Associate & Senior Associate at IDinsight

• IDinsight’s Associates and Senior Associates are high-performing early-career professionals passionate about experiencing the front-line realities of evidence-informed decision-making. These roles provide a rich, varied experience with responsibilities ranging from in-depth research and analysis, data collection management, client interactions, and internal team building.  We seek intellectually curious, resilient, and team-oriented individuals who – in addition to developing professional and technical skills – are highly motivated to grapple with the difficulties and unpredictability of trying to improve lives at scale.

Associates and Senior Associates are responsible for the following areas of work: 

Managing project team workflow, systems, and deliverables

• Driving the day-to-day execution of the project work according to project plans and leading internal coordination efforts for their team
• Conducting and supporting appropriate research design, data collection or acquisition, technical analysis, and results visualization/packaging, etc. for project tasks
• Creating client deliverables, including reports, slide decks, and oral presentations to inform decisions and actions of clients
• Developing strategic communications to build awareness of IDinsight projects and learnings, contribute to sectoral knowledge, and shift the sector towards more evidence-informed policy and practices 

Supporting their team in developing strong client relationships

• Preparing talking points and presentations for client and partner meetings
• Managing relationships with stakeholders
• Contributing to client development, including developing proposals and concept notes

Leading data collection activities

• Overseeing all data collection activities to ensure quality, including questionnaire development, sampling, managing data collection teams, analysis, and result synthesis
• Traveling to project sites, IDinsight offices, embedded client locations, and other areas as per project needs 

Contributing to internal team building

• Developing, piloting, and implementing internal systems or other organizational contributions (e.g., event management) for IDinsight, in coordination with functional teams such as Operations, Communications, Finance, etc.
• Contributing to office life and culture building, such as facilitating All Hands Meetings; leading team building efforts at team retreats; participating in Social Cultural Committee events; and engaging with the DEI Working Groups. 

Examples of recent Associate and Senior Associate work streams include:

• Working with several African and Indian governments to support evidence-based decision-making capabilities in areas like women’s economic empowerment, education, economic growth etc. 
• Supporting household registration and post-distribution monitoring for the government's COVID-19 Urban Cash Intervention response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi
• Conducting at a nationally-representative household survey that gathers data on health literacy and knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to core healthy behaviors (e.g. diet and physical activity, mental health, sexual and reproductive health) to inform the Philippine Department of Health’s Promotion Framework Strategy and achieve goals under the Universal Healthcare Act
• Utilizing visual storytelling to lead Theory of Change workshops for an NGO-led digital menstrual health program for Senegalese young women and girls 
• Building a monitoring, evaluation, and learning system for Rockefeller Foundation’s Power and Climate Initiative that will influence the direction of their global strategy
• Leading a multi-part process evaluation consisting of multiple rounds of phone surveys; qualitative interviews; analysis of administrative data; and an assessment of the quality of infrastructure for a government social protection program.
• Helping the Delhi Government collect high-quality data on employment and unemployment in the city to estimate the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on livelihoods of Delhi’s residents through primary data collected from 9,900 households
• Conducting a descriptive and causal study on the gig economy and its implications for the welfare of gig workers in three countries: India, Indonesia, and Kenya
• Supporting the creation of remote data collection infrastructure for IDinsight's Africa regional project teams when in-person data collection was not possible
• Participating in IDinsight’s internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion working group on the Recruiting Committee, Careers & Promotions Committee, and/or the Work Culture Committee
• Analyzing data from IDinsight’s recruitment processes for our Global Operations team
• Associates learn professional, technical and life skills while working on some of the world’s most critical problems. No two experiences are the same. Some Associates work deeply on one project for an extended period of time, while others work across a variety of projects.  Workstreams can immerse Associates in remote, front-line program contexts, deep statistical analyses, and/or high-level, strategic interactions. 
• Associates and Senior Associates will be staffed on IDinsight projects according to various factors, including organizational need, timeline and availability, team dynamics, skills optimization, and professional development. While we aim to factor in individual preferences whenever possible to staffing decisions, they are one of many factors in the project staffing process. 
• The Associate role is not a typical “9-5” job and can require early mornings and late nights to accommodate the time zone differences of a dispersed team, as well as busy periods within project workflows. IDinsight encourages balance with flexible work hours and wellness benefits, including comprehensive mental health care support and organization-wide wellness days off. Many find this balance to yield rich professional and personal rewards and, therefore, progress to more senior roles with IDinsight.

Qualifications

• IDinsight Associates and Senior Associates come from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including economics, data science, policy research, development projects, engineering, environmental science, political science, public policy, literature and more. Given that no Associate or Senior Associate comes in with the same exact background as another, we’re typically looking for candidates with a broad range of qualifications and former experiences. Here are some examples of the key qualifications most successful candidates should possess:

Knowledge, skills, and abilities

• Strong analytical skills, with exposure to (either via professional work experience or academic coursework) the basics of econometrics, data, and research analysis tools, and quantitative and qualitative research processes or an ability to quickly understand these topics
• Strong writing skills with the ability to translate technical jargon into well-structured, writing-based deliverables (e.g., policy briefs, project memos, analytical reports, external blog posts, and more)
• Ability to understand complex concepts and topics quickly even with limited prior knowledge or exposure and a willingness to invest in learning new concepts, skills, and methods without being prompted

Behaviors and mindsets

• Highly organized, attentive to deadlines, and able to manage a high volume of work with efficiency
• Excellent interpersonal skills, can effectively engage with stakeholders ranging from school children to senior government officials to internal colleagues, and places a high value on being a teamplayer
• Demonstrated ability to be a self-starter and fast learner; resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges
• Intellectually curious and a willingness to share your opinions with the team, question the status quo, and encourage others to expand their perspectives
• Excels in diverse team environments, consistently treating colleagues across our global organization with respect.
• Embodies our organizational values and demonstrates a steadfast commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in their daily interactions.
• Deeply passionate about combating poverty worldwide and improving lives in disadvantaged populations
• Willingness to travel for extended periods of time where safety precautions and restrictions allow, including to remote and rural areas

Additional preferred qualifications

• Proficient in statistical analysis and data collection software, such as Stata, SPSS, R, SurveyCTO, and/or Open Data Kit
• Familiarity with local context as well as working proficiency in the local language(s) of country of placement