DAI Advisory seek to hire a qualified applicant for the position of Research Associate based in India (WFH) and will be required to travel to Bangladesh few times. The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand research management experience including field operations and stakeholder management, while undertaking cutting-edge development research. This is ideal for someone who is looking to apply to PhD/MPA/MPP programs in Economics/Public Policy.
The PIs have strong record in placing their past RAs in top PhD programs such as: Princeton University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, Cornell University, Michigan State University, UT-Austin, University of British Columbia, University of California-Santa Barbara, University of Pittsburgh, University of Virginia, University of Oxford, Stockholm School of Economics.
Project Title
Understanding Role of Student Ambassadors in Mental Health Services Take-up.
Principal Investigators (PIs)
Atonu Rabbani (University of Dhaka), Aprajit Mahajan (University of California, Berkeley), Eric Edmonds (Dartmouth College), Nishith Prakash (University of Connecticut), Priya Mukherjee (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Shwetlena Sabarwal (World Bank)
Application Deadline
As Soon As Possible (ASAP)
Employing Institution
DAI Advisory in India/BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (JPG) in Bangladesh
Location: India (WFH) but will need to travel to Bangladesh few times.
Educational Qualification
Master’s Degree
Language Requirements
English, Bengali (bonus)
Start Date
As Soon As Possible (ASAP)
Duration
12 months
Project Description
- The role involves assisting in a project in Bangladesh studying the demand and supply of mental health services among school going adolescents.
- The study design will be a Randomized Control Trial (RCT), at the intersection of development economics, behavioral economics, and health economics.
- The study aims to understand the incidence of mental health issues, attitudes towards mental illnesses, and take up of mental healthcare services among adolescents. Subsequently, we aim to evaluate the effects of interventions aimed at improving the mental well-being of adolescents.
- We are looking for a proactive candidate who can learn quickly, work independently under pressure, who thrives in the field, has great attention to detail, and can communicate clearly.
- Additionally, the ideal candidate will have excellent data skills.
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Extensive travel to project sites to monitor and coordinate field activities for primary data collection during pilot implementation, baseline survey, intervention monitoring, and endline survey.
- Assisting PIs with designing survey questionnaires and refining survey instruments.
- Assisting in preparing funding proposals, budgets, and deliverables for various grants.
- Planning and managing data collection and ensuring data quality and productivity.
- Managing field teams: recruit, train, and supervise both field-based and data operations teams.
- Actively engaging in implementation and monitoring activities.
- Managing relationships with stakeholders and coordinating activities across teams.
- Assisting with data cleaning, preliminary data analysis, and preparation of documents and presentations for dissemination.
- Reporting to PIs and the research team on all of the above-mentioned activities.
Desired Qualifications and Experience
- Master’s degree in economics, public policy/administration, engineering, or related fields. Advanced coursework in economics is highly preferable.
Technical skills
- Demonstrating a good basic understanding of the randomized control trials (e.g., their value and limitations) is highly valuable.
Software
- Microsoft Excel (required), Stata (required), SurveyCTO/ODK/digital data collection (preferred).
Relevant Work Experience
- This project requires demonstrating management experience in a multi-faceted role, working with and managing partnerships with multiple stakeholders.
- Experience in managing teams and interacting with institutional partners is strongly desired. Previous experience in projects involving large data collection and implementation activities, particularly in randomized evaluations are highly preferred.
Management skills
- Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, meet deadlines, and manage high level partnerships.
- A willingness to work hard, be self-motivated and learn will be essential for doing well in this position.
- Ability to work independently in the field.
Communication
- Attention to detail and advance writing and presentation skills for communicating with multiple partners. This requires the ability to produce clear, precise, non-technical writing as well as strong social skills to engage with multiple partners.
Language
- Full working proficiency in both English will be required for this position. Proficiency in Bengali will be a plus.
Other
The candidate should be able to give and receive frank feedback, have a strong ability, interested in development and policy research, and excited to do field work
How to Apply
Email CV/Resume to: Nishith Prakash (nishith.prakash@uconn.edu)
Note from Nishith Prakash: I won’t be able to respond to all emails but only to the ones who are shortlisted.