Senior Policy Associate, Education

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## Senior Policy Associate - J-PAL Global

Organization:
J-PAL Global

Location:

• United States of America

Start Date (Earliest):
3 February 2026

Length of Commitment:

Three years or more

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of over 390 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.

The Policy & Communications Group plays a key role in translating research by J-PAL affiliates into actionable poverty alleviation policies around the world. Staff connect the dots between economics and policy and are passionate about working with organizations to form partnerships for evidence-informed development policy.

J-PAL encourages diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work, and we value the diverse perspectives our staff bring to their roles and to the broader J-PAL community. We encourage people from all backgrounds, especially those underrepresented in the field of economics, to apply to this role. In your cover letter, you are welcome to share how your background and lived experiences have influenced your desire to work at J-PAL (this is entirely optional, just an opportunity for us to get to know you a bit better).

Position overview

J-PAL is recruiting a **Senior Policy Associate** to contribute to this mission of promoting evidence-informed policy. The position will be based in **Cambridge, MA**, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with **two in-person work days** per week. There are currently openings on the Education pillar, and potentially other sectors as well.

For more information about working on J-PAL's Policy and Communications team and applying to this role, please watch this webinar recorded on December 11, 2025.

**Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Only applications following all instructions at the bottom of this page will be considered.**

**Responsibilities**

*Your work provides the foundation and direction for J-PAL’s growing policy efforts. As a Senior Policy Associate, your primary tasks will involve communication, analysis, and specialization. We look for Senior Associates to take on more responsibilities and leadership on their teams and discrete projects over time at J-PAL. We look for staff to demonstrate leadership abilities and interest, and portfolio assignments are based on prior experience. *

• **Evidence Communication and Dissemination (35%):** Write publications that “translate” economic research into lessons for policymakers around the world. Associates will write, publish, and disseminate evaluation summaries. Associates will have the opportunity to support senior staff to create materials for policy outreach, including publications, presentations, grant proposals, donor reporting, policy memos, blogs, social media content and newsletters, and website content among other sector-specific work. Associates also have the opportunity to help organize events and further their communication skills by presenting at conferences and participating in meetings with policymakers and partner organizations. 
• **Sector Specialization and Initiative Project Management (40%):** Develop in-depth knowledge of one or more of J-PAL’s sectors (Agriculture, Crime, Violence, & Conflict, Education, Environment, Energy, & Climate Change, Finance, Firms, Gender, Health, Labor Markets, Social Protection, and Political Economy & Governance) or pillars (AI for Social Good, Cost-Effectiveness and Welfare Analysis) and provide evidence support to policymakers. Policy associates may also have the opportunity to support and manage the administration of a sector-specific, ongoing competitive research fund by hosting specific rounds of funding, processing grant proposals, coordinating with researchers, and supporting partnership development between implementing groups and research affiliates to spark new research projects. There are currently openings on the Education sector or pillar teams. Please indicate in the Google application form below if you are interested in these or other sectors, which may have openings as well. 
• **Other (25%): **Have the opportunity to support J-PAL’s overall mission in a number of ways. These can include performing internal tasks such as knowledge management, supporting recruitment and hiring, internal training and onboarding, supporting work on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and undertaking professional development opportunities. Associates may also serve as liaisons between J-PAL Global and one of J-PAL’s regional offices covering Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia support our work with corporate impact partners, or assist with other broad J-PAL projects.  
**Professional development**

*The Policy & Communications Group invests in your professional development. As a Senior Policy Associate, you will learn, engage, travel, and grow.*

**Learn: **J-PAL supports a culture of learning with opportunities to attend weekly MIT–Harvard Development Seminars and take classes for credit with MIT’s generous tuition assistance program. All J-PAL staff are also eligible to take the innovative online MITx MicroMasters credential in Data, Economics, and Development Policy (DEDP) free of charge.

**Engage: **Associates have the opportunity to work with J-PAL-affiliated researchers, as well as interact with J-PAL’s partners, including decision-makers and practitioners, alongside senior staff. As core content creators, Associates’ publications are distributed to development stakeholders worldwide.

**Travel:** Associates have the opportunity to occasionally present at J-PAL’s regional offices, attend policy events worldwide, and participate in a unique “Associate-to-Field” international experience supporting on-the-ground research during their time at J-PAL.

**Grow: **Senior associates can expect to join a peer group eager to build institutional knowledge and pass on lessons learned. Senior associates receive one-on-one mentorship from senior staff. Promotions to Manager are based on performance, skills, and experience.

**Supervision received**

Senior Policy Associate will report to the Senior Policy Manager.

**Qualifications**

*Your technical expertise, strong communication and organizational skills, passion for translating research into action, and interest in international development make you an ideal candidate for Senior Policy Associate.*

• **Education: **You hold a bachelor’s (master’s preferred) with significant training in economics, including intermediate-level economics and econometrics. Do you have a demonstrated academic interest in international development and public policy and/or international experience? Even better.
• **Experience:** 4 years of relevant work experience. Do you have less years of relevant experience - consider applying for our Policy Associate position instead.
• **Skills:** You are comfortable with intermediate-level economics and econometrics, especially randomized evaluation methodology, as well as working in or learning computer applications, including Google Suite, and Salesforce. English language fluency is required. Knowledge of Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, French, Portuguese, Spanish, or other languages spoken in our regions of work are a plus.
• **Experience with AI:** Your experience applying AI, beyond basic generative AI usage, to improve workflows is valuable. You have the ability to determine where and how AI tool use is responsible and ethical in own work. Having working knowledge of a coding language sufficient to be able to describe a project to an LLM, execute the generated code, and iteratively de-bug with the AI tool’s help is a plus.
• **Communication: **You are d...

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•

•

•

•

## Senior Policy Associate - J-PAL Global

Organization:
J-PAL Global

Location:

• United States of America

Start Date (Earliest):
3 February 2026

Length of Commitment:

Three years or more

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of over 390 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.

The Policy & Communications Group plays a key role in translating research by J-PAL affiliates into actionable poverty alleviation policies around the world. Staff connect the dots between economics and policy and are passionate about working with organizations to form partnerships for evidence-informed development policy.

J-PAL encourages diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work, and we value the diverse perspectives our staff bring to their roles and to the broader J-PAL community. We encourage people from all backgrounds, especially those underrepresented in the field of economics, to apply to this role. In your cover letter, you are welcome to share how your background and lived experiences have influenced your desire to work at J-PAL (this is entirely optional, just an opportunity for us to get to know you a bit better).

Position overview

J-PAL is recruiting a **Senior Policy Associate** to contribute to this mission of promoting evidence-informed policy. The position will be based in **Cambridge, MA**, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with **two in-person work days** per week. There are currently openings on the Education pillar, and potentially other sectors as well.

For more information about working on J-PAL's Policy and Communications team and applying to this role, please watch this webinar recorded on December 11, 2025.

**Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Only applications following all instructions at the bottom of this page will be considered.**

**Responsibilities**

*Your work provides the foundation and direction for J-PAL’s growing policy efforts. As a Senior Policy Associate, your primary tasks will involve communication, analysis, and specialization. We look for Senior Associates to take on more responsibilities and leadership on their teams and discrete projects over time at J-PAL. We look for staff to demonstrate leadership abilities and interest, and portfolio assignments are based on prior experience. *

• **Evidence Communication and Dissemination (35%):** Write publications that “translate” economic research into lessons for policymakers around the world. Associates will write, publish, and disseminate evaluation summaries. Associates will have the opportunity to support senior staff to create materials for policy outreach, including publications, presentations, grant proposals, donor reporting, policy memos, blogs, social media content and newsletters, and website content among other sector-specific work. Associates also have the opportunity to help organize events and further their communication skills by presenting at conferences and participating in meetings with policymakers and partner organizations. 
• **Sector Specialization and Initiative Project Management (40%):** Develop in-depth knowledge of one or more of J-PAL’s sectors (Agriculture, Crime, Violence, & Conflict, Education, Environment, Energy, & Climate Change, Finance, Firms, Gender, Health, Labor Markets, Social Protection, and Political Economy & Governance) or pillars (AI for Social Good, Cost-Effectiveness and Welfare Analysis) and provide evidence support to policymakers. Policy associates may also have the opportunity to support and manage the administration of a sector-specific, ongoing competitive research fund by hosting specific rounds of funding, processing grant proposals, coordinating with researchers, and supporting partnership development between implementing groups and research affiliates to spark new research projects. There are currently openings on the Education sector or pillar teams. Please indicate in the Google application form below if you are interested in these or other sectors, which may have openings as well. 
• **Other (25%): **Have the opportunity to support J-PAL’s overall mission in a number of ways. These can include performing internal tasks such as knowledge management, supporting recruitment and hiring, internal training and onboarding, supporting work on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and undertaking professional development opportunities. Associates may also serve as liaisons between J-PAL Global and one of J-PAL’s regional offices covering Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia support our work with corporate impact partners, or assist with other broad J-PAL projects.  
**Professional development**

*The Policy & Communications Group invests in your professional development. As a Senior Policy Associate, you will learn, engage, travel, and grow.*

**Learn: **J-PAL supports a culture of learning with opportunities to attend weekly MIT–Harvard Development Seminars and take classes for credit with MIT’s generous tuition assistance program. All J-PAL staff are also eligible to take the innovative online MITx MicroMasters credential in Data, Economics, and Development Policy (DEDP) free of charge.

**Engage: **Associates have the opportunity to work with J-PAL-affiliated researchers, as well as interact with J-PAL’s partners, including decision-makers and practitioners, alongside senior staff. As core content creators, Associates’ publications are distributed to development stakeholders worldwide.

**Travel:** Associates have the opportunity to occasionally present at J-PAL’s regional offices, attend policy events worldwide, and participate in a unique “Associate-to-Field” international experience supporting on-the-ground research during their time at J-PAL.

**Grow: **Senior associates can expect to join a peer group eager to build institutional knowledge and pass on lessons learned. Senior associates receive one-on-one mentorship from senior staff. Promotions to Manager are based on performance, skills, and experience.

**Supervision received**

Senior Policy Associate will report to the Senior Policy Manager.

**Qualifications**

*Your technical expertise, strong communication and organizational skills, passion for translating research into action, and interest in international development make you an ideal candidate for Senior Policy Associate.*

• **Education: **You hold a bachelor’s (master’s preferred) with significant training in economics, including intermediate-level economics and econometrics. Do you have a demonstrated academic interest in international development and public policy and/or international experience? Even better.
• **Experience:** 4 years of relevant work experience. Do you have less years of relevant experience - consider applying for our Policy Associate position instead.
• **Skills:** You are comfortable with intermediate-level economics and econometrics, especially randomized evaluation methodology, as well as working in or learning computer applications, including Google Suite, and Salesforce. English language fluency is required. Knowledge of Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, French, Portuguese, Spanish, or other languages spoken in our regions of work are a plus.
• **Experience with AI:** Your experience applying AI, beyond basic generative AI usage, to improve workflows is valuable. You have the ability to determine where and how AI tool use is responsible and ethical in own work. Having working knowledge of a coding language sufficient to be able to describe a project to an LLM, execute the generated code, and iteratively de-bug with the AI tool’s help is a plus.
• **Communication: **You are d...