J-PAL Title: Undergraduate Policy and Communications Intern (Summer 2021)

Reports To: Policy Associates

Location: Remote due to Covid-19, based at MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA*

Length of Commitment: 10 week minimum

Education: Undergraduate

Paid position: Yes

Special Note: This position is not eligible for any type of Visa sponsorship through MIT.

*As part of MIT’s transitional Covid-19 plan, our office will be remote until Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Given this, we are open to considering candidates outside of Cambridge that will work east coast hours (8:30 am – 5:30 pm ET) and have authorization to work in the United States.

J-PAL is recruiting an Undergraduate Policy and Communications Intern to contribute to its mission of promoting evidence-based policy. This is a paid, full-time position (40 hours per week) during the summer. Start and end dates are flexible, but we ask for a ten-week commitment at minimum.

The position will be based remotely and open to all undergraduate candidates with work authorization in the US. Please note that hours must be filled during US east coast work hours between Monday and Friday, 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM ET.

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) was established in 2003 as a research center at the Economics Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, it has grown into a global network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty.

J-PAL’s mission is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is based on scientific evidence, and research is translated into action. We do this through three main activities:

• Conducting rigorous impact evaluations: J-PAL-affiliated researchers conduct randomized evaluations to test and improve the effectiveness of programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty.
• Policy outreach: J-PAL’s policy group analyzes and disseminates research results and builds partnerships with policymakers to ensure that policy is driven by evidence, and effective programs are scaled up.
• Capacity building: J-PAL equips practitioners with the expertise to carry out their own rigorous evaluations through training courses and joint research projects.

Responsibilities:

The Undergraduate Policy and Communications Intern supports the efforts of the Policy and Communications Group at J-PAL Global to translate research into action.

• Communications: Assisting with the maintenance of J-PAL’s website, newsletters, and social media
• Database management: Tracking changes to J-PAL’s research network and projects using internal information systems like Salesforce
• Event support: Organizing policy events such as donor meetings or lectures
• Policy writing: Helping maintain J-PAL’s evaluation summary database, including fact-checking summaries
• Sector-specific work: Completing small research and writing tasks that involve working with policy staff for J-PAL’s ten sectors (Agriculture; Crime, Violence, and Conflict; Education; Environment, Energy, and Climate Change; Finance, Firms, Gender, Political Economy and Governance, Health, and Labor Markets)
• Support competitive research funds: Assisting with the request for proposals, working with the Finance and Operations team to coordinate funding and clean data, and compiling and organizing information for academic leads
• Miscellaneous: Other tasks as needed

Qualifications:

Your strong communication and organizational skills, as well as your background in economics/public policy and your interest in poverty alleviation, make you an ideal candidate for the Undergraduate Policy and Communications Intern.

• Education: You are a junior or senior with high grades in economics coursework, including econometrics/statistics.
• Experience and interest: You have demonstrated strong interest in international development or public policy through coursework, study abroad, or previous internship experience.
• Communication: Your strong communication skills help you write clear and concise documents.
• Organization: Your robust organizational capacity and ability to pay attention to detail enable you to handle several projects at once and meet deadlines.
• Cultural competencies: You are comfortable and adept at working in a diverse and multicultural work environment, with colleagues, partners, and policymakers from around the world. You display cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Attitude: You are willing to work hard, excited to learn, and enthusiastic about taking on a broad range of assignments.

For more details and How to Apply please click here.