Research Analyst

MIT is a world-class educational institution where teaching and research — with relevance to the practical world as a guiding principle — continue to be its primary purpose.

RESEARCH ANALYST, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (multiple positions), to support J-PAL’s program of rigorous impact evaluations which are conducted to test and improve the effectiveness of programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. Responsibilities typically include working with data sets, cleaning and running checks to spot errors, and preparing data for analysis; assisting with literature reviews and questionnaire writing; liaising with field staff running the evaluations and serving as a resource to them, including occasional travel to research field sites; assisting with grant proposals and reports and with institutional review board applications; assisting with the preparation of academic papers being submitted to journals; preparing data for publication and publishing data; supervising undergraduate interns (UROPs); and any other work assigned by research managers or PIs.

Research analysts are junior-level positions working under the direction of PIs and senior J-PAL research staff. Typical candidates for this position have plans to pursue an advanced degree in economics or related field.

• A Bachelor's or Master’s degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, or related fields. Training in microeconomics, econometrics, statistics, and advanced math required.
• Graduate - level coursework in economics is a plus.
• Very strong quantitative, organizational, and communication skills are necessary.
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English.
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and team player.
• Prior experience working with large data sets and programming in Stata, SAS, or other statistical analysis languages are necessary.
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials preferred.