Research Associate - 3EA Initiative

About 3EA

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Global TIES for Children at New York University have launched an ambitious new initiative aimed at improving the quality of education and children's learning in conflict-affected countries, "Education in Emergencies: Evidence for Action" (3EA).

Working in three countries affected by conflict or crisis – Lebanon, Niger, and Sierra Leone – the 3EA initiative will implement in different types of classrooms a set of contextually appropriate, low-intensity interventions targeted at improving children's stress, executive functioning, and basic literacy skills in emergency contexts. We will then rigorously evaluate the interventions in order to generate actionable research on the following research questions:

• Which interventions most effectively improve primary school-aged children's literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning (SEL) outcomes in emergency contexts?
• What are the pathways of influence through which these programs operate?
• For which populations, at what cost, and under what circumstances are interventions feasible and most effective?

Position Summary

The Research Associate will be responsible for assisting the Project Director with the overall management of the project. The position includes providing administrative and research support for several activities, including: liaising with partner organizations and field staff to provide scientific input on intervention content; theory of change and measurement development (e.g., developing instruments for measuring child and teachers' outcomes and educational settings; fidelity of implementation; etc.); data collection activities; data analysis, and writing up of project findings into reports and academic journal articles.

The Research Associate position can be based at the New York University campuses in either New York City or in Abu Dhabi.

Responsibilities

The Research Associate will report directly to the Project Director, and is responsible for the following dimensions of the project:

• Assist the Project Director with planning, coordinating, and executing project timeline and activities (75% time), including: (1) Providing research support to develop a theory of change and analytic strategy for using a randomized control trial to evaluate the impact of low-intensity, targeted literacy and SEL strategies on children's outcomes; (2) Identifying innovative measures of child development and teacher wellbeing in conflict-affected contexts; (3) Providing research support to develop a framework and design corresponding instruments for the collection of implementation fidelity data; (4) Establishing, developing, and sustaining relationships with IRC field and HQ teams; (5) Rapidly cleaning, managing, and providing basic descriptive analyses of data
• Perform day-to-day administrative management of project research team (25% time), including: taking and circulating notes, scheduling and coordinating meetings, purchasing and shipping research supplies, coordinating submission of IRB application, etc.
• Assist with preparing/delivering presentations of results for various stakeholders.
• Writing and editing reports and articles for scholarly and policy audiences, including presentations at research conferences and writing of academic journal articles.

Qualifications

The candidate must have a graduate degree in developmental science, human development, educational psychology, international education, international development, or a related social science field. Relevant analytic skills are required, including proficiency in quantitative methodology (with experience programming in SAS and STATA preferred). Ability to work well independently and in a multidisciplinary, multi-country team; excellent organization skills and attention to detail; and excellent oral and written communication skills necessary. Experience working in low-income/conflict-affected countries; French and/or Arabic language proficiency preferred.

Competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package; support for travel costs and conference travel related to study activities. Minimum one-year commitment required, with the potential for a one-year renewal pending satisfactory performance and budgetary approval.

About Global TIES for Children

At New York University's Global TIES for Children we design, evaluate and advise on programs and policies to improve the lives of children and youth in the most vulnerable regions across the globe. Led by University Professors Larry Aber and Hiro Yoshikawa, we work with some of the world's leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and with governments in low-income (LI) and conflict-affected (CA) countries on developing and evaluating innovative approaches to promoting the health, education, and social development of children and their communities. Together with our key strategic partner organizations, our work leverages cutting edge scientific methods and interdisciplinary collaboration to:

• Generate actionable evidence to promote child and youth development by conducting and evaluating powerful strategies to transform relevant "social settings" (i.e., classrooms, schools, families, communities, etc.) that are key drivers of children's learning and wellbeing;
• Communicate actionable evidence by engaging diverse stakeholders across sectors and regions and disseminating a rigorous evidence base to inform program and policy decisions for children and youth in LI and CA countries;
• Build human, administrative, and institutional capacityfor a robust global science and practice through the provision of professional development and training activities.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply: The position could begin as soon as March 2016, though start date is flexible, in the Institute of Human Development and Social Change, New York University. To apply, send CV, statement of interest, writing sample (thesis chapter or published article), and names, phone numbers and email addresses of three references to global.ties@nyu.edu with the subject line: Global TIES 3EA Research Associate Position.

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.