Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): Research Director

Innovations for Poverty Action was born in 2002 when Dean Karlan founded Development Innovations, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between academia and development policy in practice.  Dean’s graduate school advisors, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Sendhil Mullainathan agreed to join him on the board of the new organization, along with Ray Fisman, a professor from Columbia. In 2003, Banerjee, Duflo and Mullainathan started MIT’s Poverty Action Lab (now the Abdul Lateef Jameel Poverty Action Lab, or J-PAL), a center at MIT and network of like-minded researchers from around the world. From the beginning the two organizations were set to work closely, and continue to promote a shared vision to this day.  Development Innovations officially changed to Innovations for Poverty Action around the same time in order to show the closely-linked vision of the two organizations.

Each year since then IPA has managed to at least double in size to approximately $25 million in income in 2010. We now have projects in over 40 countries and approximately 500 staff.

While in some countries we do run anti-poverty programs directly, the vast majority of our work around the world is collaborative. We partner with other implementing organizations—mostly local and international nonprofits, but also governments and private firms—and design and run program evaluations to find out what works and what doesn’t, and then we let the world know.

Today over 100 researchers — many professors at some of the leading institutions of higher education in the world — turn to us to implement and manage their projects. For our researchers and our donors, the greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that the value of our work will continue to increase many times over through more effective anti-poverty programs.

 

NGO JOBS IN GHANA: Research Cluster Director (Ghana)

The Ghana Research Cluster will be a large experimental site where development interventions will be designed, implemented and evaluated, alongside a long-term data collection effort. The Ghana Research Cluster Director will set up a research infrastructure in Ghana, establish and supervise ongoing impact evaluation, and work to generate a body of evidence on the comparative impact and cost effectiveness of a variety of poverty alleviation programs. The Director will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Build date collection infrastructure, supplement ongoing panel date sets
• Initiate the development of new research proposals including both the technical design as well for funding support
• Plan, set up and manage numerous impact evaluations
• Oversee project design and implementation, date collection, data management and analysis, reports and budgeting
• Supervise Project Associates, Project Managers and Surveyors
• Liaise with US base Principal Investigators, IPA Ghana staff and IPA headquarters
• Disseminate results via local and international presentations, reports, and publications, to academic and non academic audiences.

Required:

• Masters or PhD level degree in development economics, international affairs, international public policy, or field related to international economic development.
• Very high level of proficiency in English. Strong oral and written communications skills
• Excellent management and organizational skills and ability to work independently.
• Experience in conducting field research in developing countries, cultural sensitivity, and demonstrated ability to work successfully with diverse constituencies.
• Experience in economics or social science research, with a background in randomized control trials.

How to Apply:

Please send your CV, cover letter, and the names and contact information of three references to [email protected], with the subject heading “Ghana Research Cluster Director”.