Research Associate - Trust & Governance
Position: Research Associate
Project: Trust and Governance
Start Date: June 2021
Job type: Full-time
Location: Gulberg IV, Lahore, Pakistan
Are you passionate about Pakistan, its economic development and the importance of research and evidence-based policy? Are you looking for an opportunity to work at a policy think-tank led by committed researchers? The Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS), a policy think-tank based in Lahore, is looking for smart and qualified individuals to join the IDEAS team. We are looking for a Research Associate to work on the Trust and Governance Project with in Political Economy Program.
Project Description
The Political Economy Cluster at IDEAS provides an opportunity for highly motivated budding social scientists to work on a set of exciting applied research projects focused on key topics in development, governance, and politics in Pakistan. This project aims to study the level of trust that citizens place on state, institutions, social groups, and other individuals.
The project aims to study the pertinent research questions through a series of lab and field experiments to be conducted in Pakistan, Colombia, Ethiopia, and Spain. These countries allow us to study the hypothesized relationships across different contexts of inequality, strength of democratic institutions, and trust levels. The lab and field experiments will specifically test these relationships with respect to tax compliance by citizens, and then test policy interventions using Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) at the local government level to increase tax compliance by addressing institutional trust and inequality.
This project is being led by faculty from London School of Economics, UC San Diego, Institute of Development Studies at Sussex, and LUMS. This is an excellent opportunity to get involved in first-hand field research, interact with academics and policymakers, and is particularly suited for those interested in continuing further studies in economics, political science, public policy, or political economy. Past members of the research staff have gone on for graduate studies in economics and political science at high-ranked institutions.
Job Description and Requirements
A Research Associate will:
1. Undertake fieldwork at the district level, including interviews with key stakeholders, collection of secondary documents and contextual information.
2. Assist the PIs and Program Managers in developing and piloting instruments
3. Assist the PIs and Program Managers in conducting field work, coordination and managing the data collection process
4. Assist the Program Manager in project management tasks, coordination in the field
5. Undertake and quality review transcriptions and field notes process
6. Manage the data: transcription, field notes, compilation, data storage
7. Manage overall logistics of any seminars, workshops and conferences organized by the research program.
8. Manage and coordinate with internal and external stakeholders. This includes regular reporting to resident and remote research fellows;
9. Offer research and/ or administrative support to other research programs as required
Skills and Qualifications:
Essential
· Master’s degree in Economics, Political Science, Public Policy or any related discipline.
· Outstanding writing, and analytical skills.
· Very good communications skills
· Ability to work independently and as part of a team, demonstrating initiative and reliability.
· Strong interpersonal skills, organizational skills, and attention to detail required.
· Willingness to do fieldwork and travel as required.
· Working knowledge of STATA
Preferred
· Work experience of 1-2 years, with demonstrable academic / policy research skills.
· Experience collecting and analyzing qualitative data
· Ability to represent data in useful and creative ways
· Additional local language skills e.g. Punjabi.
· Working knowledge of NVivo
· Use of Urdu keyboard.
How to apply
Interested candidates should fill this online form AND also send their CV, cover letter and transcripts to jobs@ideaspak.org with the subject line “IDEAS Recruitment – Summer 2021”
IDEAS is an equal opportunity employer and we strongly encourage women and minorities to apply. For this position, you must have full rights to work in Pakistan.
Any submissions outside the application guidelines will not be considered.
Application deadline is 12th April 2021.