Data and Policy Manager, Governance – Yale Economic Growth Center

Who We Are:      

Inclusion Economics India Centre is an initiative affiliated with Inclusion Economics at Yale University, founded and based out of the Yale Economic Growth Center and MacMillan Center. Inclusion Economics India Centre is based at, and accountable to, the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Society, with strategic oversight from Krea University. Inclusion Economics India Centre collaborates with the Inclusion Economics at Yale University team to enable inclusive economies and societies through research and policy engagement.

Drawing upon economics, political science, and related fields, we conduct cutting-edge research to understand how policy can promote inclusive, accountable economies and societies. Our core research focuses on gender as it relates to labor economics and broader economic empowerment; political economy and governance; and environmental economics. We also aim to build a culture of evidence and increase data literacy in the public sector, strengthening leaders’ ability to identify and implement evidence-informed policies. Throughout the research life cycle, we engage closely with policy counterparts to ensure we address questions of immediate relevance, and we regularly communicate data-driven insights with policy counterparts and the general public.

Employer: Inclusion Economics India Centre at IFMR/Krea University

The Role:

The Data and Policy Manager will support the development, evaluation, and rollout of data visualization mobile- and web-based application platforms in order to improve MGNREGs delivery in partnership with the Ministry of Rural Development. They will lead policymaker engagement across several states, collect and analyze survey and administrative data, and develop data management systems to monitor program impacts. They will also be responsible for leading a team, budgeting and financial management, as well as other operational tasks.

Our ideal candidate has a passion to work with government stakeholders and academic researchers in order to translate research insights into inclusive real-world policy and programs in the rural livelihoods space. They have previous experience in operational management, particularly developing technical applications or working in the livelihoods sector. They understand how governments work in developing countries, and how to conduct rigorous policy research. They are passionate about building stakeholder capacity and operationalizing best practices, and are eager to collaborate with technical developers, local officials, front line data collectors, and senior policymakers and researchers. They can distill large, complex databases into compelling visualizations to improve governmental decision-making. They are not afraid of doing difficult things well, and of the hard work involved in collaborating with government to implement research-backed solutions to build more inclusive economies and societies.

The selected candidate will have the opportunity to join a research team based at Inclusion Economics India Centre (IEIC) and to collaborate with a research leading economists and public policy experts at Yale and other reputed universities. They will work on cutting-edge development research and gain first-hand experience working with policy partners, implement large-scale field experiments, and conduct rigorous data analysis.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain relationships with key policy partners to support application development and usage. Create a plan to sustainably transition application ownership to policy partners. Catalyze engagement between policymakers and researchers in order to support development and evaluation of application features. Communicate with technical vendors to ensure application functionality and reliability.
• Plan and support the implementation of training of MGNREGs functionaries in partner states, in collaboration with a Research Associates and Principal Investigators. Monitor and maintain systems for training and data collection to ensure the highest data quality standards are upheld and all systems and processes are well documented. Work with all stakeholders to build capacity to use data to improve decision-making and service quality.
• Develop data visualizations, policy memos, and other research products to test hypotheses and understand program impacts. Communicate research results, evaluation best practices, and concrete action points to stakeholders. Identify technical and human process improvements to further streamline the application, minimize risks, and support cost-effectiveness.
• Identify and build opportunities for research-policy engagements and support India and Yale based teams with conducting scoping, seeking state support and other project activities, as required
• Manage all assigned administrative requirements of the projects, including financial management, budgeting, procurement, contract set-up and compliance, grant reporting, deliverable tracking, etc.
• Work closely with research staff and lead investigators to ensure project budgets accurately reflect program design, and budgets are updated and executed appropriately. Integrity and efficiency in all financial matters is very important.
• Coordinate with project teams to ensure timely submission of financial reports and projections, and sub-grantee/contract reports and deliverables in the portfolio to keep projects running smoothly.
• Coordinate with other project staff and Research Managers to contribute to organizational initiatives as and when called upon.
• Contribute to IEIC’s overall management and strategic vision by identifying additional sources of funding and potential partner organizations for the expansion of our research portfolio.
• Contribute to grant applications as needed.
• Manage and oversee staff on the projects. Recruit and onboard staff, as determined by project requirements and funds. Contribute to the growth/feedback process of direct reportees and be their first point of contact when guidance is required.
• Other activities to support our strategy in India and South Asia, as requested.

Basic Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as economics, public policy/administration, computer science, data science, and/or political science
• Strong understanding of research design, basic econometrics, and evaluation methodologies, as well as public policy-oriented topics and policy and implementation in South Asia – India in particular
• At least 5 years of experience in a position that includes significant external network development and stakeholder engagement
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and strong public speaking skills
• Demonstrated ability to communicate research findings to a non-technical audience
• Willingness to visit research project sites and engage in research content and methodology
• Ability to think creatively, innovate, strategize, set priorities, manage a workplan, and evaluate progress with minimal supervision
• Ability to independently learn new technical languages and statistical concepts with minimal team support
• Experience working across multiple projects and managing multiple internal and external relationships
• Proven track record of carrying out high-quality research, policy, and/or advocacy work
• Excellent attention to detail, and the ability to bring structure to a fast-paced work environment

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Working knowledge of Hindi
• Experience working on randomized policy evaluations, and familiarity with common statistical software packages (such as Stata or R)
• 7 years or more of relevant experience, including at least three years of working closely with researchers and government officials in India
• Experience with Python (pandas + scrapy), Git, MySQL, database management, and AWS
• Experience processing large administrative datasets, setting up monitoring systems, managing technical developers, working with mobile applications or web-based dashboards
• Experience with database management or data science analysis techniques

This position will be based in New Delhi, India, with frequent travel to Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, and possible travel to other states in India.

How to Apply: 

If you are interested in this position, please fill out our Screening Questionnaire; you will be asked to upload a single PDF containing your CV, cover letter, writing sample, and academic transcripts.  Label your file “Last name, First name – Data and Policy Manager”.  

To view other open positions, visit the Inclusion Economics Opportunities page.

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Yale Economic Growth Center