Description

Position Title: Research Associate

Project: Cash Transfers & the State/HEC

The Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan seeks a qualified applicant for the position of Research Associate for the Benazir Income Support Program project. This is a full-time position based at the CERP office in Lahore. The Associate will contribute to research design, data collection, cleaning, and analysis. The Associate will have the opportunity to engage with leading economists from the University of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg and PIDE.

About CERP

The Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) is a non-profit research center in Pakistan that promotes the use of rigorous quantitative research and actively engages with policy counterparts to answer key questions in public policy. CERP was founded in 2008 by renowned Pakistani economists based at the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School, University of Chicago, Pomona College and Lahore University of Management Sciences.

This is a demanding but exciting role, given the scope and possibilities for professional growth. CERP’s project teams are small, and the amount of work we accomplish is significant. The position is challenging but rewarding – we are searching for people who are comfortable taking responsibility, can work with little supervision, and are not afraid to learn new things in order to get the job done.

Project Description

Cash Transfers & the State: The goal of the project is to evaluate the impact of the Benazir Income Support Program on the citizen-state relationship and women empowerment. This may involve some collaboration with the BISP secretariat.

The Principal Investigators of the project are Prof. Dr. Markus Froelich (University of Mannheim), Ms. Paula von Haaren (University of Heidelberg) and Mr. Zain Chaudhry (University of Heidelberg). Prof. Froelich is a leading econometrician and development economist who runs his own development research institution in Germany and Pakistan and has conducted research with the World Bank, the United Nations, among others.

HEC: The project will introduce critical thinking and soft skills course to university students. This may involve collaboration with local universities. The goal of the project is to evaluate how taking these course impacts students decision-making skills.

The Principal Investigators of the project are Zain Chaudhry (Heidelberg) and Tobias Korn (Hanover).

Job Description and Responsibilities

The Research Associate will work with the researchers and the field team in designing data collection tools, managing databases and data entry, relationship management, fieldwork for research and operational purposes and data analysis. The Research Associate will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Manage project databases and data entry
• Assist development of data collection and entry tools
• Relationship management with the BISP secretariat/university departments
• Field activities across the country together with the field team through recruitment, training and careful supervision and monitoring of the field team and managing reporting and documentation for the PIs
• Offer support for fundraising activities through proposal writing and relationship management
• Conduct data cleaning and analysis
• Prepare reports for the PIs and donors as needed as well as do the necessary work for IRBs and other university requirements

Other tasks as assigned by Principal Investigators

Entry Requirements

• Undergraduate or Graduate degree in Economics, Political Science, Public Policy, or a related discipline.
• Preferably 1-3 years of relevant experience in research/program design and/or evaluation, including the design and execution of surveys, focus groups, and interviews
• Demonstrated knowledge of data management of large datasets as well as data collection, quality checks of data, and presentation of data
• Preferably working knowledge of STATA and willingness and ability to learn more at a fast pace.
• Familiarity with CSPro/ODK/SurveyCTO (optional)
• Ability to manage of fieldwork related to the project in both urban and peri-urban areas, including field visits
• Ability to work closely in a small team and take direction.
• Ability to take a well-defined problem and come up with a response based on an independent analysis of the data.
• Demonstrated ability to manage various tasks effectively and coordinate between project members
• Comfortable communicating with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors.
• Willing to take on added responsibility as the project progresses.
• Fluent in English and Urdu

Apply at: https://app.myhcm.pk/CareerPortal/Advert?id=286&schema=Uo%2f3mZWWvEFm3JhTV4uWAQ%3d%3d&lang=En