Application Guide
How to Apply for Research Consultant
at Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP)
🏢 About Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP)
The Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP) is a nonprofit at the forefront of eliminating childhood lead poisoning in low-income countries, where the burden is highest and resources are scarce. Unlike many global health organizations, LEEP combines rigorous policy advocacy with programmatic implementation, and this role directly shapes how millions of dollars are allocated to save children's lives. Working here means joining a small, highly effective team where your quantitative work translates immediately into real-world impact.
About This Role
As a part-time Research Consultant, you will refine and update LEEP's cost-effectiveness model—the analytical backbone that guides resource allocation across 40+ countries for lead poisoning prevention. Your work will directly influence where prevention programs are deployed and how they are funded, making it a rare opportunity to apply economic and public health modeling to a neglected but solvable crisis. You'll also conduct targeted research on high-uncertainty assumptions and communicate your findings to both internal decision-makers and external stakeholders.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve updating the cost-effectiveness model with new cost and demographic data for a subset of countries, then diving into a high-uncertainty assumption—such as the long-term cognitive impacts of lead exposure—by reviewing recent literature. You might also draft a rationale for a model change and outline a public explainer, while coordinating asynchronously with the LEEP team on priorities and feedback.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP) Is Looking For
- A quantitative researcher with a degree in economics, public health, statistics, or a related field, and hands-on experience building or refining cost-effectiveness models, ideally in global health or development.
- Skilled at navigating large, messy datasets—such as program costs, economic indicators, and demographic data—across many countries, and able to update models with new inputs efficiently.
- A self-directed problem-solver who can prioritize research on assumptions that most affect model results, and who is comfortable making and documenting judgment calls under uncertainty.
- A clear communicator who can write technical rationales for model changes and translate complex findings into accessible explainers for public audiences.
📝 Tips for Applying to Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP)
In your application, explicitly reference LEEP's cost-effectiveness model and how you would approach updating it with current program costs, economic data, and demographic inputs—show you understand the model's role in resource allocation.
Highlight any experience you have with sensitivity analysis or uncertainty quantification, especially in a global health or low-income country context, as this is central to the role.
Demonstrate familiarity with lead poisoning as a global health issue; even a brief mention of key sources (e.g., IHME burden estimates, LEEP's own reports) will set you apart.
Since the role is part-time and remote, emphasize your ability to work independently, manage your own schedule, and deliver high-quality outputs with minimal supervision.
If you have written public-facing cost-effectiveness explainers or technical rationales, include a writing sample or describe it in your cover letter—LEEP values clear communication alongside technical rigor.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
Your cover letter should emphasize: (1) your direct experience with cost-effectiveness analysis or quantitative public health research, ideally including model refinement; (2) your ability to handle multi-country data and update models with new inputs; (3) your approach to prioritizing high-uncertainty assumptions and documenting rationales; and (4) your motivation to work at LEEP specifically, showing you understand its mission and the model's role in guiding resource allocation.
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Read LEEP's published cost-effectiveness analyses and any public explainers to understand the current model structure, key parameters, and conclusions.
- → Explore the global burden of lead poisoning, including WHO and IHME estimates, to grasp the scale and distribution of the problem across low-income countries.
- → Look into LEEP's programmatic work and policy advocacy—understand how the cost-effectiveness model informs their decisions and what countries they prioritize.
- → Research common cost-effectiveness metrics (e.g., cost per IQ point gained, cost per DALY averted) and how they are applied in lead poisoning prevention.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Submitting a generic cover letter that doesn't mention cost-effectiveness modeling or LEEP's specific mission—this role requires demonstrated interest in the niche.
- Overlooking the part-time, remote nature of the role and failing to address how you'll manage independent work and communication.
- Focusing only on technical skills without showing you can write clear rationales and public communications, which are explicitly part of the job.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP)!