Policy Manager (Environment, Energy, and Climate Change), J-PAL South Asia

J-PAL South Asia seeks a Policy Manager for Environment, Energy, and Climate Change based in India. The role involves supporting government partnerships, identifying research opportunities, synthesizing data, and developing policy outreach strategies. Responsibilities include maintaining relationships with officials, coordinating research projects, and disseminating evidence-based insights. The position also focuses on fundraising strategies and creating knowledge products to promote evidence-informed policy in the E2C2 sector.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support SARWA’s two major government partnerships (DDWS, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI and the Government of Gujarat) and assist the SARWA team in building and strengthening other relevant government partnerships under the lab. This will entail working closely with the government stakeholders to identify research opportunities at the national and state levels, synthesise administrative and secondary data and work on policy outreach at the state level with the overarching mandate of initiating new randomised evaluations, synthesising and disseminating evidence around air and water. Maintain and grow effective relationships with government officials at the national and state levels in order to proactively understand policy priorities and develop long-term strategies for SARWA that align with its government partners. Synthesise findings from J-PAL studies and develop knowledge products like case studies, policy briefs, and evidence notes for dissemination of policy insights from J-PAL research across relevant government departments. Provide regular project updates to government officials on ongoing research studies funded by SARWA. Coordinate between government officials and J-PAL affiliated researchers to organise events and webinars to explore new research opportunities and disseminate findings from relevant J-PAL studies. Support J-PAL affiliated researchers in establishing research projects for randomized evaluations and scoping studies in collaboration with SARWA’s government partners. Support in ideating and developing SARWA’s fundraising strategy and forging new partnerships with philanthropic organisations and other donors. Conduct desk research, including literature review, data analysis and drafting reports based on SARWA’s engagement with government partners. Support J-PAL’s Policy Team in its mission of scaling up evidence-based interventions in the E2C2 sector. This will entail working with J-PAL affiliated researchers, governments, civil society partners, and other ecosystem partners to promote the adaptation and scaling of evidence-based interventions in the E2C2 sector. Identify new low-touch scaling opportunities in the E2C2 sector by coordinating among researchers, policymakers, and other organisations to assess existing and upcoming evidence-based interventions. Assess policy relevance of the issue through a deep understanding of the policy priorities of governments, the availability of rigorous evidence through a detailed analysis of the research study, and the scalability of the interventions through conversations with ecosystem partners. Secure buy-in from governments and/or multi-stakeholder partnerships to adopt key learnings from J-PAL studies to achieve impact at scale. Develop knowledge products such as toolkits, implementation guidelines and other outputs to facilitate evidence-use by governments.| Support J-PAL’s Policy Team in its mission of promoting evidence-informed policy in the E2C2 sector. This will entail understanding, summarising and supporting the dissemination of J-PAL evidence in the E2C2 sector; and working with government, civil society partners, and donors to promote the production and use of rigorous evidence in the E2C2 sector. Lead networking and follow-up with relevant government partners, civil society partners, donors and media to understand their policy priorities and promote the use and production of rigorous evidence. Catalyse new randomised evaluation research by matching innovative projects in the region with J-PAL affiliated researchers in the sector. Support efforts to build and maintain relationships with key partners in governments, NGOs, foundations, and multilateral aid agencies in the region. Draft internal reference materials and external policy outreach materials summarising evidence from J-PAL evaluations related to the E2C2 sector (e.g., summaries, briefs, policy memos, concept notes, letters, presentations) in clear, accurate, and non-technical language; Lead evidence dissemination activities by curating custom decks and evidence notes and representing J-PAL to share evidence in the E2C2 sector in meetings with relevant stakeholders. Lead in designing and operationalising the overall strategy for the E2C2 sector

People Management. Supervise team members in the Policy vertical.

Provide additional support to the Policy Team as required. Participate in cross-vertical collaboration opportunities on a case-by-case basis. Support senior management in preparing for meetings with background research and meeting notes/memos. Support J-PAL SA in the curation of public goods and team events within the Policy vertical as well as other verticals as required.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education : Master's degree (preferably in economics, public policy, environment/climate policy, or international development). A strong technical understanding of impact evaluations is preferred.

Experience : This position requires four or more years of relevant experience in addition to a relevant Master's degree. Demonstrated interest and experience in environment, energy, air and water pollution, and/or climate policy and in program evaluation will be considered favourably.

Understanding Randomised Evaluations : A keen understanding of the value of randomised evaluations and their usefulness for policy decisions is desirable. Skills and

Competencies Communication : Attention to detail and excellent writing and presentation skills for communicating policy lessons from academic papers in ways that policymakers understand. This requires clear, precise, non-technical writing, and creativity in presentation.

Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, and meet deadlines. High level of attention to detail. Strong interest in international development policy, South Asia development, and/or program evaluation as demonstrated by coursework and professional experience.

Language : Fluency in English (written and oral). Fluency in Hindi (written and oral) will be considered favourably.