Organization: J-PAL South Asia at IFMR
Position: Associate Director- Training
Start Date: At the earliest
Length of Commitment: More than two years
Location: Delhi
Minimum Eligibility Requirements:
Educational Qualification: Advanced degree and solid transcript, preferably in economics, public policy or international development, from a leading university
Experience: Minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience in managerial or technical positions, with focus in project formulation, programme design, programme implementation, evaluation and monitoring, and teaching. Preference will be given to candidates with work experience in India or other South Asian countries
Skills required:
— Monitoring and evaluation technical skills: Strong M&E skills as demonstrated by professional and academic experience including completed evaluations and publications. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in impact evaluations including randomized control trails and evaluation capacity-building.
— Understanding of the use of evidence in decision-making: Keen understanding of the value of evidence for policy decisions demonstrated by professional or academic experience.
— Communication: Attention to detail and advanced writing and presentation skills for communicating policy lessons from academic papers and evaluations, as well as M&E fundamentals and randomized evaluation methodology, in ways that policymakers understand. This requires clear, precise, non-technical writing, and creativity in presentation.
— Time Management: Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, and meet deadlines. A willingness to work hard, be self-motivated and learn will be essential for doing well in this position.
— Travel: Position requires travel throughout India and South Asia to meet with senior policymakers in governments, NGOs, foundations and international development organizations as well as follow-up work to promote research projects and other policy and capacity building initiatives. International travel for CLEAR events with other regional centres and the Global Hub is also required annually.
Job Description: J-PAL South Asia is recruiting for a position to head capacity building for the regional office and CLEAR South Asia centre based in New Delhi. The Associate Director-Training will report to the Deputy Director at J-PAL South Asia and join the Executive Director and the Associate Directors for Research, Policy, and Administration/Finance as a member of the core management team. The primary function of the AD-Training role at J-PAL South Asia at IFMR is to serve as the Programme Director of the CLEAR South Asia regional centre. In this capacity, the AD-Training will guide the South Asia Centre strategy and liaise with the CLEAR Global Hub team at the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group. The AD-Training will work very closely with the Policy team at J-PAL SA and the Training team at J-PAL Global. The AD-Training / Programme Director CLEAR will oversee an 8-10 member team of Managers and Associates.
Roles and Responsibilities:
The Associate Director – Training, J-PAL South Asia / Programme Director – CLEAR South Asia will be responsible for the following duties:
— Set and drive CLEAR South Asia’s strategy and target outcomes in collaboration with CLEAR SA Regional Advisory Committee, CLEAR Secretariat, IFMR, and J-PAL Global training team. Strategy will include developing regional M&E champions, building demand of policymakers for high-quality evaluations, institutionalizing M&E courses within J-PAL SA and IFMR, advocating better M&E practice and use, networking with the M&E regional and global communities, developing knowledge products, leveraging innovative M&E technologies, working with strategic government and civil society clients, building a team of close partners to deliver CLEAR services across South Asia and building sustainability for the CLEAR Centre.
— Execute strategy, meeting annual and quarterly targets through delivery of high-quality capacity building services including open enrolment M&E courses, custom courses (with clients ranging from international development organizations and foundations, to grassroots NGOs), needs assessments and M&E system building for strategic clients, knowledge sharing roundtables, workshops on evidenced based policy making, evaluation leadership development, e-learning courses and an initiative to integrate technology into M&E.
— Expand CLEAR South Asia’s strategic partnerships with organizations and individuals to help CLEAR and J-PAL SA expand its reach across South Asia and offer a broader range of quality services.
— Improve the results-based management system for CLEAR South Asia’s own operations including the execution of an M&E plan for the Centre.
— Contribute to global evaluation knowledge products in coordination with CLEAR, J-PAL, and IPA.
— Manage all financial, procurement, human resource, and operational aspects of the CLEAR South Asia centre in close coordination with the J-PAL SA Administration and Finance team.
— Develop the capacity building/CLEAR team at J-PAL South Asia at IFMR through recruitment, management, and mentoring of professional staff.
— Maintain and enhance strong working relationships and capacity building partnerships with CLEAR Secretariat, Regional Advisory Committee members, CLEAR Board, J-PAL Global Training team, and J-PAL/IPA/CLEAR regional and country offices.
Application Process:
— Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application. Please select the position(s) you are interested in applying for on the ‘Submit Application’ page. Include two letters of recommendation, statement of purpose (cover letter), CV, and transcripts.
— Additionally, please submit the following documents in PDF format via email at jpalsajobs@povertyactionlab.org
— Please include (1) a cover letter clearly addressing your qualifications for the various responsibilities listed above, (2) Curriculum Vitae (Resume), and (3) transcripts of your undergraduate and graduate courses (including course names and grades). Applicants may be asked to complete a policy analysis and writing exercise.
In the subject line: Put your full name, first (given) name followed by last (family) name.
In the email body: Copy exactly the following position line: 102066J-PAL South Asia, Associate Director – Training
Last date to apply: 08 February 2017
Note:
— 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.
— J-PAL South Asia is looking to fill this position at the earliest.
— Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Interested candidates are advised to apply at the earliest. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for a written test and subsequently, for interviews.
About J-PAL South Asia at IFMR:
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab South Asia (J-PAL SA) regional office is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR). J-PAL is globally headquartered within the Economics Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). J-PAL SA is one of six independent regional offices based around the world hosted at local universities. Capacity building, along with research based on randomized evaluations and evidenced-based policy advocacy, is one of J-PAL’s three core objectives.
J-PAL SA at IFMR has hosted the South Asia Regional Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR) since April 2011. CLEAR South Asia is one of five regional centres established through an initiative coordinated by the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group. The vision of CLEAR is to support development anchored in evidence, learning and mutual accountability by improving regional supply and demand of quality monitoring & evaluation (M&E) and performance management services. Please see http://www.clearsouthasia.org for more information on CLEAR SA.
As host of the CLEAR South Asia Centre, J-PAL SA at IFMR covers India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, offering capacity building services in high-quality evaluation to policymakers, governments, foundations, international development organizations, civil society, and M&E practitioners. It provides open-enrolment training, custom training, and advisory services to organizations and individuals. Knowledge production and developing stronger M&E systems and networks are other areas of focus. The goal of CLEAR South Asia is to support the use of high-quality M&E for evidence-based decision-making by policymakers. Building demand for good evaluation from policymakers is as important an aim of the centre as improving M&E systems and building knowledge and skills of good evaluation practices.
