online tutoring project for children whose learning has been
affected due to recent school closures. The position requires working directly with professors Eliana La
Ferrara (Bocconi) and Michela Carlana (Harvard) and is based in the Dominican Republic.

The Senior Research Associate will work closely with academic researchers and staff at J-PAL LAC to
implement and coordinate a pilot research project in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of the
Dominican Republic and other local partners. The research project will pair university students with
public school students for weekly tutoring sessions, with the goal of improving educational outcomes
and stemming learning losses induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senior RA will be in charge of a variety of tasks including, but not limited to: coordinating the
collaboration with multiple divisions within the Ministry of Education, ensuring the intervention is
implemented according to plans and following research design, leading the implementation of the
program and control its development through monitoring and evaluation activities, ensuring that any
new component of the interventions is developed correctly and in due times, as well as coordinating
administrative data transfers and analysis.

Depending on the results of this pilot and on availability of funding, this position could be extended
through 2023. Moreover, the Senior RA could have opportunities for collaborating with research teams
in other Latin American countries where the Principal Investigators will potentially be replicating this
intervention.

Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

The Senior RA will work closely with academic researchers and other field staff to perform a variety tasks
including, but not limited to:

Strong Project Participation and Oversight:

● Propose and, as appropriate, implement innovations in the different stages of the projects in
coordination with Principal Investigators
● Maintain and grow effective relationships with partner organizations
● Oversee and lead the implementation of the interventions and their technology-based
components with the Ministry of Education, including the implementation of the evaluation,
according to the research design
● Supervise data collection and monitoring activities and ensure the good quality of the data
● Assist with data cleaning and preliminary data analysis
● Ensuring that the projects comply with IRB and JPAL data collection and security protocols

Reporting and Communication:

● Facilitate, strengthen and maintain effective and efficient communication as the primary contact
point with Principal Investigators
● Provide periodic updates on project activities to PIs and J-PAL LAC staff in Chile
● Participate in the planning and design of any outreach activities
● Ensure that project activities are on schedule and prepare project update reports according to
agreements with partners
● Any other work assigned by Principal Investigators

Desired Qualifications:

● Bachelor’s degree in economics, public policy, public administration, statistics or related

technical fields including training in microeconomics, econometrics, statistics, and advanced
mathematics.
● Master's degree in related fields to economics, public policy, statistics or related would be a
plus.
● The ideal candidate has prior research and project coordination experience and keen attention
to detail, as well as a willingness to learn and enthusiasm for economics and policy-relevant
research.
 ● Prior experience working with data sets and programming in Stata, R, or other statistical
programs
● Knowledge in other software like Microsoft Project, SurveyCTO and/or Nvidia is a plus
● Familiarity randomized controlled trials and impact evaluation methodologies preferred
● Excellent management, organizational and troubleshooting skills
● Flexible and self-motivated with an ability to multitask
● Strong written and verbal communication skills
● Comfortable speaking English and Spanish
● This position is ideal for candidates looking to develop their empirical research skills in
preparation for applying to PhD programs in economics or related fields, but may also be a good
fit for students undecided between applying to a PhD or other types of graduate programs such
as masters in data science, public policy (with a quantitative focus).

Required:
Work authorization in the Dominican Republic. This is a consultant position based in the Dominican
Republicand is not eligible for any type of visa sponsorship.

How to Apply
If you are interested, please follow the next steps:

1. Send an email to gaf_jpal@facea.uc.cl, and cmacias@povertyactionlab.org, following these

instructions exactly:
○ In the subject line: Include “SRA Education”, plus your full name: first (given) name
followed by last (family) name.
○ Attachments: Please attach in a single PDF:
a) one-page cover letter clearly stating your qualifications for the various
responsibilities and reasons for your interest in J-PAL;
b) your curriculum vitae (resume). The CV should include the contact information
for two academic references (or one academic and one professional if it more
consistent with the work history) and
c) In the email body: Copy exactly the following line: Senior Research Associate for
Eliana La Ferrara and Michela Carlana, Dominican Republic

Please do not include any text besides the position line(s) in the body of the e-mail. Adding extra text
will interfere with the processing of your application.

Given the volume of applications received, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an
interview.
PI/Supervisor: Eliana La Ferrara, Michela Carlana and Astrid Pineda

Application deadline: 5th April 2021