Position Summary

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) seeks a Research Associate to be 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 IPA research team, principal investigators (PIs), and implementing partners, gaining hands-on field research experience.

Key responsibilities will include coordinating and collaborating with external implementing partners and the PIs team; designing and piloting survey questionnaires; recruiting, training, and managing field teams; designing and supervising the logistics of field activities; cleaning and analyzing survey and administrative 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.

We are looking for people with excellent verbal and written communication skills, a solid technical foundation in impact evaluation methodology, statistics, and econometrics, and demonstrated high intellectual abilities and academic performance. We are also looking for people who are capable of working individually and as a part of a team, who can adapt to different environments and contexts, and who have a continuous willingness to learn. As an ideal candidate, you must be able to lead small teams to produce high-quality outputs. You must also be able to think critically and solve problems in a fast-paced dynamic environment.

Responsibilities

• Support the design of field experiments.
• Support the management of field experiments.
• Implement field experiments.
• Support the recruitment, hiring, training, and management of personnel.
• Design, code, and pilot data collection instruments, such as survey questionnaires and interview guides.
• Conduct surveys, focus groups, and interviews.
• Make literature reviews.
• Design, code, and execute data quality checks, such as High-Frequency-checks, Back-checks, and spot-checks.
• Clean and analyze qualitative and quantitative data.
• Write documents (e. g. policy briefs, reports, deliverables, etc.) and create presentations.
• Support the management of relationships with external actors such as donors, implementing partners, service providers, principal investigators, etc.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, government, political science, public policy, or related disciplines with a quantitative approach.
• At least 1 year of work experience after obtaining the first undergraduate degree, preferably related to research projects and/or data analysis.
• Strong quantitative skills and knowledge of Stata/R. 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/R or other statistical analysis software.
• Ability to manage relationships with partners and counterparts.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and lead small teams.
• Ability to work and problem-solve under pressure and meet deadlines while maintaining a positive attitude and providing exemplary customer service.
• 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

Preferred

• Master’s degree in economics, government, political science, public policy, or related disciplines with a quantitative approach.
• Previous experience working on academic research in the field of crime and violence.

Compensation

Salary range Colombian Peso: 6,000,000 - 7,500,000 / month

Contract type

Indefinite labor contract

Application Instructions

Apply Now!

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 of 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 a 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) 

As an organization, IPA is dedicated to improving the lives of the world's most vulnerable populations through evidence and policy. We also recognize how important it is for our staff to reflect the diversity of the places where we work and the communities we work with. As such, IPA is committed to hiring from a diverse pool of candidates, from a range of backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, and perspectives. We know that this makes our work stronger and more responsive to the challenges faced by those we work with and for and we encourage people from historically underrepresented groups to apply. Click here to learn more about IPA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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.