Data Research Associate

We are seeking a Data Research Assistant (RA) to join the Payments and Governance Research Program at J-PAL South Asia, Institute for Financial Management and Research. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a high-impact research while working alongside world-class researchers from leading global universities. The Data RA will be closely involved in data management, cleaning, and analysis tasks, and will gain first-hand experience implementing randomized control trials (RCTs) in an organization at the forefront of development research. You will be working on the Odisha High-Frequency Monitoring (HFM) Project, which studies how information-sharing and incentive structures can improve the effectiveness of India's Public Distribution System (PDS). This project provides an opportunity to engage directly with critical policy questions and contribute to evidence that informs large-scale governance reforms. Key Responsibilities: Data Research Associates work closely with academic researchers to perform a variety tasks including, but not limited to: • Assisting with data cleaning and preliminary data analysis • Develop, maintain, and document well-structured and replicable code for data cleaning, management, and analysis. • Ensure data integrity through rigorous quality checks and validation processes. • Organize datasets for analysis and reporting in collaboration with the research team. • Conduct descriptive analyses, visualizations, and summary statistics to support research outputs. • Assist in preparing data and code for replication packages and compliance with data management protocols. • Collaborate closely with researchers to understand project requirements and translate them into efficient data workflows. • Assisting in preparation of documents and presentations for donor reporting as well as dissemination activities • Reporting to PIs on all of the above-mentioned activities • Any other task as assigned by the Research Manager, AD Research or ED

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of 194 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL South Asia, based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in India, leads J-PAL's work in the South Asia region. J-PAL South Asia conducts randomized evaluations, builds partnerships for evidence-informed policymaking, and helps partners scale up effective programs. Over more than ten years of existence, J-PAL South Asia has conducted 193 ongoing and completed randomized evaluations.