Senior Policy Manager - ASPIRE

Job Title: Senior Policy Manager
Project: ASPIRE

Start Date (earliest): 1st September, 2025

Length of Commitment: 2 years (can be extended based on performance and requirement)

Education: Master’s Degree

Organization: J-PAL South Asia at IFMR

Language requirement: English

Location: Bangalore/New Delhi

Principal Investigators (PIs): Multiple

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) J-PAL was established in 2003 as a research center at the Economics Department at MIT. Since then, it has grown into a global network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL is propelled by a first-rate team dedicated to research, policy, training, and other vital work, supporting J-PAL's mission to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence.

J-PAL South Asia, which is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in India, analyses and disseminates research results and builds partnerships with policymakers to ensure that policy is driven by evidence, and that programs proven effective are scaled up. We have a growing number of partnerships in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

To deepen and expand our work in collaboration with state and central governments in India, J-PAL South Asia recently launched the Alliance for Scaling Policy Impact through Research and Evidence (ASPIRE). ASPIRE seeks to bring together governments, donors and CSO partners with the goal of generating new policy insights and evidence to inform the design and implementation of policies and programs that improve development outcomes. ASPIRE is a joint initiative of J-PAL South Asia at IFMR and two key donors.

ASPIRE is exploring ways to develop its knowledge systems and codify emerging lessons on scaling-up evidence based programs. This is an excellent opportunity to be at the forefront of documenting processes, developing unique pathways and lead in knowledge creation around scaling-up programs and systems change.

J-PAL South Asia at the Institute for Financial Management and Research seeks qualified applicants for the position of Senior Policy Manager (PM). The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand overall program management and in-depth experience of working at the nexus of the government machinery, NGOs and academia.

The SPM will report to the Lead, Policy and will work closely with the ASPIRE Unit Director, Principal Investigators (PIs), the Research and Policy Team at J-PAL SA.

The SPM will represent the J-PAL team within the ecosystem of NGO partners, donors and play a critical role to support overall learning and knowledge development within the ASPIRE unit. The SPM should have previous experience of working closely with NGOs/Government and in synthesising information into high quality knowledge products. At least 2 years of experience in a business consulting firm of international repute will be preferred.

Key Responsibilities

Senior Policy Manager works closely with ASPIRE stakeholders including key NGO Partners, Government, donors, J-PAL SA policy team, academic researchers, other subject matter experts to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

1. Thought Leadership & Knowledge Management

● Define and implement a thought leadership and knowledge management strategy for ASPIRE

● Ideate, drive and develop high quality knowledge products in collaboration with other team members to capture lessons learned, emerging insights, and best practices for scaling evidence-based programs.

2. System and Knowledge Creation

● Work closely with ASPIRE Unit Director to plan and implement internal systems to promote knowledge creation through standardised frameworks

● Ensure dissemination of key learnings and highlights on the various pathways to scale through various channels, including workshops, reports, and publications

3. Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

● Bring together a collaborative to share, learn and iterate the intervention for scale

● Manage expectations of stakeholders with varying motivations

4. External Strategy & Networking

● Provide inputs to drive J-PAL’s overall strategy for scaling up evidence based projects and participate in external meetings with relevant stakeholders

5.People Management

● Manage and mentor Policy Managers/Senior Policy Associates and/ or ASPIRE Fellows giving them support to perform better and prioritizing their learning and skill development

6. Cross-vertical collaboration

● Engage in cross-vertical collaboration opportunities, offering systematic support to an ongoing research project, capacity building of internal teams

7. Compliance & Organizational Support: Maintain compliance with all J-PAL protocols and policies

● Master's degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, MBA, operations or related fields

● Relevant Experience of at least 6 years

● Willingness to travel

● Excellent management/ organizational skills and able to solve unexpected problems

● Ability to persuasively and accurately describe our work orally and in writing in a manner that builds enthusiasm and motivates others to want to partner with us. Outstanding writing skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy related to preparation of materials and presentations

● Familiarity with RCTs

● Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and team player

● Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations focusing on building and strengthening relevant networks

● Ability to deal with unstructured and dynamic environments

● Prior experience in conducting process evaluation assessments

● Enterprising in building the coalition and partnerships

● Proven ability to handle several different tasks at one time, successfully plan, and complete tasks, and meet deadlines while ensuring high quality work

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India.