Project Associate, U.S. Household Finance Initiative (New Haven, CT)

• Project Name: U.S. Household Finance Initiative
• Location: New Haven, CT
• Deadline to apply: July 15, 2013

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit research organization. Based in New Haven, CT, with offices in Washington, D.C. and worldwide, IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches to solving development problems, to communicate “what works” in development and to scale up successful projects in a variety of fields, including health, education, microfinance, governance and agriculture.

Position Summary:

IPA seeks a qualified applicant for the position of Project Associate for the U.S. Household Finance Initiativebased in New Haven. The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand data management experience in an organization undertaking cutting-edge research in program evaluation and behavioral economics. This position is based in New Haven, Connecticut in the United States and the principal investigators are Jonathan Zinman and Dean Karlan. The Project Associate must be willing to travel to manage an exciting research project with an IPA partner financial institution in California.

The U.S. Household Finance Initiative is working to build better markets for personal finance in the United States by using insights from the social sciences to develop, test and refine innovations that benefit both users and suppliers of financial products and services. We innovate and test new approaches from behavioral economics to help people make better financial decisions. 

The Project Associate will work closely with academic researchers and other field staff to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:  cleaning and analyzing data, designing survey questionnaires, conducting qualitative research, running pilot exercises, refining study design and surveying instruments, assisting in the writing of project reports and policy memos, and coordinating with local partners running the programs being evaluated. The position will be especially focused around the analysis and management of data from the U.S. Household Finance Initiative’s pilots and evaluations, and is aimed at qualified candidates planning on pursuing a PhD in economics.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, or a related field;
• Strong quantitative skills;
• Knowledge of STATA (strongly preferred) or other data analysis software;
• Excellent management and organizational skills;
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English;
• Fluency in Spanish preferred;
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player;
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations; and
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials preferred.

Application Instructions:

Please follow the application instructions below.  Any applications or CVs submitted outside this process will not be considered.  Note, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview. Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

1) Send an email to jbrown@poverty-action.org and cc jobs@poverty-action.org, following the instructions below:

• In the email body: Copy exactly the following position line: 100912PAUSA, Project Associate
• Attachments: Please attach ONLY your cover letter and resume in word or PDF format.
• In the subject line: Put your full name, first (given) Family) name

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.

2) Qualified candidates: Please submit an application through J-PAL’s common application, indicating that you are interested in applying for a "Type 2" position. 

3) Fill out our EEO-1 Voluntary Self Identification Form.  

IPA is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer.

All persons shall have the opportunity to be considered for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

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 .

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed by the Project Associate.  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.